Double and Joint PhD

International agreements offer PhD candidates the opportunity to develop doctoral programs in collaboration with foreign universities and research institutions.

These guidelines implement resolution 4.13 of September 21, 2015, by the Academic Senate of the Politecnico di Milano, titled “Guidelines for International Agreements for the PhD Program”, as well as the provisions established in paragraph 5 of article 8 of Ministerial Decree 45/2013. They define the procedures for approval and implementation of various forms of doctoral-level collaboration: co-supervision of theses, joint doctoral agreements, and double doctoral agreements. The final sections highlight the specific features of European projects and collaboration programs with international institutions.

This category includes agreements governing the co-supervision of theses by faculty members from two or more institutions or research organizations, with the doctoral degree awarded by a single university. The Politecnico di Milano does not require a formal agreement for these collaborations, as they fall within the standard practices related to thesis co-supervision and Visiting PhD arrangements.

If an agreement is requested by the partner institution, it can be prepared and approved within the involved Department, signed by the Department Director and/or the scientific supervisor (co-supervisor). The Doctoral School will provide templates for such agreements upon request.

A joint doctorate is defined as a doctoral program in which two institutions plan a single, unified training pathway. The PhD candidate prepares one doctoral thesis and takes a single final examination. Whenever possible, the involved institutions will issue a joint diploma, signed and sealed by both institutions.

In accordance with Ministerial Decree 45/2013, the joint doctoral program must have a minimum duration of three years. The degree certification must indicate equivalence with the accredited doctoral degree of reference.

Double doctorate agreements involve the awarding of two separate doctoral degrees. Each institution independently issues its degree upon fulfillment of the requirements agreed upon in the partnership.

Given that two degrees are awarded, the student is required to complete additional work beyond the standard doctoral curriculum, which may include supplementary research activities and/or a greater number of exams.

Typically, the duration of a double doctoral program is at least four years. In special and duly justified cases, this duration may be reduced to three years.

In double or joint doctoral programs, the Home University is defined as the institution that selects the candidate and where the student first enrolls, while the Host University is the institution that enrolls the doctoral candidate second, after assessing their eligibility.

When Politecnico di Milano is the Home University, doctoral candidates follow the general rules applicable to enrolled students in the respective program.

When Politecnico di Milano is the Host University, the following conditions apply:

• The PhD program’s Academic Board evaluates the candidate’s admissibility and determines the year of study in which the candidate will be placed.
• The Academic Board also approves subsequent year transitions and admission to the final examination.
• The doctoral candidate must be enrolled at Politecnico di Milano for every doctoral year following admission. The stay at Politecnico di Milano must be at least 12 months.
• The doctoral candidate must earn at least 10 credits from courses offered at Politecnico di Milano.

Tuition fees are normally paid only at the Home University, with exemption from fees at the Host University. Specific agreements may provide for different fee exemption arrangements for various years of enrollment, provided the candidate is exempted from fees by one of the two institutions each year.

All agreements assume co-supervision of the doctoral thesis by faculty from both institutions and a final examination conducted according to procedures agreed upon by both institutions’ regulations. The final exam will be single in the case of a joint doctorate. In the case of a double doctorate, the agreement must specify whether the final exam is single or double.

Joint or double doctoral agreements consist of two parts: the general agreement (applicable to multiple candidates and possibly different programs) and the addendum (specific to each candidate). Politecnico di Milano has its own templates for both documents; however, each partner university may propose its own model, so a compromise may be necessary.

The general agreement is prepared by the Coordinator of the involved doctoral program, with support from the Doctoral School and, in the case of a new academic partner, the International Projects Office.

Once drafted, the agreement is approved by the Academic Board of the doctoral program and the Doctoral School Council. Approval by the Academic Senate is required if the agreement involves a deviation from these Guidelines. In particular, double doctoral agreements with a duration shorter than four years require the Academic Senate’s approval, following a favorable opinion from the Doctoral School Council.

The agreement is signed by the Rector or a delegated representative.

The addendum for each individual doctoral candidate is prepared by the Coordinator of the doctoral program, with support from the Doctoral School if needed. It is approved by the Academic Board and subsequently forwarded to the Doctoral Candidates’ Secretariat for implementation.

Three-year double doctoral programs are allowed only when such duration constraints are explicitly imposed by the European project financially supporting the doctoral program (e.g., Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Joint Doctorate, European Industrial Doctorate, Vinci Projects of the Italo-French University). In these cases, agreements must specify that this option applies exclusively to candidates funded under the relevant European project.

For programs offering joint degrees, the diploma issued will be the one agreed upon by the consortium, accompanied by the phrase “equivalent to,” followed by the name of the nationally accredited degree registered in the national ministry’s registry.

In general, the diploma will display the logos of the institutions where the doctoral candidate carried out their activities. If explicitly required by the project, the Academic Senate will evaluate the possibility of including the logos of all consortium institutions.

Numerous international projects support doctoral programs at prestigious universities, including Politecnico di Milano (e.g., CSC – China Scholarship Council, China; CSF – Ciência Sem Fronteiras and CONFAP – Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa, Brazil; VIED – Vietnam International Education Development, Vietnam; Bolashak, Kazakhstan; MAECI Scholarships – Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation). These projects foster new and fruitful international research collaborations, both short-term (thesis co-supervision) and medium- to long-term (following the return to their home countries of Politecnico di Milano doctoral alumni).

The acceptance and enrollment process for candidates supported by international projects is as follows:

• The Doctoral School and the Rector’s International Delegates, in collaboration with the International Projects Office, evaluate the strategic interest of individual funding programs.
• For candidates from programs deemed strategic, the Academic Board of the relevant doctoral program, possibly through a designated committee, assesses the candidate’s eligibility and the compatibility of their curriculum with the training plan of the chosen program. At this stage, the Academic Board may rely on a pre-assessment of the candidate conducted by the International Projects Office.
• For eligible candidates, the Doctoral School prepares an acceptance or pre-acceptance letter. These candidates may be enrolled in November without participating in the Admission Call if selected by the funding program. Enrollment in February and May intake periods is also possible if specified by an agreement signed with the funding institution.