PhD programmes are conceived as the first step towards a research career in the industry or the academic world. They allow students to acquire advanced academic knowledge and skills.
Organisation of doctoral studies
Doctoral studies at the University of Luxembourg combine research work and customised courses and lead to an oral defence of the dissertation. They generally comprise a period of three years. An additional fourth year may be granted by the Rector. Research work is undertaken under the guidance of a professor. Doctoral candidates may also request joint supervision or take part in a doctoral school.
Joint supervision
PhD students who register for the first year at a doctoral programme may apply for joint supervision. In this case, a supervision agreement between the two concerned institutions has to be signed. The students then conduct their research work under the guidance of two supervisors. Successful candidates are awarded either two diplomas or a joint diploma.
Doctoral schools
The University offers doctoral schools in the following domains:
- Systems and Molecular Biomedicine
- Economics and Finance
- Educational Science
- Computer Science and Computer Engineering.
Fields of study
The University of Luxembourg supervises PhD thesis in following study fields:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Economics
- Enginierering
- Financial science
- Geography
- History
- Informatics
- Law
- Management
- Literature
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political science
- Psychology
- Science of languages
- Social science
- Science of education.
Admission requirements
To take part in a doctoral programme students have to:
- Hold a master’s degree
- Find a thesis supervisor (directeur de thèse)
- Present an eligible project for a doctoral thesis.
Students may register throughout the year. Depending on their choice of funding (self funding, third party funding or research training grant), they either apply for a doctoral offer at the University, or look for a dissertation supervisor for their chosen topic. In the second case, students then apply for admission to the university. Their demand for supervision is evaluated by a committee (comité d’encadrement de thèse), which establishes a report. This report constitutes the basis on which the rector (recteur) will approve or refuse the student’s dissertation project.
The admission of students to doctoral schools is subject to a selection process.
Status of doctoral students/ candidates
Regardless of their way of funding, all Ph.D. candidates at the University of Luxembourg are enrolled as students. Moreover, students who are hired as doctoral candidates by the University of Luxembourg also hold working contracts for 40 hours per week and thus have the status of employees. Further information is provided on the University's website.
Supervision arrangements
Dissertation supervisors are professors or assistant-professors of the University of Luxembourg or persons who are associated with the university and hold an authorisation to conduct research. A thesis supervisory committee (comité d’encadrement de thèse) is appointed by the Dean (doyen). The members of the committee have to hold at least doctor diplomas. They meet the candidate at least once a year in order to evaluate the progress of the research on the basis of a manuscript provided by the candidate.
Employability
Labour market access of students is fostered by initiatives such as: • Career Centre, a university service providing vocational guidance and support to students preparing applications and job interviews • 'meet@uni.lu', an annual event that brings students into contact with potential employers • The definition of learning outcomes for all study programmes.
Assessment
The doctoral examination comprises:
- An original work in the discipline or the interdisciplinary field chosen
- An oral defence of the dissertation (soutenance de thèse), held before a jury and followed by a discussion.
The dissertation and the defence are evaluated by a jury (jury de thèse) of at least five members, comprising at least one professor or assistant professor and two external members. The jury deliberates behind closed doors. A report on the session is established and communicated to the rector and the candidate.
Certification
Successful candidates are awarded the title of Doctor of the University of Luxembourg (Docteur de l’Université du Luxembourg). The diploma states the discipline or the specialisation of the candidate, the name of the jury members, the date of the defence and the signature of the rector.
Organisational variations
(under construction)