International opportunities
During the doctoral programme, periods of training and study experiences at universities, institutes and research centres abroad are encouraged to improve the quality of their research and enhance their international competitiveness.
Several instruments have been adopted to enhance the international dimension of doctoral studies: among others, the promotion of doctoral student mobility, the encouragement of co-tutorship agreements for doctoral theses, the establishment of collaboration initiatives with foreign universities (double doctoral degree).
The co-tutorship of doctoral theses is one of the privileged tools to promote and enhance the international dimension of the PhD training course. The co-tutorship allows PhD students to develop a thesis under the joint direction of a professor from the University and a professor from a foreign university, carrying out research periods at the partner university. The institution of thesis co-supervision is provided for by art. 3 of the new "Regulations of PhD Courses and Doctoral Research Schools of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore", to encourage the internationalisation of PhD programmes, in the manner indicated in these guidelines. Co-tutorship agreements are activated to govern both "outgoing" co-tutorships, i.e. the development of the thesis of our PhD students at foreign universities, and "incoming" co-tutorships, i.e. the development of the thesis of foreign PhD students at Università Cattolica.
When it is possible to activate a co-supervision
To activate a doctoral co-supervision, it is necessary to: be enrolled in a doctoral programme in one of the two universities involved; apply no later than the first semester of the second year of the doctoral programme; plan a stay at the partner university; obtain the approval of the Doctoral Course's Academic Board.
Each co-supervision must take place in the context of:
- a preliminary framework agreement (which can be intergovernmental, between two countries, or bilateral, between two universities);
- and an ad personam agreement , which binds the partner university institutions.
The duration of the co-tutorship may in no case exceed the legal duration of the doctoral course.
Thesis discussion and doctoral degree
Following the agreements between the parties, the student in co-tutorship will be enrolled in both partner universities. The doctoral thesis will be discussed in a single location with the possibility of obtaining a double PhD degree, according to the internal regulations of the universities involved.
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- Linee guida.pdf
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- application/pdf
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- modello_richiesta_co-tutela_it_.docx
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- application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
The double doctoral degree is a general agreement stipulated between two existing doctoral courses/schools, one at Università Cattolica and one at a foreign university, on the proposal of one or more Professors belonging to the Academic Board. The main features are:
- a double degree agreement is concluded between Università Cattolica and the partner university concerning two doctorates from their respective universities;
- doctoral students enrolled in the doctoral programme at Università Cattolica (and those enrolled in the doctoral programme at the partner university) have the option of opting for the double doctoral degree;
- PhD students who choose this option carry out their research activities alternately at the Catholic University and at the partner university. The length and alternation of the research periods may be determined by the agreement;
- PhD students are followed in their research work by a supervisor from Università Cattolica and a co-supervisor from a partner university;
- the thesis discussion is unique and takes place in a single venue before a Commission which, if provided for by the agreement, may be made up of professors from the two universities;
- at the end of the doctoral programme, the title of PhD from Università Cattolica and the title of PhD from the partner university are awarded
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- linee doppio titolo.pdf
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