Economics School of LouvainDoctoral School

Information Sessionof August 2013

Content

I. AdmissionII. The doctoral process step by stepIII. Doctoral trainingIV. Contact personsV. Resources

Time line

AdmissionAdmission ConfirmationConfirmationPrivate defensePrivate defense

PublicdefensePublic

defense

Phase 0Phase 0 Phase 1 (max 24 months*)Phase 1 (max 24 months*) Phase 2Phase 2

* Max. 36 months for Teaching Assistant

Phase 3 (min. 1 month)Phase 3

(min. 1 month)

I. AdmissionConditions, how to prepare your file

Admission: Conditions

Necessary conditions (not sufficient) :

- Satisfy the legal conditions:

http://www.uclouvain.be/en-359965.html

- Satisfy the academic conditions:

Have a Distinction (14/20) in a Research Master degree in economics/econometrics from the French Community of Belgium (www.cfwb.be)

orHave an equivalent level in a Research Master degree in economics/econometrics from outside the FCB

orHave a Distinction (14/20) in a training program specifically designed for you by the doctoral school

Admission: file to be submitted

The file you submit to the doctoral commission contains :

- Your CV, including your studies year by year, and detailed grades course by course.

- Copies of your diplomas and transcripts of grades

- The name of your supervisor(s)

- Your source of funding for the whole duration of your PhD

- A research proposal approved by your supervisor(s)Title - Context and main goals - State of the Art - Objectives beyond the State of the Art - Work plan - Environment

- A supervisory panel (“comité d’accompagnement”, cf. infra)

- A prospective doctoral training program, signed by your supervisor How to build your training program ? See the specific section infra

Remark: If necessary, you might have to show that you have sufficient proficiency in English to enter the Ph D program

Phase 1 : Supervisory panel

The supervisory panel (SP) : Supervisor(s) + 2 members (PhD level. One of whom does not belong to the supervisor’s research team)

- SP does not substitute for supervisor(s) in the management of the thesis- SP is a privileged resource to advise and inform the student (on research

contents, on networking, on education).- Official duty of SP: Interact once a year with the student. During this

interaction:- evaluate the progress of the student- check and validate the ECTS/credits obtained during the year- discuss the training program for the next year- be a source of inspiration

- The method of interaction is free. - 2nd official duty of the SP: Be present (a video conference is possible) for

the confirmation stage

Phase 1 : Supervisory panel

Remarks:

- A member of the SP does not have to be a member of the Jury

- The members of the SP should be easily contacted by the student

- They should be able to attend the confirmation stage (oral and written examinations)

Admission : 2 remarks

Preadmission

Preadmission is exceptionnalE.g.: A student needs a preadmission in order to get a Visa before coming to Belgium

Teaching Assistants

- We advise not to wait before submitting your file so that you can start accumulating ECTS/credits early

II. The doctoral processImportant milestones of the doctoral process

Time line

AdmissionAdmission ConfirmationConfirmationPrivate defensePrivate defense

PublicdefensePublic

defense

Phase 0Phase 0 Phase 1 (max 24 months*)Phase 1 (max 24 months*) Phase 2Phase 2

* Max 36 months for Teaching Assistant

Phase 3 (min. 1 month)Phase 3

(min. 1 month)

Confirmation (max. 24 months – 36 months for Teaching Assistant – after admission)

Is an examination concluding the first phase of your work:

Two parts:1. A written report (e.g. a research working paper) to be

sent to the supervisory panel and supervisor(s)2. An oral presentation in front of the supervisory panel

and supervisor(s)

Possible outcomes:- Success: you go to Phase 2- Failure: you have to redo it within 12 months

Phase 2 : From Confirmation to Defenses

- When both the doctoral training and the research work of the student are complete, supervisor(s) submit a thesis jury proposal to the doctoral commission for approval.

- The jury: - Supervisor(s)- 3 members, at least one of whom does not belong to the Académie

Louvain- 1 academic member from your institution to be proposed as President

of the thesis jury

- Remarks: - The supervisory panel ends its work and mission as soon as the thesis

jury is validated by the doctoral commission.

