A Doctorate at D-BAUG (2022)

Overview

As mentioned beforehand, your Aptitude Colloquium (AC)

• must take place within 12 months of your provisional admission date.
• has a very strict deadline in myStudies or on your admission letter.

Important:
If the deadline is not met, you get dematriculated.  

To Do

Follow these steps to organize your Aptitude Colloquium (AC) smoothly:

1. Discuss the content and formal expectations and the scheduling of the AC well in advance with your thesis supervisor.
2. The committee for the AC (“Aptitude Committee”) is composed exclusively of the following three, mandatory members, as defined in Art. 6 of the D-BAUG Detailed Stipulations: the Chairperson, the thesis Supervisor, and the second Advisor.
   Please note that only the members of the Aptitude Committee are authorized to examine and evaluate the doctoral candidate.
3. In addition, the doctoral candidate, thesis supervisor, and second advisor may jointly invite up to two additional experts to attend the AC.
   These guests should be experts in the research field of the doctoral thesis and may contribute subject-specific input during or after the colloquium. However, they do not participate in the assessment of the colloquium and are not considered part of the Aptitude Committee.
4. The names of these additional attendees must be shared with the Chairperson in advance of the colloquium. A minimum of three days advance notice is recommended. No further administrative approval or involvement by Doctoral Administration D-BAUG is required.
5. Two months before your colloquium deadline, request the name of your Chairperson from the Doctoral Administration D-BAUG.
   Important: Do not contact a potential Chairperson with a fixed time slot, you should involve them directly in finding a suitable date.
6. Once assigned, contact your Chairperson via email and introduce yourself, including your name, professorship, and the title of your research project.
7. Send an online (Doodle, Nuudel…) poll to the Chairperson, thesis supervisor, and second advisor to coordinate a date—ideally at least two months before the deadline.
8. After confirming the date, send an Outlook calendar invitation to the committee members and, if any are foreseen, to the additional experts you agreed to invite.
   Note that the availability of any additional experts should not complicate the fixing of the exam date, for which their participation is entirely voluntary.
9. Complete the online form with full details of the colloquium, including the Zoom link if applicable.
   Note: This form is sufficient for the Doctoral Administration D-BAUG. There is no need to copy them on your other correspondence.

The Doctoral Administration D-BAUG will send the official result sheet to the Chairperson in due course, copying you and your supervisor.

Duration of the Aptitude Colloquium:
The colloquium typically lasts 90 minutes, consisting of:

• a presentation of the doctoral plan (recommended max. 30 minutes)
• a question-and-answer session led by the committee (recommended 30–45 minutes)
• an internal deliberation by the committee (closed discussion without the candidate)

Thus, kindly ensure that everyone reserves about 90 minutes for your AC.

Confidentiality and Format:

• The AC is considered a formal examination, comparable in nature to BSc/MSc oral exams at ETH Zurich.
• The AC is thus not public, and attendance is limited to the official committee and, if applicable, the invited non-voting experts (maximum two).

Tasks of the Aptitude Committee:

• assesses the research objectives and overall quality of the doctoral plan,
• evaluates the candidate’s ability to conduct independent research and complete a doctoral thesis,
• delivers a formal result of “passed” or “failed”, and
• provides comments on additional elements of the doctoral plan (e.g., teaching duties, extended studies).
  (Note: These comments are separate from the formal evaluation.)

After the Colloquium:

• The Chairperson communicates the result of the AC to Doctoral Administration D-BAUG.
• Doctoral Administration D-BAUG forwards this information to the ETH Zurich Doctoral Administration.
• Upon successful completion, you will receive official confirmation of your definitive admission to the doctorate.

What if I fail?

• You may repeat the Aptitude Colloquium once, provided your thesis supervisor agrees.
• The repetition must occur within three months of the first result.
• Your supervisor may refuse a repetition only if all three committee members unanimously assessed the first attempt as “failed.”

What if I cannot meet the AC deadline?

