Regulations for Doctoral Studies and Study Regulations

III.8.2. Conditions of a joint supervision agreement


162.
The prerequisite for the approval of a joint supervision agreement by the council awarding doctoral degrees of the university is that the agreement specifies at least the following:

162.1. terms and conditions of registering the doctoral student for studies at the university and the foreign higher education institution and the planned period of study;

162.2. research topic and the doctoral programme and specialisation followed at the university;

162.3. supervisors at the university and at the foreign higher education institution and their obligations upon supervising the doctoral student;

162.4. individual plan, incl. compulsory courses and training courses, and the estimated schedule;

162.5. RPL conditions;

162.6. conditions of financing the studies and research, incl. participation in conferences and trips;

162.7. requirements for mutual notification and reporting, incl. documents to be submitted for progress review;

162.8. procedure of applying for the degree;

162.9. conditions and procedure of preparing and publishing the doctoral thesis, incl. the language of the doctoral thesis;

162.10. intellectual property rights regarding the doctoral thesis;

162.11. conditions and procedure of defending the doctoral thesis, incl. the language and place of defence;

162.12. procedure of forming a joint council, making decisions and contesting decisions;

162.13. graduation documents and academic degrees issued upon graduation;

162.14. conditions and procedure of the termination of the agreement.

163. A learner in doctoral studies who has concluded a joint supervision agreement with the university and a foreign higher education institution which is in force at the time of applying for a degree can apply to defend their doctoral thesis on the conditions of and in accordance with the procedure set out in the joint supervision agreement if the person

163.1. applies for a doctoral degree following the doctoral programme of the university specified in the joint supervision agreement;

163.2. has fulfilled the conditions specified in clause 103 and completed at least half of the study volume required by the the university’s doctoral programme at the university.

164. If a learner in doctoral studies wishes to defend their doctoral thesis based on a joint supervision agreement, the application for a doctoral degree, the preparation, publication and defence of the doctoral thesis and the decision on awarding the degree takes place on the conditions of and in accordance with the procedure set out in the joint supervision agreement.

Conditions of the agreement:

  • The agreement must not conflict with the laws of either country, but the conditions agreed upon may differ from the usual procedure for applying for a degree at the University of Tartu.
  • As a general rule, the procedure is based on the bylaws of the university where the defence takes place.

The requirements of the University of Tartu, which cannot be changed by the agreement:

  1. The doctoral programme of the University of Tartu must be completed in full, including at least half of the study volume required by the the university’s doctoral programme, which may not be transferred with RPL;
  2. The joint defence council must have at least six members, at least three of whom must be representatives of the University of Tartu;
  3. The result is a “double diploma”, with both universities issuing their diploma with the title of the respective degree.