Joint doctoral programme (joint thesis supervision as part of joint degree programme)

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Depending on your research topic, a joint doctoral programme (as part of a joint degree programme) may be the appropriate choice for you. This not only involves having two PhD supervisors; it also influences each stage of your doctoral studies and the associated requirements. The second supervisor will be from a university accredited to confer doctoral degrees, which may be another university within or outside the French Community of Belgium.

Under the joint doctoral programme, both universities can issue a doctoral degree at the same time on the basis of the same research work. Consequently, to be awarded a degree by each university, you must have met the scientific and academic requirements of each institution by completing a full programme of doctoral studies at both.

This entails a large amount of organisation and coordination, with each university making a relatively balanced contribution.

To exercise this particular option, you will need to draw up an agreement specifying the doctoral regulations of both institutions and describing the practical organisational aspects of your joint degree programme.

Practical aspects

The joint doctoral programme (as part of a joint degree programme) requires:

  • admission to and enrolment at both universities for the purpose of obtaining a doctoral degree from each;
  • a joint academic supervisory panel that includes your two supervisors;
  • doctoral training activities that can be validated in each university;
  • a research topic that will form the subject of a single thesis;
  • spending a minimum of 25% of your research time within a research team in each institution;
  • joint final thesis evaluations;
  • a single PhD examination board for the purpose of awarding a doctoral degree from each university.

Are you thinking of doing your doctoral research at UCL in the form of a joint doctoral programme with another university?

When you submit your PhD admission application to the relevant CDD, you will be able to propose – in consultation with your UCL supervisor – the name of a second supervisor and your wish to carry out your research as part of a joint doctoral programme.

To officially submit an application for a joint doctoral programme, you must:

  • complete the application form and send it to your PhD Programme Manager
  • draft, with the assistance of your two supervisors, a joint doctoral programme agreement using either the UCL Model Agreement for a joint doctoral programme  in FR) or the model provided by the partner university, ensuring that the specific UCL sections are added to the latter.

You will also have to complete the same formalities for the other university at the same time.