During your PhD
This section provides you with the key formal requirements and administrative procedures you need to manage your doctoral studies from the end of orientation until the final submission of your thesis. It is designed to help you stay on track with your progress reporting, academic status, and program obligations.
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ECTS Requirements
During your PhD, you are required to complete the defined number of ECTS credits in accordance with the curriculum of your doctoral program. They can be earned by:
- Attending lectures and seminars of the course directory
- Contributions at conferences (Posters and Talks) - see the VDSEE Intranet for a guideline
- Transferrable skills
- Becoming a VDSEE student representative (4ECTS for two-year period)
- Attending the annual VDSEE Retreat
- Attending the VDSEE Symposium
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Annual Progress Report
Doctoral candidates are required to submit a progress report on a yearly basis.
- First Annual report is due 12 month after admission to the Doctoral Program. All following reports are due latest one year after the first report.
- Reports the progress made during each year of the doctoral studies
- Annual reports document changes to the initial doctoral thesis agreement
- Submission via email to the VDSEE office
If annual reports are submitted more than three months after the deadline without notification to the Doctoral School by the PhD candidate, the candidate will no longer be eligible to access DocSchool funding in the form of travel grants or completion grants. In case of an expected late submission the PhD candidate needs to inform the Doctoral School by email in advance and an appropriate extension or alternative timeline will be agreed upon.
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TAC Minutes
Doctoral candidates are required to organize a yearly meeting of their Thesis Advisory Committee.
- First TAC Meeting is due 12 month after admission to the Doctoral Program. All following reports are due latest one year after the first report.
- Presentation of yearly progress to the TAC
- Discussion of goals and challenges in the project
- The TAC minutes are submitted together with the annual report to the VDSEE office
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Study Progress & Milestones
Your doctoral studies are structured around defined academic milestones.
- Monitoring of Progress Reports
- Fulfilment of program requirements
- Overview of TAC Members
All of these can be monitored using our DocTool.
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Funding & Grant Opportunities
During your PhD you might need financial support. The VDSEE offers several different funding opportunities for PhD candidates:
- Travel Grant
- Event Grant
- Completion Grant
Deadlines and reporting formats must be strictly observed.
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Forms & Guidelines
All relevant documents and submission information are compiled in our Intranet. Here you will find:
- Official forms and templates
- Guidelines
- Logos and design templates for your presentations