Research plan

Relevant for all doctoral students enrolled before 1.1.2022.

All doctoral students must compile a research plan outlining the goals and nature of their doctoral thesis and the responsibilities of the doctoral student. This is submitted to the supervisor and if possible to a co-examiner, and must be approved by the Doctoral Committee of the relevant department. According to the Regulations for Doctoral Studies (Art. 12, Section 4), it must be submitted within twelve months of enrolment. Extensions to this deadline must be approved by the Doctoral Committee.

There is no set format for the research plan, but it must contain the following points:

Research tasks
Content-based framework and time-frame
Scope of research work
Other obligations

If your doctoral thesis project is mainly carried out outside ETH Zurich, this must be specified in your research plan, and the reasons given.

The research plan must be submitted, together with the approval form Download Approval of your research plan (PDF, 77 KB), to the doctoral administration at the relevant department. They will then arrange for it to be signed and approved by the Doctoral Committee and will forward the form to the Doctoral Administration Office. Then the Vice-Rector will give final confirmation of your admission to doctoral studies.

If there is a delay in submitting your research plan, you must fill in an Download Application to extend the deadline for submitting your research plan (PDF, 134 KB)

> Contact the Doctoral Administration