Second advisor
Doctoral students at ETH Zurich should be supervised as closely and continuously as possible. Supervision by several people can ensure this even with high workloads.
In addition to the supervisor of the doctoral thesis, who bears the main academic and personal responsibility, doctoral students are supported by a second advisor.
The second advisor:
- is an academically qualified and professionally recognised person
- is appointed by you in agreement with the doctoral candidate (within the framework determined by the department)
- accompanies and advises doctoral students professionally
- is involved in the preparation of the doctoral plan
- is a member of the aptitude committee and examiner in the aptitude colloquium
- assists with the preparation of the progress report
- receives feedback in the first part (scientific progress) of the annual status conversation
The second advisor should preferably be appointed as early as possible. The second advisor must be notified to the central doctoral administration office () using the completed Downloadform (PDF, 440 KB)vertical_align_bottom before the aptitude colloquium.
If necessary, doctoral students can request further advisors. This can be particularly helpful if the research project is interdisciplinary in nature or if the department requires a professor as a second advisor who is very busy at times.