A professor says her PhD defense was canceled an hour before it started after her chair admitted the committee never did a deep read

A PhD candidate’s dissertation defense has triggered a debate on TikTok and Instagram after she said it was canceled an hour before it was supposed to begin. The post, uploaded by college professor Heather Silvis (doctor_swageyes), has since gotten over eight million views. Silvis, who is 48, was tearing up as she told her viewers, “I was supposed to defend my PhD dissertation. And it was a culminating milestone moment for me today. Something I had worked really, really hard for.”

In her video, Silvis said that she had spent the last month “waiting” and “preparing for my defense” after being told that the committee didn’t require any revisions. She said she received an email from her chair shortly before the start time revealing that the work had not been read in depth. According to Silvis, the chair wrote, “I took a broad look at the changes you had made based solely on my feedback. I did not do a deep read. I then sent it to your committee. They did the exact same thing.”

Silvis was visibly upset in the video. She asked, “What do you mean? What do you mean? You told me it was fantastic. It was excellent. No revisions. In ten years. It never happened. No revisions.”

Academics in the comments told her to escalate

A lot of academics and students weighed in to reassure Silvis and give advice. One user wrote, “Prof here, with PhD students. You need to raise hell. Another faculty member can and should step in so you can graduate.” Another user suggested, “Girl, take a deep breath, and make some phone calls in the morning. This is a problem with your chair, and I promise the Chair/Dean of your program would very much like to know about this.” A third simply wrote, “You cry today. And tomorrow you get up and BURN IT ALL DOWN.”

Many other users highlighted the financial and professional stakes involved. One commenter pointed out that “in order to do a defense,” Silvis needed to be enrolled, and an extension to the next semester would cost tuition. They noted, “This is wrong.” Another user characterized the chair’s alleged actions as “professional malpractice and negligence,” writing that the chair’s actions “resulted in harm to the student.”

A guide from CASRAI says dissertation defenses are highly structured and rarely end in outright failure. Most institutions follow a structure that usually includes passing with revisions or a deferred decision requiring a second defense. The guide notes that programs often use earlier checkpoints like qualifying exams and advisor reviews to catch issues, so committees rarely let a candidate reach the defense if the work is truly irredeemable.

Commenters also shared practical next steps. One user with experience as a PhD program director advised, “get your program director, Dean of Student Affairs and Dean of your College involved immediately. There are usually very strict policies on this.” They wrote that committees often have a two-week window to read the document before the defense and cannot simply cancel without following set procedures.

A user who said they work in a registrar’s office suggested involving the registrar to request exceptions for grading deadlines or tuition charges. A few days later, Silvis uploaded a positive update. She shared that after sending out a flurry of emails, her defense had been rescheduled.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the side of Silvis’ chair and committee, as this account originates solely from her Instagram and TikTok posts.