Thesis supervisors/co-supervisors

Thesis supervisors/co-supervisors

Regulations for Doctoral Studies (Art. 14) / Implementation Provisions (Point 5)

Usually, the doctoral thesis is supervised by a professor as indicated under Article 1 of the Decree on the Faculty of the Federal Institutes of Technology (PDF, 502 kB) or an SNF professor at ETH. Senior lecturers and honorary professors employed at ETH Zurich can supervise doctoral theses. This must, however, be approved by the Department.

The following prerequisites must be fulfilled if a doctoral thesis is supervised by an ETH Zurich senior lecturer or honorary professor:

• Foreseen supervisors must have full-time employment at ETH in education and research
• A workplace must be available for the doctoral student
• The financial resources and equipment necessary for the doctoral student must be guaranteed
• The relevant form (PDF, 63 kB) must be approved by the Head of Department

The supervisor designates one or more co-supervisors for the doctoral student.

On the request of the thesis supervisor, the doctoral committee approves the co-supervisor(s) and reports their names to the Rector. This can be done at the same time when the research plan is being approved, but the names must be made known no later than two years after being provisionally admitted to doctoral studies. During the dissertation, other experts can also be consulted.

Doctoral students can submit a written progress report once a year to their supervisor on their own initiative or upon the request of the supervisor who must then promptly submit his/her written comments.

Supervisors about to retire/leave ETH Zurich

In accordance with the Doctoral Regulations, only ETH professors who are still appointed can act as supervisors. Should a dissertation supervisor employ a doctoral student less than three years before his/her retirement, the following points must be taken into consideration, adhered to in writing, and reported to the Prorector for Doctoral Studies:

1. a possible successor acting as supervisor of the thesis;
2. The necessary infrastructure is guaranteed until the thesis has been completed.
3. Should the thesis still not have been completed, financial support for the doctoral student must be guaranteed.

The Department is responsible for ensuring that this agreement is adhered to.

Supervision after retirement or resignation

Dissertation supervisors who are retired or have left ETH Zurich can continue to act as supervisor of a thesis and as examiners at doctoral exams for up to a period of one year. It is essential to have the responsible Department approve the role of supervisor. In this case, it is important to remember that at least one co-examiner must be an appointed professor at ETH as defined under Article 1 of the Decree on the Faculty of the Federal Institutes of Technology (PDF, 502 kB), or SNF professors at ETH.