- First and foremost, you are responsible for the thorough execution of your doctoral research, with a view to producing a dissertation.
- Every year, you are required to (re-)enrol as a doctoral student, even in the academic year in which you are to submit and, if applicable, defend your doctorate. Your enrolment may be refused if you receive negative feedback on your self-reflection report (see below) or if you have breached the terms of the contract in case of a joint doctorate. You only need to pay the tuition fee at the time of the first and last enrolment.
- Once you are enrolled, you can register for study programmes organised by the Doctoral School. If applicable, you will discuss the individual curriculum of your doctoral training programme with your doctoral advisory committee (DBC).
- You put together your Data Management Plan (DMP) and you make sure that (if necessary) you dispose of your ethical approval. You keep your Data Management Plan (DMP) up to date.
- A good relationship between you and your supervisor(s) is important. Possible guidelines can be found in the ‘charter for doctoral students and supervisors’.
- You will report regularly, at your own initiative or when requested, on the progress in your research to the doctoral advisory committee (DBC) and/or your supervisor(s) and (between 1 April and 30 June) you are to submit an annual self-reflection report to the doctoral advisory committee (DBC). Based on the self-reflection report, the doctoral advisory committee (DBC) will formulate a report on your doctoral activities. In case of a favourable (i.e. positive) report, you are invited to re-enrol for the following academic year. In case of an unfavourable (i.e. negative) report, you cannot re-enrol or you cannot re-enrol immediately before additional talks have been held. If you enrol for the first time for the doctorate and the doctoral training programme after 31 May, you are not required to submit a self-reflection report and you may re-enrol for the following academic year without any additional preconditions. At a minimum, your first self-reflection report is to contain an action plan for the doctoral research.
- Make sure you comply with the additional publication condition in a timely fashion. For an article-based doctorate, you have to comply with these conditions.
- If you have finished your dissertation and if you wish to submit your dissertation to the Faculty Council, you will need a recommendation from the doctoral advisory committee (DBC). To this end, your supervisor will take the initiative.
- If you want a certificate upon the successful completion of a doctoral training programme, you need to complete your curriculum in Oasis by adding the course unit ‘doctoraatsverdediging’ (code: X000003). By doing so, you inform the Doctoral School that you are submitting your dissertation. The Doctoral School will then assess whether you may be awarded the certificate. Do this 20 working days ahead of the meeting of the Faculty Council at which you will submit your dissertation. More information.
- You are to submit your doctoral dissertation to the Faculty Council:
- No later than 10 calendar days before the Faculty Council meeting, you need to provide the following information to the Faculty Student Administration (FSA) via fsa.lw@ugent.be: the date of the Faculty Council meeting at which you will submit your dissertation, the title of thedissertation, the name of the (administrative) supervisor (responsible) and the discipline of the doctorate. Please note that all your accepted publications need to be uploaded to Biblio. Publications which have not yet been accepted, cannot be uploaded to Biblio yet.
- You need to verify in Oasis whether you are enrolled for the current academic year and the correct discipline.
- You finalise your dissertation and add a summary in Dutch and English (300 to max. 500 words), which is written in an accessible language and without jargon. You print the required number of copies of the dissertation. The Faculty Student Administration (FSA) will communicate how many copies you will need to submit. If you want the Faculty Student Administration (FSA) to send a copy to the supervisor(s), you also need to submit these extra copies.
- You need to submit the electronic version (via filesender) and the required number of paper versions of your dissertation to the Faculty Student Administration (FSA), no later than the day before the Faculty Council meeting at 16:00.
- Joint PhD. For a joint doctorate, you are also to submit the dissertation prior to the Faculty Council meeting of the faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Ghent University. This needs to be done before the start of the doctoral examination. If you are defending a joint doctorate at Ghent University, you are bound to comply with the Ghent University regulations and the stipulations specified in the co-operation agreement.
- When the Faculty Council has declared the doctoral dissertation to be admissible, the Faculty Council will assign the Examination Board and will confirm the date for the first deliberation. The Faculty Student Administration (FSA) will communicate the time, date and place of the first deliberation.
- You prepare the doctoral examination and you attend the first deliberation on the dissertation. At least four working days prior to the first deliberation on the dissertation, the Faculty Student Administration (FSA) will deliver the written appraisals drawn up by the Examination Board members. You can use these appraisals to prepare. During the first deliberation (that occurs behind closed doors), the Examination Board members and you will have a substantive discussion.
- Depending on the result of the first deliberation by the Examination Board, you are to adjust the contents of the dissertation and/or to prepare for the public defence of said dissertation. Following the first deliberation, a time, date and place for the public defence will be determined with you. If you are asked to make corrections to the dissertation, you need to resubmit your dissertation within the period imposed. You need to add a document detailing how and where the requested corrections have been performed (or why certain corrections have not been performed).
- Together with your supervisor, you are responsible for the practical aspects of organising the public defence.
- After you have been admitted to the public defence of the dissertation, you are kindly invited to pay the remaining tuition fee. Please ensure rapid payment: this will increase your chances that you will immediately receive your doctoral certificate after the successful public defence of your dissertation.
- At least two calendar days prior to the public defence, you will need to upload the final version of the dissertation to Biblio (Ghent University Academic Bibliography). At the same time, you add a Dutch and English summary (under ‘abstract’, each between 300 and max. 500 words).
- During the public defence, you start with a short presentation of your doctoral research, which lasts no more than 20 minutes. Next, the members of the Examination Board will ask you one or more questions.
- If required, a paper version of the dissertation can be submitted to the members of the Examination Board.
- The examination decision is publicly announced immediately after the deliberation. Ghent University does not grant grades of merit within the context of a doctorate, nor does it ‘congratulate’ the student. You pass or you do not pass.
- After obtaining your doctoral title you receive the diploma, a beret and a gift from the faculty.
