Doctoral examination
The D-MAVT Doctoral Administration organizes the doctoral examination after receiving a Downloadwritten request (PDF, 169 KB)vertical_align_bottom regarding potential dates and kind of exam (virtual, hybrid or in-person).
To identify possible dates together with supervisor and co-examiners is the responsibility of the doctoral students.
The D-MAVT Doctoral Administration then identifies a chairperson according to the following order of priorities:
- the Delegate for Doctoral Affairs;
- a member of previous Department Boards;
- or, as an exception, a full professor of D-MAVT.
The Doctoral Administration informs the candidate, the doctoral thesis supervisor, the chairperson and the co-examiners of the date, time and room (or zoom) as well as of the deadlines for delivery of the documents.
The doctoral candidate sends the preliminary version (electronic) of his/her thesis to all co-examiners. Please note that the Department does not need the preliminary thesis version.
Registering at the ETH Zurich Doctoral administration
The candidate has to hand in (paper or electronic) to D-MAVT Doctoral Administration at least 21 (calendar) days before the doctoral examination the registration documents:
- The form "DownloadRegistration for the doctoral examination (PDF, 1.3 MB)vertical_align_bottom"
- Attestation of the credits obtained at ETH (studies overview, print from MyStudies)
- Form 'Course participation certificate for doctoral students' for credits achieved outside ETH, signed by the supervisor
- Preliminary Thesis title page (PDF) as described in the DownloadTemplate of doctoral thesis title page (PDF, 33 KB)vertical_align_bottom
- Preliminary Thesis (electronic version of the thesis as a PDF)
- Curriculum vitae
The D-MAVT Doctoral Administration will check and confirm that the doctoral studies (regular/extended) have been completed and forward it to ETH Doctoral Administration. The registration confirmation and thesis number will be directly sent to the candidate by ETH after processing.
D-MAVT doctoral exam consists of a public presentation (30-40 minutes), followed by a private exam without guests, which lasts 60-90 minutes. The doctoral exam is private by default. If the doctoral student and thesis supervisor agree in advance, a maximum of ten guests may be present during the exam.
The exam can be entirely remote or hybrid or with physical attendance. The language of the presentation and doctoral examination can be English or German (to be specified before the organization of the doctoral exam starts).
The examination committee is composed of the following persons:
- A chairperson
- The doctoral thesis supervisor
- At least one co-examiner
- A further independent expert if there is any relationship of dependence between the thesis supervisor and the co-examiner(s)
From 1.01.2024 an external Prof. Dr. has to be part of the examination committee.
The examination committee decides:
- if the doctoral thesis is accepted (with or without a required revision) or rejected
- if the oral doctoral examination is passed or failed.
All co-examiners have a vote. The committee takes its decision by majority vote; in the event of a tie, the chairperson has the casting vote. The result is recorded in writing. Immediately after the doctoral examination, the chairperson of the examination informs the doctoral student verbally about the assessment of the doctoral thesis and of the oral doctoral examination, signs the report and submits it to the D-MAVT Doctoral Administration.
If the doctoral examination is failed, the retake must take place within six months after the first attempt. Only one retake is allowed.
If the doctoral thesis has been accepted with revisions, it can be revised once. The committee defines which changes are to be made, the deadline for the changes to be implemented (within six months), and the committee member(s) responsible for verifying that the changes have been made. The D-MAVT Doctoral Administration informs the doctoral student in writing about the following details:
- Points for revision of the doctoral thesis (if required) and deadline for revision;
- Information on the deadline for repeating the doctoral examination (if failed);
- Reference to the possibility of appeal (if the doctoral thesis was rejected or accepted (with conditions) or the doctoral examination was not passed).
To promote award nominations, the examination committee considers the qualifications of each candidate with respect to a potential nomination for an outstanding thesis award (ETH Medal or industrial awards). If the candidate is considered for nomination, the committee documents the reasons for nomination by completing a separate form. The decision of the committee is confidential within the examination committee and later in the award committees. The doctoral thesis supervisor is responsible for deciding about the final nomination and for preparing the nomination documents.
All students who enrolled before 1 January 2022, need to submit their Annual Report every year; the first one is submitted with the Research Plan, all subsequent ones follow in yearly intervals by the same date as the first one. For all new students, the Annual Report will be integrated into the forms of the yearly progress and appraisal conversation.
Coursework:
Doctoral students whose research plan has been approved before 1 January 2022 continue as before with their classes and are welcome (but not required) to earn some of their 12 credits in courses on good scientific practice. Doctoral students enrolled after 1 January 2022 must complete acquire their credits with the three main goals of acquiring subject-specific competencies, transferable skills, and integration into the scientific community. 1 credit must be acquired by attending a course on good scientific practice and ethics. All others (i.e., doctoral students provisionally admitted before 1 January 2022, whose research plan has not been submitted yet) can choose whether they would like to complete their doctoral studies according to Art. 36 of the new ordinance or if they would like to follow the previous regulations.