Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
a la replica
English translation:
defended their research/thesis
Spanish term
United States
7 years as a Spanish>English Translator
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English
a la replica
El Jurado procedió a realizar el examen correspondiente: al sustentante quien hizo la presentacion de su trabajo de investigacion y enseguida se procedió a la replica con cada uno de los miembros del jurado de acuerdo con las disposiciones reglamentarias vigentes. Al concluir el examen, el XXXXX, en su character de Presidente del jurado, deliberó con los demas miembros de la mesa sinodal, sobre la capacidad del sustentante para recibir el grado propuesto, acordando: APROBADO POR UNANIMIDAD.
Thank You
| 4 | defended their research/thesis |
Yvonne Gallagher
|
| 5 | to reply/to respond |
Francois Boye
|
| 4 +1 | and then answered the questions.... |
Luis Vasquez
|
| 5 | the reply |
sonyka (X)
|
Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher
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Proposed translations
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
defended their research/thesis
=responded to/answered questions put to them by the panel
You haven't said target country so have a look here to see what is "normal" there
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thesis
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Note added at 18 hrs (2014-12-04 13:06:30 GMT)
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of course the noun, if you need it , is the defence (UK) the defense (US)
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
to reply/to respond
Mexico
Accurate Translations First Time Around
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish
and then answered the questions....
the reply
and immediately proceed with the reply of each member of the jury.
Discussion
Como bien dice Luis Vasquez, en un examen profesional para obtener un título universitario, los sinodales le hacen preguntas (duras) al candidato. Ignoro si hay un término específico en inglés.