GESS Detailed Stipulations

Detailed Stipulations Regarding the Doctorate at D-GESS

of 27.01.2022

The Executive Board of ETH Zurich, at the request of the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences of ETH Zurich and based on Art. 52 of the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate of 23 November 2021 enacts the following detailed stipulations regarding the doctorate:

Section 1 – General provisions

Art. 1 Scope and purpose

These detailed stipulations govern the department-specific details for the doctorate at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences of ETH Zurich (D-GESS). They are based on the general regulations of the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate (DO) of 23 November 2021 and on the Rector’s Implementation Provisions (IP) for the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate of 23 November 2021.
The measures described below are intended to help ensure the quality of doctoral theses completed at D-GESS. The quality of the doctoral theses depends on the doctoral students, the supervision they receive and the research project.

Section 2 – Admission to the doctorate

Art. 2 Doctoral plan (cf. DO art. 11, IP no. 3)

The doctoral plan must be submitted to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS no later than two weeks prior to the aptitude colloquium.
For the doctoral plan, the applicant must use the template provided on the D-GESS website.
Doctoral students and thesis supervisors are responsible for compliance with the deadlines and for the completeness of the information.
If a doctoral plan is not submitted on time or is incomplete, the chairperson of the aptitude committee may cancel the aptitude colloquium.

Art. 3 Aptitude colloquium (cf. DO art. 12–16, IP sec. 4)

The doctoral students are responsible for organising the aptitude colloquium.
The aptitude colloquium lasts at least 30 minutes. During the aptitude colloquium, the candidate presents his / her research project for at least 15 minutes and then answers questions from the aptitude committee and, if applicable, from other persons present.
The chairperson prepares the minutes of the aptitude colloquium and submits them to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS.

Section 3 – Supervision of the doctorate

Art. 4 Second advisor (cf. DO art. 28)

Second advisors of doctoral theses are usually professors at ETH Zurich or at another university. Senior scientists and senior assistants may also be second advisors of a doctoral thesis if they are not employed at the same professorship as the thesis supervisor.
The Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS must be notified of the appointment of the second advisor no later than two weeks before the aptitude colloquium.

Section 4 – Individual doctoral studies

Art. 5 Regular doctoral studies (cf. DO art. 34–36, IP para. 10)

The doctoral candidate and the thesis supervisor are responsible for complying with the rules of the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate (Art. 33, 35) and its Implementation Provisions (Sections 10.1 to 10.3) regarding the creditability and verifiability of the ECTS credits required for the doctoral studies. In cases of doubt, the decision lies with the chairperson of the Doctoral Committee.
On its website, D-GESS lists the departmental or doctoral colloquia (which include presentations) that can be credited to the doctoral programme according to section 10.3 d) of the Implementation Provisions for the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate.
Upon reaching the required 12 ECTS credits, and no later than three months before the doctoral examination, doctoral candidates shall submit to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS an overview of attained credits as well as a confirmation from the thesis supervisor that the credits have been earned in accordance with the applicable rules.

Section 5 – Doctoral thesis and doctoral examination

Art. 6 External doctoral theses (cf. DO art. 25, IP no. 6)

External doctoral thesis projects must be approved by the Doctoral Committee as part of the admission process to the doctorate.
In particular, a doctoral thesis may be designated as external if a doctoral candidate collects data at a private institution or a university outside the ETH Domain or analyses data collected there. In cases of doubt, the Doctoral Committee shall decide whether a thesis project qualifies as an external doctoral thesis.

Art. 7 Cumulative doctoral theses (cf. IP para. 11.2)

A cumulative doctoral thesis consists of at least three individual scientific papers as well as an introduction and a conclusion, which place the individual scientific papers in a context and, in the case of co-authored individual scientific papers or chapters, identify the candidate’s individual scientific contribution.
For a cumulative doctoral thesis, the doctoral candidate must be the first author of at least three individual papers/chapters. Further papers/chapters do not have to be written in first authorship. All papers/chapters of a cumulative doctoral thesis may be co-authored.
In cases of doubt, the Doctoral Committee shall decide whether a paper/chapter qualifies as having been written in first authorship, taking into account the circumstances of the doctoral candidate’s respective subject area.
In addition to the chairperson, the examination committee must include two further members who are not co-authors of any of the individual scientific papers/chapters submitted.
If a member of the examination committee has co-authored one of the submitted scientific papers/chapters, this member must restrict him- or herself in the review and examination of this paper/chapter to comments on the quantity and quality of the doctoral candidate’s contribution.
For all co-authored individual scientific papers, the doctoral candidate must submit an «Authorship Declaration and Confirmation» (hereafter called authorship declaration), which can be obtained from the D-GESS website, no later than three months before the doctoral examination. The Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS will only process the application for the doctoral examination once the duly completed authorship declaration has been submitted. This declaration will be made available to the members of the examination committee.

Art. 8 Appointment and authorisation of co-examiners (cf. DO art. 40, IP para. 11.3)

In addition to the chairperson and the doctoral thesis supervisor, the examination committee shall consist of at least two co-examiners.
The chairperson of the examination committee is usually a member of the Doctoral Committee. If possible, he or she should belong to a different research area of the D-GESS than the thesis supervisor.
The Doctoral Committee approves the co-examiners suggested by the thesis supervisor via the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS. They may be appointed successively once the aptitude colloquium has been passed and must be appointed no later than three months prior to the doctoral examination.
The thesis supervisor shall disclose possible conflicts of interest between them, other members of the examination committee and the doctoral candidate on a D-GESS form three months before the examination.

