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Je dois finir mon doctorat d'ici la soutenance.

Je dois finir mon doctorat d'ici la soutenance.
I must finish my doctorate by the defense.
From Lesson 453:Future time limits (d'ici, d'ici à)·French

Questions & Answers about Je dois finir mon doctorat d'ici la soutenance.

Why is there no "à" after "d'ici" in this sentence?
When followed by a noun like la soutenance, you can use either d'ici or d'ici à to mean "by" a certain time or event. d'ici à la soutenance is slightly more formal, but dropping the à is very common and completely correct in everyday French.
What does "soutenance" mean exactly, and where does the word come from?
La soutenance refers specifically to an academic defense, like for a thesis or dissertation. It comes from the verb soutenir, which means "to support" or "to hold up", and in academic contexts, "to defend".
Could I just use "avant" (before) instead of "d'ici" to express the deadline?
Yes, avant la soutenance makes logical sense, but d'ici (literally "from here") emphasizes the time window between right now and the deadline. It translates perfectly to the English "by", implying a task you have an allotted time to complete.
Since the deadline is in the future, can I use the future tense "je devrai" instead of the present tense "je dois"?
You can, but it changes the nuance. Using the present tense je dois shows that the obligation exists right now, even though the deadline is in the future. Je devrai (I will have to) might imply the obligation itself won't start until later.

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