Doctorates at the D-GESS

The department does not arrange for doctoral positions. You can read here how to proceed in principle. Please consult the websites of our professorships to see which doctoral positions are available at D-GESS.
 

ETH Zurich | Registration/Admission Doctorate

As a rule, doctoral students at D-GESS are not required by the department to complete extended doctoral studies. However, the supervisor of the doctoral thesis may impose an extended doctoral programme at his or her discretion and inform the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS accordingly. In addition, the rectorate may also insist on extended doctoral studies if, for example, the candidate's qualifications are not sufficient.

The definition of an external thesis project can be found here.
At D-GESS, external thesis projects must first be approved by the Doctoral Committee of D-GESS and then by the Department Conference. Enrolment and employment can only take place following the decision of the Department Conference.
 

The following regulations concerning the research plan apply to all doctoral students at ETH Zurich:
ETH Zurich | Qualifying exams & Research plan – Student portal
At D-GESS, the provisions listed under the tab “Submit research plan” on the website also apply.

The doctoral plan must be submitted as a PDF file by at least two weeks before the qualifying colloquium. In terms of content and structure, it must be in accordance with the Download D-GESS template (PDF, 920 KB) (LINK).
Together with the thesis supervisor, the doctoral candidate is responsible for compliance with the deadlines and for the completeness of the information.

Second advisors of doctoral theses are usually professors at ETH Zurich or at another university. Senior scientists and senior assistants (Oberassistenten) may also be second advisors of a doctoral thesis if they are not employed at the same professorship as the thesis supervisor.
The notification of the appointment of the second supervisor must be sent by e-mail to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS using this Download form (PDF, 180 KB) at least two weeks before the qualifying colloquium.

Doctoral students are responsible for organising the aptitude colloquium (arranging dates with the aptitude committee, booking rooms, organising of D-GESS. The chairperson cannot be actively involved in the supervision of the doctoral thesis. He or she must be a member of the ETH Zurich professorial staff, e.g., a member of the Doctoral Committee of D-GESS. As some specialist knowledge of the subject matter is required, it is advisable to choose a professor from the field to which the doctoral thesis pertains. The doctoral students notify the Doctoral Administration Office D-GESS of the date and the composition of the aptitude committee at least 14 days before the planned execution using Download the report form Aptitude Colloquium (PDF, 2.6 MB). 
The chairperson of the aptitude committee prepares the minutes of the aptitude colloquium by using Download the assessement sheet (PDF, 2.6 MB) and submits them to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS.  

In addition to the chairperson and the doctoral thesis supervisor, the examination committee for the doctoral exam shall consist of at least two co-examiners.
The thesis supervisor requests the doctoral committee to approve the co-examiners. This application consists of an , to which a link with relevant information or a CV of the respective person must be attached.
The co-examiners can already be registered once the candidate has passed the aptitude colloquium, however, they must have been appointed at least three months before the doctoral exam.

Please note: Doctoral students who were provisionally admitted before 1/1/2022 may choose between the old and new regulations for doctoral studies.

General information:

You can access basic information on doctoral studies here.
For the acquisition of the 12 ECTS credits in the doctoral studies programme, the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate, Art. 34–36, and the Rector’s Implementation Provisions, Art. 10, apply. These are supplemented by the D-GESS Detailed Stipulations.
For the acquisition of all ECTS credits, either a performance assessment must be passed or an active, verifiable contribution must be made. As a general rule, 1 ECTS credit point corresponds to a workload of 25–30 hours. The ECTS credits specified in the course catalogue cannot be fully credited in every case. Please refer to the Rector’s Implementation Provisions for the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate for definitive information.

Regulations at D-GESS:

The D-GESS Detailed Regulations, Art. 5, apply.
Participation in seminars or courses of the individual professorship, such as group meetings, retreats etc. cannot be credited to the doctoral programme. Departmental and doctoral colloquia at D-GESS can be credited with a total of 1 ECTS, provided that an individual presentation was given in the course of the colloquium. A list of colloquia that are eligible for ECTS can be found Download here (PDF, 114 KB).
No later than three months before the doctoral exam, the following documents are to be sent via of D-GESS:
1. an overview of attained credits, categorized to indicate the three areas (sample template if applicable),
2. confirmation from the thesis supervisor that the credits have been earned in accordance with the applicable rules, and
3. appropriate documentation proving the attainment of credits (MyStudies extract, certificates with ECTS information or indication of workload, etc.).

Doctoral students who have been definitively admitted must submit a written progress report to the thesis supervisor for the annual status conversation (ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate, Art. 29).
Further information on the progress report, and potential templates for reporting as well as for the status conversation, can be found here.

General information on cumulative doctoral theses can be found here.
Furthermore, the Detailed Regulations of D-GESS, Art. 7 (LINK), apply.
The Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS must receive all signed authorship declarations for co-authored parts of the doctoral thesis no later than three months before the doctoral exam.

The examination committee consists of the chairperson of the examination committee, the supervisor of the doctoral thesis, and at least two co-examiners.
The chairperson of the examination committee is usually a member of the Doctoral Committee and, if possible, should belong to a different research area of the D-GESS than the thesis supervisor. To appoint a chairperson for the doctoral examination, doctoral students should contact the Doctoral  Administration Office of D-GESS. To be able to appoint a chairperson, candidates must show evidence that they have completed their doctoral studies and have agreed a date with the thesis supervisor and the co-examiners.
The thesis supervisor discloses possible conflicts of interest between them, other members of the examination committee and the doctoral candidate three months before the exam. The signed Download form (PDF, 159 KB) is submitted to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS by e-mail.

