Doctoral examination
At the end of the doctorate, doctoral students take their doctoral examination, in which they have to defend the results of their doctoral thesis and demonstrate their knowledge of the subject area. This examination lasts at least 1 hour.
In addition to the doctoral examination, a presentation on the research project of the doctoral thesis can be given. If a presentation takes place, it does not shorten the time of the oral examination itself.
The departments regulate the modalities of the doctoral examination in their detailed stipulations regarding the doctorate (including the organisation and procedure and the extent to which the doctoral examination is public).
To register for the doctoral examination, the registration form and a copy of the title page of the doctoral thesis with the complete list of the examination committee must be submitted to the central doctoral administration at least 15 working days before the examination date.
The following must be done BEFORE registering for the doctoral examination:
- All members of the examination committee must be confirmed. External co-examiners in particular must be confirmed by the departmental conference before registering for the examination
- Doctoral students must obtain proof from the department that they have completed their doctoral studies in full.
- Doctoral students must submit their doctoral thesis to the departmental doctoral administration office in advance. There they will also receive information about the form (physical or digital) and deadline in which the doctoral thesis must be submitted.
The examination committee is composed of the following persons:
- A chairperson
- The doctoral thesis supervisor as examiner
- 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)
The Head of the responsible department names the chairperson. The chairperson must be a member of the Professors’ Conference of an ETH Zurich department.
The doctoral committee names the co-examiner(s) at the request of the doctoral thesis supervisor, subject to the following points:
- If the doctoral thesis supervisor is not a professor, at least one co-examiner must be an ETH Zurich professor.
Mandatory for doctoral exams as of January 1, 2024:
- At least one co-examiner must come from outside ETH Zurich and be a proven expert in the area of the doctoral thesis.
The following are eligible for election as external co-examiners:
- Active professors from other universities, or
- Persons who are proven experts in the area of the doctoral thesis and are equivalent to professors in this
(example: a research director from a research institution in the ETH domain, a Max-Planck institute or a Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique).
Not included are persons from universities of applied sciences or private industry with the corresponding expertise. They may, however, be appointed as additional members of the examination committee.
Ordinance on Doctoral Studies ETH Zurich Art. 39 / Implementation Provisions Art. 11.6
The physical presence of the examination committee or the doctoral student at the doctoral examination is not compulsory. The participants may attend via video link. The departments may set out rules in their own detailed stipulations regarding the doctorate as to the minimum amount of presence they require. Whether physical or via video link: all members of the examination committee must participate in the examination.
If examination committee members and/or the doctoral student take part by video link, two-way communication – both video and audio – must be guaranteed during the entire duration of the examination. Responsibility for the functioning of the video link lies with the examination organiser and the connected person(s). If two-way communication via video or audio is not or is no longer possible, it is the duty of the examination chairperson to interrupt the examination and to organise a date to resume it. The examination chairperson decides whether to restart the examination from the beginning, or whether it can be resumed from the point at which it was interrupted.
The examination committee evaluates the examination as "passed" or "failed". If the examination is passed, the committee also advises whether and which corrections are to be made in the revision of the doctoral thesis (e.g. more detailed descriptions of results, additions of discussion points as well as spelling and grammatical errors).
If the oral examination is not passed, the Chair of the examination committee shall inform the doctoral student in writing of the next steps and inform him or her of the new date for the oral examination. The deadlines may not exceed 6 months. The central doctoral administration office and the relevant departmental conference must be informed in writing of the arrangements made with the candidate.
The Download Directive on payment for taking part in performance assessments at ETH Zurich (German only) (PDF, 82 KB) states that the payment for external co-examiners of theses, including attending the doctoral examination where applicable, must be CHF 400. This excludes co-examiners who are employed in the ETH Domain or at the University of Zurich. The payment is made by the professorship responsible for supervising the thesis.
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