This page describes the steps in a PhD student’s career, from the beginning of the doctoral program through to the awarding of the PhD degree.
At the beginning of each year of the doctoral program, the PhD student prepares a training program (Link identifier #identifier__77465-1here for the first year and Link identifier #identifier__87295-2here for the second and third years), indicating the courses they will attend, the conferences and workshops they will participate in, and their research objectives for the year.
At the end of the first and second years of the doctoral program, the PhD Board decides whether to admit the student to the following year, taking into account:
- a brief presentation of the PhD student’s research activities during the year, given at a meeting of the PhD Board;
- a poster illustrating the year’s research activities, displayed during the department’s “PhD Day”;
- a report on the training and research activities carried out during the year;
- a brief assessment provided by the supervisors.
At the end of the third year of the doctoral program, the PhD student prepares a thesis containing the research work carried out over the three-year period. The PhD Board decides whether to send the thesis to external reviewers, taking into account:
- an extended presentation of the research activities carried out over the three years, given at a meeting of the PhD Board;
- a brief assessment provided by the supervisors.
The thesis, together with the report on the activities carried out during the doctoral program, is examined by at least two evaluators from outside the university. The evaluators recommend to the PhD Board either that the student be admitted to the final defense or that the defense be postponed for a period of three or six months if they consider that substantial additions or corrections are necessary. Based on a comparative assessment of the two evaluators’ reports, the PhD Board then decides whether to admit the PhD student to the final examination or to postpone it.
The final examination consists of the defense of the thesis before an appointed committee. At the end of the defense, the committee issues a written and reasoned assessment of the thesis. The PhD degree in Computer Science and Automation is then conferred by the Rector, subject to successful completion of the final examination.