Doctoral Exam

 

The subject of the doctoral thesis should focus on current fields of teaching and research at ETH Zurich. It should be written in one of Switzerland's official languages or English; other languages must be authorized by the Rector. The thesis must contain a summary in an official language and a summary in English as well as a curriculum vitae according to the dissertation title page (appendix Rector’s Implementation Provisions for the Doctorate Ordinance of 2008).

The Examination Committee is chaired by the Deputy Head of Department (Delegate of Doctoral Affairs D-MAVT) or former members of the Executive Board and consists of at least three independent competent people (Headman, supervisor, co-supervisor; another ETH professor of approved co-supervisor, provided a relationship exists between supervisor and the co-supervisors.)

The supervisor and each co-supervisor prepare a written report on the doctoral thesis and forward it to the department before the examination. At D-MAVT the referees are stored in a protected website, which is only accessible to MAVT-professors.

The core examination committee (the chairperson, the superviser and at least one co-examiner) must be present. Further members of the examination committee can be connected over videoconference. Detailed information is available in the Rectorates Directive „Physical presence of the examination committee at doctoral examinations“.

At D-MAVT doctoral examinations are public and can last up to 90 minutes. Room and time of the exam are published. The candidate's presentation should have duration of around 40 minutes, with the remaining time used for questions by the professors and guests especially invited by the Delegate of Doctoral Affairs.

An invitation to the doctoral examination is sent to D-MAVT employees at least 10 days before the examination indicating the time, place, subject of the thesis, supervisor and co-referees.

The language of the doctoral examination can be English or German.

The Examination Committee assesses both the doctoral thesis and the oral examination as passed or failed and informs the Professors Conference as appropriate.

The Professors Conference approves/disapproves the list of the doctoral candidates for the award of the doctoral degree to the study conference.

Registration for Doctoral Exam

Arrange a date for your thesis defense with your supervisor, co-supervisors and the D-MAVT Student Administration. In general, you can request appointments for the next 3-4 months (During the semester preferred on Tuesday afternoon; Outside the semester on Wednesdays).

For a D-MAVT doctoral exam, you need to register with the Doctoral Administration of the Rectorate 21 days (3 weeks) before the date of exam proposed. When registering for the exam you need the duly filled-in exam registration form, provided with the stamp/signature of the department as proof of the completed credit units. You have to hand in a bounded copy of your doctoral thesis, including an abstract in an official language of Switzerland and also in English in front, and a copy of your curriculum vitae at the back of the dissertation as well as a separate copy of your curriculum vitae.

The examination copy is designed for the chairperson of the exam. You, yourself, must remember to provide both your supervisor and co-supervisor(s) with a copy.

Once you have successfully passed your doctoral exam, the following Department Conference will file an application for conferment of the degree with the Rectorate. As soon as this has happened the D-MAVT Student Administration is able to confirm in writing that you have passed your exam, if needed. The ETH Study Conference, occurring shortly after the Department Conference, gives the final approval for all dissertations. When the Study Confer-ence has approved your dissertation, you receive the provisional confirmation stating that your dissertation has been approved by ETH Zurich. You are also required to hand in the deposit copies within 6 months.

You are not authorized to use the doctoral title before you have delivered all deposit copies to the Doctoral Administration of the Rectorate.

Blumer Fund

It is possibile to get reimbursed for (part of) the cost of printing your doctoral thesis. Fill in the Blumer Funds application form and hand it in to the D-MAVT Student Administration with the invoice from the printers and proof of your payment (receipt, or copy of bank/post office statement).

The interest of this fund is distributed among the doctoral students that have finished their doctorate. Since the amount of interest and the number of students applying varies from year to year, we cannot tell you beforehand what sum of money you will receive. The Rectorate usually makes payments in February.