Phase 3 : Private DefenseOnce the thesis jury is approved by the doctoral commission:

1. The PhD student hands in a proof of payment of tuition fees (Minerval) so that the Doyen and Rector can give their final approval.

2. The PhD student sets a date for the private defense with the jury, and provides each member with a printed copy of his/her thesis at the latest one month in advance.

3. Ph D administrators send the official invitation to the jury members.

4. The whole jury must be present for the private defense

5. After the defense, the supervisor provides the Ph D administrators with a report/ Minute on the outcome.

6. The date and time of the public defense are communicated to the Ph D administrators at least one month in advance.

Phase 3: Public Defense1. PhD students must upload their entire thesis on the electronic thesis library :

DIAL and sign a contrat de diffusion

2. The candidate must also publish his/her thesis in a print form. At UCL this can be done via the CIACO company for the Presses Universitaires de Louvain ; a grant can be requested from the Faculty.

3. At least two thirds of the members of jury must be present at the public defense. Any member unable to attend the public defense must send the President a written report containing his/her reasoned opinion on the value of the thesis, and a list of the questions.

4. During the public defense, the student may spend a maximum of 30 minutes presenting his/her thesis, after which the jury and the public will be permitted to ask questions.

5. After the Defense the jury President provides the Ph D administrators with the Minute and all the official documents (diploma, supplement, certificate, annexe) duly signed by the members.

III. Doctoral trainingHow to get 60 ECTS

How to get 60 ECTS ?Mandatory activities: • Doctoral courses: min. 16 ECTS

• 15h-course with a soft evaluation: 2 ECTS• 30h-course with a soft evaluation: 4 ECTS• 15h-course with a hard evaluation: 4 ECTS• 30h-course with a hard evaluation: 6 ECTS

– Upon the approval of the supervisory comittee, this grid is also applicable to the doctoral courses organized outside the AL

• Master courses : max. 10 ECTS• Maximum 2 courses

• Research seminars (attended) : 4 ECTS Condition: min. 20 seminars, based on a research paper, of at least 1h

Remark: A worskhop of a half day counts as one seminar

• Confirmation : 5 ECTS

• Scientific communication: min. 7 ECTS– International conferences/workshops: 3 ECTS each

Condition: The student presents a paper that has been selected by an academic committee– Research seminars- invited or regular : 3 ECTS each

• Doctoral workshop (twice a year).

How to get 60 ECTS ?

Other activities • Summer school: max. 10 ECTS (providing a certificate of attendance is delivered)

– max. two summer schools can be credited • Teaching: max. 3 ECTS over the whole doctoral process (Condition: At least 60 hours on min. 2

courses) • Visit abroad: max. 6 ECTS (Research stay of min. 3 months, providing a certificate of attendance is

delivered)

• Cooperation: 3 ECTS (at least 10 hours of teaching abroad) • Refereeing: 2 ECTS each (max. 6 ECTS over the doctoral studies)

– The editor asks directly the PhD student to write a report– Credits are provided upon the approval of the supervisory comittee– The journal is a major journal in economics

• Reading groups: max. 7 ECTS

IV. Contact personsWho is who

Bureau Economie for the Doctoral Commission

President: Sébastien Van Bellegem

Academic members:- Jean-Marie Baland from U Namur- Frédéric Docquier from UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve- Xavier Wauthy from St-Louis Brussels

Representative for the PhD Students: Pierre Pecher

Ph D Administrators:Marie-Hélène Chassagne (UCL)Gaëlle de Vinck (UCL)Pierrette Noël (U Namur)Florence Gosselain (U St-Louis Bruxelles).

V. resourcesUseful links

Resources

The Académie Louvain : http://www.academielouvain.be/

The Doctoral School (UCL):http://www.uclouvain.be/en-3891.html

The Doctoral Regulation:http://www.academielouvain.be/view.php3?

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