This section will provide you with information on the steps involved in drawing up a new joint PhD agreement. If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the International Coordinator of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

A downloadable checklist of the various steps and formalities is available to interested students.

Initial condition

Students who want to pursue the joint PhD option must first ensure that it is possible to sign a joint PhD agreement with the prospective partner institution, as a framework cooperation agreement must first be signed between UdeM and the partner institution. This condition does not apply to institutions in France. For all other countries, if there is no framework agreement, you will not be able to undertake a joint PhD.

To launch the process, students must contact the International Coordinator of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and provide the following information, depending on their specific circumstances: the name of the university and the country where they are currently enrolled in a doctoral program, the name of the program and the start date of their doctoral studies at that university, and the expected date of admission to Université de Montréal and/or the partner university.

Two admissions, one agreement

Once confirmation that a joint PhD agreement can be signed has been obtained from the International Coordinator, students wishing to write their thesis under a joint PhD arrangement must take three steps simultaneously: submit admission applications to both universities and complete a joint PhD agreement. The agreement becomes effective when all three steps have been successfully completed.

Acceptable timeframes — These three steps should be carried out at the same time, although in practice there is often a time lag between the moment when the doctoral student is admitted to the first institution and the moment when their agreement is actually signed and formalized at both institutions. Whatever the reasons for any time lag, it must be kept to a minimum.

Admission

Ideally, students should be admitted for the same session at both institutions. Université de Montréal accepts a maximum time lag of one year between the date of admission to UdeM and the date of admission to the partner university.

Declaration of interest — Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies must be notified of the joint PhD project during the first session of the student’s PhD program.

Université de Montréal — Students must apply for admission to the desired PhD program and be admitted through a joint decision of their department and faculty. In the ʺCommentsʺ section of their application, students must also state their intention to pursue a joint PhD and, if possible, give the name of the partner university. At this stage, this declaration of intent does not commit the applicant or Université de Montréal to a joint PhD arrangement. The admission and application evaluation process is the same for all students, regardless of whether or not they plan to follow the joint PhD path.

For more information on the programs available at UdeM and the application process, please visit the Admission website

Partner university — Students must also find out about the procedures for admission to the program of their choice and for setting up a joint PhD with the partner institution.

Joint PhD agreement

Applying for a joint PhD agreement — Once admitted to Université de Montréal, students must submit an application for a joint PhD agreement to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies by the end of their first session of PhD studies. To do so, they must complete the CHE_Cotutelle form available in their Centre étudiant, or Student Centre (instructions are provided on the form). Once the form has been received, the Coordinator will contact the student to begin the process of drafting the joint PhD agreement.

What is a joint PhD agreement? With their two prospective thesis supervisors, students must develop their plan for joint PhD studies. This will take the form of an agreement that, once approved by the two institutions concerned, will allow the student to be officially recognized as a joint PhD student at both institutions and to enjoy the privileges associated with that status. The joint PhD agreement specifies the academic requirements of the student's program of study and a number of conditions to ensure that the joint supervision process runs smoothly.

Drafting the agreement — The Coordinator assists the student and co-supervisors in drafting and signing the agreement and liaises with the joint PhD/cotutelle department of the partner institution.

Once the draft agreement is ready, the Coordinator must review it before organizing the signing process.

Any changes to the draft agreement proposed by a doctoral student or a partner university must be approved by GPS. The Coordinator must therefore check the amended text before the signing process can begin.

For more information on UdeM agreement templates and the agreement drafting process, please consult the Agreements page of our website.

Official declaration of joint PhD

Once the joint PhD agreement has been approved and signed by UdeM and the partner institution, we can officially add the joint supervision arrangement to your student record; you will then be officially recognized as a joint PhD (cotutelle) student. You will then need to ensure that you comply with the conditions outlined in your joint PhD agreement throughout your doctoral studies. For more information, please consult the Joint PhD Milestones page on our website.