Qualifying Examinations

Request for Deadline Extension

The admission requirements must be met within one year after the date of the admission letter. This deadline can also be found at www.mystudies.ethz.ch.

Deadline extensions must be approved by the Doctoral Commission. Applications for a deadline extension are handed in by the supervisor of the thesis to the department’s Doctoral Administration using the Downloadcorresponding form (PDF, 49 KB)vertical_align_bottom.

After approval of the deadline extension by the department, Academic Services will confirm the new deadline to the candidate.  

Requests for Qualifying Examination Changes

The Doctoral Commission of the department decides on the change of qualifying examinations in consultation with the supervisor of the thesis.

When proposing a change of qualifying examinations, the supervisor provides the Doctoral Administration of the department with the following details:

• Course (title and number)
• Name of the examiner/s
  
• Type and duration of the examination

Type and duration of a qualifying examination may differ from the information published in the course catalogue. In such cases, the supervisor of the thesis has to agree on a special examination with the examiner.

The duration of oral examinations must be at least 30 minutes, and the supervisor of the thesis may not be an examiner.

If a supervisor proposes qualifying examinations which are not listed in the course catalogue, a bibliography has to be provided.

After approval of the changed qualifying examinations by the department, the Prorector for the Doctorate takes a final decision. If he agrees, the changed examination/s are decreed and the candidate is informed about the further steps.

The approval process may take 3-5 weeks.