• In rare cases, an extension of the deadline may be granted by the Vice Rector for Doctoral Studies.
• In such cases, a formal, substantiated request (including a statement from your thesis supervisor) must be submitted.
  The form must also be signed by the Head of the Doctoral Committee D-BAUG and submitted via the Doctoral Administration D-BAUG.

Legal Basis

Art. 12-17, Ordinance on the Doctorate at ETH Zurich

Art. 4, Rector's Implementation Provisions

Art. 6, Detailed Stipulation D-BAUG

Overview

12 credit points:

• to develop knowledge in the field of your doctoral thesis
• compulsory "Ethics and Scientific Integrity course"; one course offered by D-BAUG every semester; other courses available
  
• different categories that you need to take courses in, see Art. 10.3 for overview
• see courses under "D-BAUG subject specialisation, transferable skills etc." and regular course catalogue
  
• aside from conferences or summer/winter schools in your specific field, credits can also be collected through:
  Continuing Education at ETH
  Courses offered by the ETH Library
  "Master Your Doctorate": write and publish
  
• credits will show in transcript, based on your final LAG version

Learning Agreement (LAG):

• produced in myStudies
• summarizes performance achievements for final transcript at end of doctorate
  
• serves as working/planning tool during doctorate
• allows for external courses, too (see To Do hereunder)
  
• final LAG (min. 12 credits achieved) to be approved by thesis supervisor
• finalized LAG to be sent to Dr-Admin D-BAUG (via button: "Request completion of doctoral studies")
  

Transcript:

• after submission of your deposit copies to Academic Services
  
• issued by Academic Services of ETH Zurich

To Do, in chronological order

within the first 12 months of your doctorate, i.e. before your AC:

• discuss collection of planned 12 credit points with thesis supervisor
• in myStudies, produce tentative LAG (only working tool, at this stage)

with regard to academic performances outside ETH, you have two options

• either via myStudies: under Performance Assessments, "Transfer of Approved Study Achievements from other Institutions" to get the exact course/event description on your transcript; upload of confirmation included
  
• or via our

latest 3 -4 months before your doctoral examination:

• make sure to finalize LAG for confirmation by Doctoral Administration D-BAUG
  
• refer to separate "Doctoral Examination" page for all further steps leading up to your examination (incl. registration of doctoral examination)

after your promotion request got approved at a Department Conference (DK):

• deliver deposit copies to Academic Services 
• receive transcript of your academic record
  

Legal Basis

Implementation Provisions, Art. 10 onwards (German version is legally binding).

Annual Status Conversation with Progress Report

Overview

After definitive admission, a written progress report must be submitted to the doctoral thesis supervisor each year.

The progress report must describe the following:

• status and anticipated progress of research work
• any significant deviations from the research objectives set out in the doctoral plan

The individual annual status conversation must include the following:

• discussion and assessment of research progress (based on progress report)
  
• determination of next steps
• progress of doctoral studies
• working situation in the research group
• personal development possibilities and the corresponding measures if required

To Do

• The progress report and the report on the status conversation must be submitted to the second advisor (and possibly additional experts) for information purposes.
• The doctoral thesis supervisor and the doctoral student are both obliged to store progress reports and the respective status conversation reports until the time of dematriculation. -- If legal proceedings are pending the documents must be retained until a legal ruling has been issued.

NOTE: The annual status conversation comprises two separate parts:
1. Scientific progress
2. Evaluation of career and personal development

The first part of the discussion addresses the doctorate and the research project.
Involving the second advisor in the first part is recommended. Further experts in the field may also take part.

The second part of the discussion is conducted as a development interview which involves mutual feedback and addresses the further development of competences. This part concerns the doctoral thesis supervisor and the doctoral student only and is confidential.

Here is the form.

Legal Basis

Art. 29, ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate

Art. 9, Rector's Implementation Provisions

See separate website "Doctoral Examination", comprising comprehensive information for a smooth wrap-up of your doctorate.