Antwerp Doctoral School

Requirements

For a joint or double PhD, the following minimum requirements must be met:

  • The PhD thesis must be prepared in both partner institutions under the joint supervision of one supervisor per university involved. If additional expertise is required to ensure the high-quality supervision of the PhD research, the faculty may appoint one or two additional supervisors – up to a maximum of four in total, at most three of whom may be affiliated with the Antwerp University Association (AUHA) (cf. general UAntwerp PhD regulations, art. 15);
     
  • The PhD candidate must conduct at least six months of research at each of the institutions (as stated in the Codex Higher Education, Art II.172 §4 - only available in Dutch). The research periods are to be agreed in joint consultation between the PhD candidate and the supervisors. PhD candidates who have already conducted six months of research at a partner institution, as well as PhD candidate who are planning to do the 6 months in the future, qualify for a joint PhD application;
     
  • The doctoral jury must include at least one member of the tenured academic staff from each of the partner institutions (cf. general UAntwerp PhD regulations, art. 45);
     
  • The PhD candidates submits the joint PhD application themselves (JointPhD@uantwerpen.be);
     
  • For each joint PhD, an agreement must be drawn up between the institutions and the PhD candidate (via the Antwerp Doctoral School);
     
  • If the application for a joint PhD is approved, the PhD candidate must ensure that the administrative procedures in all universities involved are completed properly as soon as possible (including e.g. enrolment as a PhD candidate);
     
  • PhD candidates wishing to obtain a joint or double PhD degree must submit applications to the universities involved at least one year before the submission of the draft thesis (cf. general UAntwerp PhD regulations, art. 42);
     
  • BOF-financed outgoing joint PhD researchers with another Flemish university must take into account that a joint PhD agreement can only be drawn up with prior explicit permission of the Bureau of the Research Council. In order to obtain permission, a motivated request must be submitted via bof@uantwerpen.be, explaining the long-term advantages for the University of Antwerp (cf. BOF regulations, art. 17).