Art. 9 Procedure before the doctoral examination and submission of examination copies and reports (cf. DO art. 39, 41 and 42, IP sec. 11.4, 11.8)

Doctoral candidates shall be responsible for organising their doctoral examination.
No later than one month before the doctoral examination, the doctoral candidate shall submit the doctoral thesis to be examined (also called examination copy) as a PDF file to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS.
The Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS confirms the attained credit points listed in the application on the basis of the correctly submitted overview of attained credits (cf. art. 5).
After registration for the examination, the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS will send the examination copy (para. 2) to the members of the committee for the preparation of their reviews. These must be written independently of each other and submitted to the Doctoral Administration Office of D-GESS no later than one week before the examination date.
If the reports of the members of the examination committee are not available in time, the chairperson may postpone the doctoral examination.

Art. 10 Doctoral examination (and presentation) (cf. DO art. 39, IP sec. 11.6 and 11.7)

First, the doctoral candidate shall give a 30-minute presentation on the doctoral thesis. This is followed by an oral examination of at least 60 minutes by the examination committee. The presentation and oral examination are public.
If the examination committee comes to the conclusion in its deliberations that the doctoral thesis can only be accepted subject to revision (Implementation Regulations for the Doctorate, section 10.9), the examination committee shall determine the necessary points and the deadline for revision. It also determines whether the revision must be accepted by the supervisor or by the entire committee.

Section 6 – Final provisions

Art. 11 Transitional provisions

Doctoral students who complete their individual doctoral studies under the previous regulations in accordance with DO Art. 65, follow the provisions set out in Annex 1.

Art. 12 Entry into force

These detailed stipulations enter into force retroactively as of 01.01.2022. They replace the detailed stipulations of the D-GESS on doctoral studies of 8 January 2009.

Application of the salary rates

The salary rates for doctoral students are applied in accordance with art. 8 para. 3 of the Ordinance Governing Scientific Employees of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, in conjunction with no. 1 para. 3 of the Directives for Doctoral Students Employed at ETH Zurich.

D-GESS is responsible for applying the salary rates as stipulated by the standard employment conditions for scientific staff at D-GESS. These are published on the website.

-----

Appendix 1

Detailed Provisions for the Doctorate at D-GESS 2009 - 2021

General provisions

The department delegates to the head of the doctoral programme the task of compiling, together with the doctoral candidate, a course of doctoral studies that is appropriate for the individual and the subject matter in accordance with the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate of 1 July 2008.
For external doctorates, i.e., those undertaken outside the ETH Domain, a doctoral programme of equivalent quality should be compiled that is appropriate to the individual circumstances.
It is the responsibility of the thesis supervisor to monitor the evidence of credits attained during the course of doctoral studies, to ensure that any related documentation can be verified and to confirm that all regulatory requirements have been met before the doctoral candidate registers for the doctoral examination.

Special provisions

At least four credits should be attained by attending regular courses at ETH Zurich.
Candidates who are not pursuing a doctorate in their original discipline must attain at least two credits in courses from the complementary discipline, depending on their previous field of study (social sciences/humanities or natural sciences/engineering).
One credit each per congress attendance may be attained for seminar papers or poster presentations given at non-ETH scientific congresses. Up to a maximum of two credits for the doctoral programme can be attained in this category.
For attendance of summer schools and other continuing educational programmes of a scientific nature, up to six credits may be credited towards the doctoral programme. As a general rule of thumb, one-third of a credit can be attained for each day of the course.
Active participation (e.g., in the form of presentations or co-presentations) in seminars or colloquia organised by the Department or the professorship may be credited as up to half a credit per semester. A maximum of two credits may be attained in this way.
Actively assisting in ETH courses (e.g., leading exercises/tutorials) may count as one credit per course. A maximum of two credits may be attained in this way.
Up to two credits can be attained by attending language courses.
By serving on one or more ETH Zurich committees, up to half a credit per semester can be earned. No more than two credits may be attained in this way.
Work that serves to fulfil any additional requirements within the scope of the ETH Doctoral Studies Ordinance cannot be credited to the doctoral programme.
Work undertaken as part of previous BA and MA or BSc and MSc degree courses cannot be credited to the doctoral programme.

Evidence of academic achievement

Recognition of credits attained in the doctoral programme requires evidence of academic achievements. This evidence can be in the form of grades, assessments (pass/fail), or confirmations (if possible in the form of a letter) of the doctoral candidate’s attendance of, or assistance with, a summer school, course, committee, etc. As a general rule, all work that goes towards attaining credits must be recorded in a way that is transparent, comprehensible and verifiable.

Exceptions

Should there be any cases of hardship regarding the recommendations listed above, the Head of Department shall decide, at the request of the thesis supervisor, whether specific achievements may be credited to the doctoral programme.

Progress reports

In addition to the annual progress reports referred to in the ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate (Art. 15.3), if a doctoral thesis has not been completed after four years, the doctoral candidate together with the thesis supervisor shall prepare a progress report for the attention of the Doctoral Committee.

Zurich, 8 January 2009

Approved by the Rector:
Prof. Dr. Heidi Wunderli-Allenspach