Joint PhD Degrees

The UBC approach

Jenny Phelps, Assistant Dean

Faculty of Graduate Studies

The University of British Columbia

UBC Graduate Profile:

• ~9,500 graduate students; 35,000 undergrads

• More than 200 Master’s and PhD programs in nearly all academic disciplines

• Over 2500 international graduate students from more than 100 countries

• Ranked 30th in world’s top universities (2010 Times Higher Education University rankings)

PhD study at UBC

Admission requirements

- Master’s degree (diplôme d'études approfondies)

OR

- Bachelor Degree (Diplome d’Ingenieur; Gradué en

Ingénierie Maitrise; Magistere; Licence) of very high

standard (Bien/Trés Bien)

AND

- English Proficiency (TOEFL minimum = 80)

- Evidence of research potential

Phase I: Pre-Candidacy

– Take all required courses

– Pass a comprehensive exam

– Gain approval for a research proposal

Doctoral Students:

– Should advance to candidacy within 2 years, and must within 3

– Should complete all degree requirements within 5 years of

enrolment and must within 6 years

“Advance to

Candidacy”

Phase II: Candidacy

– Complete a research project (dissertation)

– Defend the thesis at a Doctoral Oral Examination

Joint and dual/double degree programs…

• Understanding the terminology is critical:

- ‘joint’ means a single degree is awarded

- ‘dual/double’ means two degrees are awarded

- ‘degree’ refers to the qualification NOT the parchment(s)/diploma(s)

• Masters – BOTH joint & double degrees valuable – widespread, well

established & understood

• PhD – joint PhD OK – a dual/double PhD would require two theses and

has little support internationally

• The French Co-tutelle has successfully led the way for Joint PhDs for

many years

“Joint PhD” at UBC

• UBC Academic Senate approved structure in 2009.

• Must be single degree awarded

• Final approval of all arrangements delegated to Dean

of Graduate Studies

• Three students formally admitted to Joint PhD

programs thus far:

– University of Edinburgh (Political Science)

– Bauhaus-Universitat Weimar (Interdisciplinary Studies)

– Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Electrical & Computer

Engineering)

U 21 International Jointly Awarded PhD Degree

“A jointly awarded PhD is a single qualification conferred upon a student

on completion of a collaborative program of work designed, supervised &

examined by the two universities”

Normally characterized by:

• meeting the academic requirements of both universities

• agreement regarding the lead university

• joint supervision and examination

• a single degree awarded for one PhD thesis

• parchment(s) issued that explicitly state that there has been joint

supervision and examination

Each student’s collaborative PhD program is

• Unique to their project and goals

• normally established at the outset of study

(must occur before advancing to candidacy)

• the subject of a separate Memorandum of

Agreement, which is

• approved by the student, both partner

Universities and the identified supervisor/s

(advisor/s) of each partner University

Each Joint PhD Agreement stipulates:

• one university designated as the lead university

• at least one supervisor from each university

• agreed periods of residence at each university (at least one year)

• assurance of access to university facilities

• each university admitting the student according to their own procedures

• examination procedures as agreed by the two universities

• any other issues, such as coursework requirements and funding/tuition

arrangements, that may need to be specified

• an explicit agreement regarding how Intellectual Property Rights will be

dealt with

• the thesis normally written in the language of lead university (with a

substantial summary written in the other language, if different)

• degree parchment(s) that explicitly reflect the joint nature of the award

Joint PhD degrees provide a mechanism for:

• access to unique and/or sophisticated research equipment and

resources, and to world class faculty

• undertaking research of explicit global significance

• facilitation of international study and experience for our PhD

students

• enhancement of joint international collaborative research between

universities

• access to additional sources of student financial support - including

eligibility for scholarships/awards at both participating universities,

• enhanced recruitment of excellent graduate students

• development of personal attributes of international leadership,

partnership and global engagement

UBC Joint PhD enrolment procedure

After gaining preliminary support from the two supervisors…

• A “Joint PhD Agreement” form must be jointly developed

between student & supervisors (information may ultimately

be transferred to French ‘co-tutelle’ agreement format)

• Draft agreement sent to Dean of Graduate Studies for review

and revisions

• Student must apply and be accepted to the specific UBC PhD

program (may be prior to or simultaneous with Joint PhD

Agreement development)

• Agreement circulated for required signatures at both

universities; one original must be on file in FGS Dean’s office.

Upon graduating

Normally results in one parchment from each

university, both carrying notation along the

lines of:

“Awarded as a single degree under a Joint PhD

arrangement with <partner university>”

Challenges/concerns…

• The ‘parchment problem’

- two parchments/diplomas does not mean two ‘degrees’

- the degree parchment(s) must clearly reflect the joint nature

of the single award

• ‘Double-dipping’

- not relevant to the Joint PhD if it is seen as a single degree

• Issues of Intellectual Property Rights can be difficult to

manage so must be resolved at the outset (and returned to if

& when necessary)

…Challenges/concerns

• Doctoral degree structures are quite different in different systems

and this can make arrangements complex. For example…

- in North America, often 2 years coursework, more breadth,

comprehensive exams, longer duration, funding sources (many by

TAs & RAs)

- Europe – 3 yr UG degrees, little required PhD coursework, direct

entry from UG, shorter duration

• Joint PhD degrees are time consuming to manage and should be

reserved for the very brightest students who will specifically benefit

from the access to joint supervision and international research

locations

Benefits and opportunities for students

Joint PhDs enhance considerably the students’ research and

employment opportunities on an international scale

• Clear benefits are access to:

- an academic research program enhanced by the collaboration of

two different high-quality research environments and cultures

- training and facilities of two research-intensive universities

- the added value of international networking

- a head start in future career planning, networking and professional

development