Credit Units for Doctoral Students of D-MATH

Due to the new ordinance on the doctorate at ETH (which came into force on January 01, 2022) there are different regulations concerning credit units depending on doing the doctoral studies

A) according to the OLD ordinance on the doctorate:

B) according to the NEW ordinance on the doctorate:

 

All doctoral students need to earn at least 12 credit units - how this can be done is different and depends on the ordinance on which the individual doctorate is based. 

 

A) Doctoral students doing their doctorate according to the OLD ordinance

  • Until spring semester 2024 1-3 credit units could be earned with any given course listed in the ZGSM Graduate Course Program (with I-MATH courses (UZH) having a -DP-identifier and D-MATH courses (ETH) having a -DRL-identifier).
  • From fall 2024 on the D-MATH courses of the graduate course program only can be chosen via the newly created Foundations of D-MATH Doctoral Studies (I and II). For such a foundations unit you get 3 credits (each) by doing the ungraded semester performance of the relavant course. In total, during your doctorate 6 credits can be obained with these two Foundations of D-MATH Doctoral Studies (I and II).
  • Furthermore each semester there are Nachdiplom-Lectures which are also part of the graduate course program. By attending these and doing the relevant ungraded semester performance you get 2 credits
  • There are no credit units for attending seminars (besides your advisor defines it as Doctoral Studies Course (see below))
  • Up to 2 credit units per semester can be earned for a Doctoral Studies Course. A Doctoral Studies Course is an informal course defined by your advisor, which is not listed in the ZGSM Graduate Course Program. Examples of such courses are retreats (summer/winter schools), conferences, or working group seminars. You can earn up to two credit units for such a course - it is up to your advisor to determine if it is one or two credits. A total of up to 4 credits can be earned with Doctoral Studies Courses
  • In total, 4 credits have to be earned by attending courses outside of your research area. These have to be marked on the Course List for Doctoral Studies (see below) with an asterix.
  • All courses, conferences, workshops etc. have to be listed in the Course List for Doctoral Studies which has to be signed by your advisor. This course list serves as proof of the courses and doctoral studies courses you have done. We recommend to fill in the course list on a regular base (including signatures of the lecturers). If it is not possible anymore to get the signature of the lecturer because he/she left ETH your advisor can confirm that you attended the course with his/her signature. For courses with registration via myStudies, a myStudies extract can also be attached instead of the lecturer's signature

Concerning the registration for courses, please see Graduate Program > Course Registrations ETH PhDs.

 

B) Doctoral students doing their doctorate according to the NEW ordinance

The 12 credits you have to earn must cover the following three areas

  • Knowledge in the research area of the doctoral thesis and extension beyond the original discipline, e.g. attendance of courses of the ZGSM Graduate Course Program, regular Master's degree courses or courses from the third year of Bachelor's degree studies. It is not defined how many credits have to come from outside your research area. This has to be discussed and decided together with your advisor. You can register for courses with ungraded semester performance (with 2 or 3 credits) as well as for courses with session examination (which often have more credits). For details please see Graduate Program > Course Registrations ETH PhDs
  • Transferable skills, e.g. soft-skill courses or participation in ETH Zurich bodies or committees. At least 1 credit has to be acquired by attending a course on the topic of ethics and good scientific practice. Such courses for doctoral students of D-MATH are listed in the VVZ under Doctorate Mathematics. There you also find the generic modules you have to book for getting credits for transferable skills (all having the -DRL-identifier)
  • Integration into the scientific community by attending international conferences or summer schools. For getting credits for these you have to book the generic modules that are listed in the VVZ under Doctorate Mathematics (all having the -DRL-identifier). The amount of credits for summer schools depends on the length and on the kind of participation (with or without poster/talk)

Details see Ordinance on the doctorate, Art. 36 Regular doctoral studies and Rectors's Implementation Provisions 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3. On page 7 of the Rectors's Implementation Provisions you find a table with specifications regarding the credit units. Specifications concerning D-MATH you find in the relevant Detailed Stipulations.

A collection of all regulations you find under Forms & Regulations ETH.

The proof of the courses you have taken (including the relevant credits) is done via a myStudies transcipt. For doctoral students in accordance with the new ordinance the Course List for Doctoral Studies (see above, A)) isn't relevant as everything is booked and documented via myStudies.

Important: you should discuss the courses you want to attend with your advisor - at least once a year in the annual meetings.

 

As language courses are not a core element of doctoral studies in mathematics no credit units are awarded for any kind of language courses - this concerns also the ZGSM German language courses.