Doctoral thesis co-tutelle

A co-tutelle programme allows a doctoral student to obtain a  joint or double doctoral degree within the framework of an agreement between the two participating institutions.
Each “cotutelle-de-thèse” is carried out through the cooperative supervision of two professors, one from the University of Trento and one from the partner university. The student is required to fulfil the respective requirements for a doctorate at both universities.
The "cotutelle dissertation" is presented in a single disputation carried out in one of the two countries’ official languages and formally recognized by both countries. In addition, the doctoral candidate must provide an oral summary in the official language of the other country.
At the moment, cooperation agreements, on the basis of which ad personam agreements  are drawn up for co-tutelle programme, are in force with: 

• France
• Germany
• Spain
• Switzerland

Nevertheless, the University could develop and carry out a co-tutelle programme with Universities outside the countries listed above.

Up to now, the University of Trento has drawn up different agreements of co-tutelle with the University Charles de Gaulle of Lille III, the University of Paris-Sorbonne, l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, l’Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan (in France), the Politechnica  University of Bucarest, the Leopold Franzens University of Innsbruck and the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Farnkfurt.
Recently other agreements have been signed with the University of Geneva, the University of Iceland and with some non-European Universities,  such as the University of Colorado, the Atlanta Georgia Institute of Technology and the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Běijīng.

Who may apply
Doctoral students enrolled in the first or second year.
Benefits for the students taking part in a co-tutelle programme
Doctoral students getting a scholarship could ask for an increase in their monthly pay during their stay abroad.
The Ministry for university and research and other institutions  have planned different actions regarding the mobility towards France, Germany and Spain (see box “More”). 

The main requirements to fulfil are the same for all kinds of agreement for the co-tutelle de thèse:

• Official enrolment to a Doctoral Programme according to the current legislation of one of the two countries (e.g.  the minimum duration of a Doctoral course in Italy is three years);
• Approval of the Graduate School Committee or of the relevant academic authority of the partner institution;
• Agreement individually drawn up for each doctoral student (ad personam agreement), compliant with the general agreement signed by the two Rectors;
• Research compulsorily carried out in both Institutions at alternative times, under the supervision of both thesis tutors;
• Final exam with a committee composed of an equal number of members coming from both Institutions.

In addition to the above mentioned four agreements, the Italian legislation allows to activate a co-tutelle with Institutions of other foreign countries.
In case of no pre-existing general agreement of co-tutelle de thèse signed between Italy and the other country, it is necessary to draw up a generic agreement with the aim of doctoral students mobility, which needs to be complemented with a draft of the agreement for the co-tutelle de thèse (see Annex 1) to be signed whenever a student is willing to activate the exchange.
Both samples are available at the Doctoral and Research Office.

Upon approval of the Graduate School Committee of the two Doctoral Schools, the agreement must be passed by the two Departments’ Board.

Who may apply
Doctoral students enrolled in the 1^st or 2^nd year

• How to set up an outgoing co-tutelle de thèse