Document Contents
a) general information
b) before signing the Cotutelle agreement
c) signing the Cotutelle agreement
d) before the dissertation defence
a) General Information
A “joint supervision” doctoral study programme (from the French cotutelle de thèse) is based on cooperation with foreign universities and allows doctoral students to prepare a joint dissertation under the supervision of two different advisors at once (one at the foreign university, the second at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University). The student is enrolled in the doctoral programme at both universities and therefore fulfils the academic requirements at both institutions.
The agreement concluded for this purpose must be approved by both partner universities. Charles University has prepared several possible agreement templates that can be used. If a partner university requires its own version of the agreement, it must be sent to the Faculty of Arts, Charles University (CU FA), for review prior to signing. If a partner university sends already signed agreements without prior approval from Charles University, the agreements will not be recommended for signature. Detailed information can be found on the Charles University website.
b) Before signing a cotutelle agreement
1. The student must be admitted to a proper doctoral programme at CU FA (subject to the rules published on the CU FA applications website; this also applies to international students).
2. The student must be admitted to a proper doctoral programme at the partner university (subject to that university’s rules).
3. The doctoral student discusses the possibility of pursuing doctoral studies under the cotutelle arrangement with their supervisor at CU FA, and contacts their future supervisor at the partner university, or vice versa.
c) Signing the cotutelle agreement
1. The agreement is concluded individually with each doctoral student primarily in English; should the partner university insist on an agreement in its own language, then the agreement must be bilingual, with Czech as the second language. 2. Rector’s Directive No. 57/2017 defines what information must be present in the cotutelle agreement.
3. The preparation of the joint supervision agreement (cotutelle) is coordinated by the Head of the CU FA International Relations Office, Mgr. Michaela Lemeškinová, Ph.D.
d) Before submitting the dissertation and the dissertation defence
1. Before submitting their dissertation, the student must verify the validity of the agreement and any potential addenda to thereof (the defence may only take place while the agreement is valid). The defence is conducted in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
2. The student must submit the dissertation defended under the cotutelle program well in advance (at least 4 months), taking into account the fact that the composition of the defence committee has to be approved by the CU FA Research Board, whose meeting dates are set in advance (it does not meet during the summer months). Members of the Research Board are appointed by the Dean of CU FA.
3. Before submitting the dissertation, the student must fulfil all academic requirements at both universities (suspension of studies at one university does not automatically lead to suspension of studies at the other university, unless explicitly stipulated in the agreement).
4. The dissertation must be submitted in the standard manner (in accordance with the agreement) at CU FA, regardless of which university the defence will take place at. 5. The amount and type of travel expense reimbursements for members of the defence committee (supervisors and opponents) must be consulted in advance with the PhD Studies Section of the CU FA Student Affairs Office, to ensure they are provided in accordance with Dean’s Measure No. 26/2015.
The schedule for preparing the doctoral dissertation defence is governed by the same regulations as for regular doctoral studies at CU FA. All information is available at the website managed by the PhD Studies Section of the CU FA Student Affairs Office.
Further information, including methodological guidelines, can be found on the website of the Department for the Quality of Education and Accreditation at the Charles University Rectorate (OKVA RUK).
We strongly urge all departments and individual students interested in this method of dissertation supervision to first consult the individual steps of the procedure with the International Relations Office of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in advance. The agreements are subject to a review process at both the Faculty of Arts and the Charles University Rectorate. If you have any questions, please contact the head of the CU FA International Relations Office: Mgr. Michaela Lemeškinová, Ph.D.
Sample agreements: Sample agreements
