5. GUIDELINES FOR THE QUALIFYING PAPER

5.1. The qualifying paper consists of one or more essays based on questions put to the student by his/her faculty advisor. Revised March 13, 2008 6

5.2. The essays should total no less than 15 and no more than 30 typewritten pages.

5.3. The essays should show an ability to think clearly and coherently and to write well.

5.4. The essays should explore options for further research.

5.5. The essays will be evaluated by the student's faculty advisor, in order to judge the student’s ability to do doctoral work.

5.6. The essays must be accepted, i.e., evaluated as good or better, in order for the student to proceed to doctoral candidacy.

5.7. If the essays are not accepted, the student may ask for an opportunity to re-write them.

5.8. If the essays are still not accepted, the student may appeal for a second reader. The second reader will be from the list of faculty members at the end of this handbook.

5.9. If both the student's faculty advisor and the second reader do not accept the qualifying paper, the student cannot proceed to doctoral candidacy.

5.10. The fee for application for doctoral candidacy is 900 CHF. This fee must be paid before the qualifying paper is presented to the student's faculty advisor.

6. STRUCTURE OF THE CANDIDACY PERIOD

During Phase I, admitted doctoral candidates will establish their Doctoral Committee with the help of the faculty advisor.

Phase I is successfully completed when the Doctoral Committee has approved the completion of the Dissertation Proposal.

Phase II is dedicated to the dissertation and is completed when the dissertation is accepted by the First and Second Reader, and the Doctoral Program Council approves advancement to the Doctoral Examination and Defense.

The Doctoral Examination and Defense conclude the degree program.

6.1. Completion of Phase I:

The request for the start of Phase II must be directed to the Dean in writing and be approved by the Chairperson of the DPC. It must include:

• A resume in outline form; the Dissertation Proposal, including a preliminary title of the dissertation; a recommendation by the supervisor that indicates his or her approval to the Doctoral Committee and addresses the progress of the doctoral studies;
• if relevant, a declaration about former attempts to complete doctoral studies and the reason for interruption.
• The chairperson of the Doctoral Program Council can ask the DPC to review the proposal, if it is not complete, if there are questions about the academic prerequisites, or if the supervisor or dean asks for such a review.

6.2. Completion of the Dissertation (Phase II):

The supervisor asks the chairperson of the Doctoral Program Council to initiate the examination procedure. The following documentation must be available:

• Two copies of the final dissertation.
• An affidavit attesting: That the work was done independently; that the text does not infringe on copy-right laws and is free of any plagiarism; that editorial and other personal help is mentioned by name.
• The suggested members of the Examination Committee must be approved by the dean of the doctoral program.

After a review, the Chair of the DPC will ask the council members via email to approve the Examination Committee The email should include the Abstract of the dissertation. If a council member wants to read the dissertation, it can be ordered through the EGS office (as electronic data).

7. THE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal is to demonstrate the relevance of the dissertation topic and the student's competence to undertake the research. The Dissertation Proposal must be approved by the supervisor and the other members of the Doctoral Committee before the student can commence dissertation research.

The Dissertation Proposal should have the following form:

Working title

• The research question or topic on which the dissertation will focus
• Rationale for the research
• Methodology
• Sketch of outline with some narrative about possible contents
• Projected timeline
• Sample bibliography

Upon approval by the Doctoral Committee, a copy of the Dissertation Proposal must be sent to the Dean of the Doctoral Program, who will forward it for approval of the Chair of the DPC.