Progress reviews
Doctoral research projects should be planned by candidates and their supervisors in such a way that doctoral thesis completion within three years is possible. Doctoral supervisors have undertaken to monitor the progress of candidates regularly and document it in writing.
Once a year, doctoral candidates and supervisors document their meetings and discussions about the progress of the candidate’s doctoral research project/thesis.
Deadlines for Progress reports
Start date for doctoral research projects:
(usually) 1 October
Progress reports due by:
- 31 March during first year (see 1 = Regular progress report)
- 28 February during second year (see 2 = Interim report)
- 31 March during third year (see 1 = Regular progress report)
- ... and annually 31 March until the thesis has been handed in.
(1) Regular progress reports (approx. 2-3 pages)
On 31 March during the first and third year of the doctoral project (and until the doctoral thesis has been handed in), doctoral candidates hand in progress reports which document their meeting(s) with their supervisors and discussions/agreements about the progress of the doctoral research project/thesis. Ideally, candidates schedule a meeting which suits both/all supervisors. If this is not possibe, consecutive meetings with each of the supervisors are also admissable.
During the meettings, the candidates draw up minutes of the agreements made and use them to prepare the progress reports.
NB: The final progress report will have to be signed by all supervisors before submission!
The progress reports take stock of the work to date and contain also:
- an updated workplan, i.e. a preview of the steps to come (“what will happen”),
- an updated timeline (“when will it happen” - planned until the end of the doctoral project/submission of thesis).
(2) Longer progress report: Interim report (5 pages)
The Interim report
During their second year, with the deadline of 28 February, candidates submit a more detailed report, the so-called “interim report” (five pages). The interim report is an extended progress report and explains in greater detail what candidates have achieved so far and what they are planning on doing for the remainder of their doctoral studies.
NB: The interim report will have to be signed by all supervisors before submission!
With their Interim report, candidates also provide an updated workplan ( i.e. a preview of the steps to come = contents!) and an updated timeline (outlining “when” steps will happen until the end of the doctoral project and the submission of the thesis = chronological schedule!).
Additionally, candidates should hand in a significant part of their dissertation which can take the form of:
- a chapter of their dissertation (approximately 20 pages), or
- a submitted paper/manuscript, or
- the draft for a paper describing the scientific background of their experiments, containing an introduction, methods, results, and discussion.
Should doctoral candidates be unable to hand in a chapter or a submitted paper or a draft for a paper, in their five-page interim report they should explain why not. This will be taken up by the Interim report committee during the Interim report meeting in order to identify possible challenges and obstacles and offer support or advice to the candidates.
The Interim report meeting with the school
After handing in their interim reports, candidates will receive an invitation for a confidential meeting in March with an independent interim report committee. The committee will consist of one of the academic directors, selected postdoctoral and/or faculty members of the graduate school who are not directly involved in the candidate's dissertation project, and a member of the school’s management team.
The meetings will be confidential and the committee will not take minutes.
Poster presentations
As part of the graduate school's progress reviews, at regular intervals doctoral candidates publicly present the current state of their research projects before their fellow doctoral candidates and members of the M&B faculty. Candidates will be able to present their research in posters and answer questions by other members of the graduate school.