The Detailed Stipulations of D-GESS, Art. 9 (LINK), apply.

The following points must be completed no later than three months before the exam:

• Proof of attainment of the required ECTS credits during the doctoral studies programme.
• Confirmation of the appointment of the co-examiners.
• In the case of a cumulative doctoral thesis: submission of all authorship declarations.
• The thesis supervisor submits the signed Download conflict of interest form (PDF, 159 KB).

Prior to the exam, the following matters must also be organised by the doctoral candidate:

• Set a date for the exam together with the thesis supervisor and the co-examiners
• Request the appointment of a chairperson of the examination committee from the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS
• Book a room or organise a Zoom conference with the help of the external page Multimedia Service Team. 
• Before registering for the doctoral exam, the doctoral candidate sends the doctoral thesis to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS. This version will be made available to the examination committee. This should be done no later than three weeks before the exam date to be able to meet the registration deadline.

The registration for the doctoral exam must be submitted to the central Doctoral Administration Office of ETH at least 15 working days before the exam date. Please find further information about the registration and implementation of the doctoral exam here.
The Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS confirms the doctorate on the Download registration form (PDF, 725 KB), provided that proof of attaining the 12 ECTS points has been submitted in advance.
 

General guidelines on the doctoral thesis can be found here.
After registering for the doctoral exam, the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS will contact the examination committee and ask them to prepare the reviews. The reviewers are requested to submit their reviews no later than one week before the doctoral exam. In the case of a cumulative doctoral thesis, the examination committee will also receive the authorship declarations at the same time.
The co-examiners and the thesis supervisor each write an evaluation of the doctoral thesis that clearly states whether they consider the doctoral thesis to be accepted or rejected. These experts’ reports include assessments of the following points:

• Scientific quality, contribution of the thesis to current research;
• Linguistic quality of the doctoral thesis;
• Independence of the candidate’s scientific contribution in the case of a cumulative doctoral thesis;
• Basic assessment of the doctoral thesis as “accepted” or “rejected” (distinctions are not awarded at ETH Zurich);
• If revisions are to be made (“accepted conditionally”), the requirements to be fulfilled by the candidate must be clearly indicated;
• The reports should carry the official letterhead of the expert’s institution and be signed (an electronic signature is sufficient).

The reports are confidential according to Article 42 of the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate. Only the members of the examination committee have access to the reports. After completion of the doctoral procedure, doctoral candidates may, upon request, inspect reports that concern their own doctoral thesis.
Before the exam, the reports may only be sent to the Doctoral Administration Office of the D-GESS and must be available at least one week prior to the doctoral exam. The Doctoral Administration Office then distributes the reports to all members of the examination committee as a basis for preparing the doctoral exam. If the reports are not available to the members of the examination committee in time, the
chairperson may postpone the doctoral exam.
If the doctoral thesis is rejected on the basis of the expert evaluations, the chairperson of the examination committee shall immediately inform the doctoral candidate of the rejection of the doctoral thesis in writing. In this case, the doctoral exam does not take place.

First, the doctoral candidate gives a 30-minute presentation on the doctoral thesis. This is followed by an oral exam of at least 60 minutes by the examination committee. The presentation and oral exam are open to the public. Afterwards, the examination committee will deliberate, excluding the candidate and the public. The result of the doctoral exam is announced immediately afterwards.

The examination committee assesses
a. whether the doctoral thesis is accepted or rejected;
b. whether the candidate has passed or failed the doctoral exam.

All members of the examination committee are entitled to examine the candidate. The committee reaches its decision by majority vote; in the event of a tie, the chairperson has the deciding vote.
The result is recorded in writing, including any requirements. The chairperson forwards the result to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS (Download minutes (PDF, 968 KB) of the doctoral exam).
The Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS shall inform the doctoral candidate in writing – with a copy to the Doctoral Administration Office of ETH – of the following:
a. If applicable, which requirements have been mandated, to whom these must be submitted, and the deadline for the revision of the thesis (max. 6 months).
b. Information on the deadline for repeating the doctoral exam (if failed).
c. Information on the possibility of requesting an appealable decree if the doctoral thesis is rejected or conditionally accepted, or if the candidate failed the doctoral exam.

Doctoral students who fail the doctoral exam may repeat it once within six months.
 

If the candidate has passed the doctoral exam, the next Department Conference will decide on awarding the doctoral degree. If additional requirements for the doctoral thesis have been mandated, the application is only submitted to the Department Conference once these conditions
have been fulfilled.
After the Department has approved the doctoral degree, the Doctoral Administration Office of ETH completes the process. Enquiries about the final steps can be addressed to: .

Information on the provisional confirmation of the doctorate, the submission of deposit copies, the doctoral degree certificate and the doctoral graduation ceremony can be found here.
Information on potential certified copies and confirmations concerning your doctoral degree can be found here.
For doctoral students who enrolled after 1/1/2022, Academic Services will issue doctoral students with a doctoral degree certificate after they have handed in the deposit copies.
 

ETH Zurich | Student Portal: Change of supervisor & change of department

ETH Zurich | Student Portal: Duration of doctoral studies 

ETH Zurich | Student Portal: Withdrawal from doctoral studies