Governing rules
Doctoral students matriculated before 1.1.2022, may consult Download this presentation (PDF, 1.2 MB) to learn about the minor adjustments to the previous regulations.
As a doctoral student of D-PHYS you will have to meet certain requirements to be admitted to the doctoral examination. You find the relevant rules on this website and on the student portal.
Doctoral plan
Relevant for all doctoral students enrolled after 1.1.2022
Provisionally accepted candidates must draw up a doctoral plan within the first year of their doctorate. It forms the basis for the aptitude colloquium and needs to be handed in latest two weeks before.
Please note that the doctoral plan has not the character of a legally binding agreement, but is rather a declaration of intent between you and your supervisor. It should be 2-5 pages in length and the introduction should be written so that the general idea is understandable to a physicist outside of your field.
Use the template provided in the section Forms and documents.
Please refer to Art. 11 of the DO.
Second advisor
Relevant for all doctoral students having their doctoral examination after 30.6.2022
Doctoral students at ETH are supervised by at least two persons. The supervisor of the doctoral thesis and a second advisor. Please refer to Art. 28 of the DO.
Transitional provisions regarding designation of a second advisor (see Art. 63 of the DO):
- If admission is definite by 1.1.2022 (research plan provided) a second advisor has to be appointed by 30.6.2022.
- If admission is provisional by 1.1.2022 (research plan not yet provided) a second advisor must be appointed by 31.12.2022.
Aptitude colloquium
Relevant for all doctoral students enrolled after 1.1.2022
Within 12 months after provisional admission, all doctoral students have to defend their doctoral plan in an aptitude colloquium. Passing the aptitude colloquium is a condition for definitive admission to the doctorate.
Please refer to Art. 12 – 17 of the DO.
Doctoral candidates who would like to reserve a date for the aptitude colloquium can find an overview of the available dates here.
Confidential discussion
After 1.5 to 2 years, you will be invited to a confidential discussion about the doctorate progress. The content of the discussion is confidential and can only be documented or passed on with the consent of the respective doctoral student.
If needed, you may initate additional, confidential conversations. The person responsible until Juli 2025 is Prof. Christian Degen.
Confirmation of credit points
For further information on credit points based on date of enrolment see textbox below.
A confirmation that you have obtained sufficient credit points during your doctoral studies, is mandatory when registering for the doctoral examination.
We strongly recommend clearing this step as soon as you have obtained the necessary 12 credit points, but at the latest 10 weeks before your doctoral examination.
Asking for confirmation of these credit points close to the defense date is at your own risk.
Further information on credit points
Enrolment before 1.1.2022
You will have to acquire 12 credit points during your doctoral studies. You may - but do not have to - take the exam. If you are taking the exam the amount of ECTS is counted as doctoral credit points.
If you do not take the exam, you are expected to regularly visit the courses and exercises. This regular attendance must be confirmed by the lecturer. In this case the amount of the weekly hours are counted as doctoral credit points (2V + 1U = 3 credit points). These doctoral credit points may not exceed the amount of ECTS allocated to a course unit.
As a rule, a one-week summer / winter school counts for 1 credit point and a one-week conference with poster or talk counts for 2 credit points. Use the Download course confirmation sheet (PDF, 25 KB) to get these confirmed.
For further information please refer to the Detailed Stipulations of D-PHYS, appendix 1.
Enrolment after 1.1.2022
During your regular doctoral studies you will have to acquire a total of 12 ECTS credit points. Therefore, passing the performance assessment that is part of the course, is a prerequisite for the acquisition of credit points. (The attestation is not sufficient.)
You will have to acquire at least 2 credit points in each of these categories:
- Deepening and broadening of knowledge within and outside the research area of the doctoral thesis.
- Acquisition of interdisciplinary competences / soft skills.
- Integration into the scientific community.
You can find a corresponding, but non-exhaustive selection in the course catalogue. Acquired ECTS credit points show in your myStudies. At the end of your doctoral studies a transcript of records will be issued.
Please refer to this Download guideline (PDF, 444 KB) on how to obtain credit points for doctoral studies.
For further information please refer to Art. 34-38 of the DO, Art. 10 of the Rector's Implementation and the Detailed Stipulations of D-PHYS.