This policy refers to the establishment of joint and double/dual (collaborative) doctorates as defined by the IUA IUA-Guidelines-for-the-Establishment-of-Joint-PhD-Degrees-Nov-2023.pdf.

This policy applies to all existing and new collaborative Doctorates. 

UCC Academic Lead (normally the UCC Lead Supervisor): The UCC Lead supervisor, the proposer, must complete the proposal form (Appendix A ) and submit it to the head of their local Unit for approval to proceed.  The proposer must be guided by the Key Considerations detailed below.  At the same time, if the proposal requires that a new doctoral programme needs to be created, (e.g. a thematic PhD with a specific curriculum) then the Lead UCC Supervisor must make a business case for the proposed new programme via the standard process, in accordance with standard curriculum approval processes on CIM.a

Head of Unit: considers the proposal and is guided by the Key Considerations detailed below.  If the Head of Unit agrees that the proposal should proceed, then the Head of Unit sends the proposal to the College Vice Dean of Graduate Studies.

College Vice Dean of Graduate Studies: considers the proposal and brings it to the College Management Committee for consideration.

College Financial Analyst: considers the proposal and provides advice to the College Management Committee on any changes to published fees and associated costs. 

Dean of Doctoral Studies: Institutional lead and authorises the implementation of approved proposals. 

University College Cork recognises the strategic importance of establishing collaborative doctoral arrangements to enable national and international research collaboration and to build research capacity. Collaborative doctoral arrangements cana lead to new and enhanced partnerships with Irish and international institutions, which helps develop research expertise, and facilitates research mobility. As well as benefits, there are risks to establishing collaborative doctoral arrangements, and UCC is cognisant of managing this balance. As a member of the Irish Universities Associaation (IUA), UCC follows the IUA-Guidelines-for-the-Establishment-of-Joint-PhD-Degrees-Nov-2023.pdf.

Guiding Principles and Definitions:

The preferred position in UCC is co-supervision and a single awarding body. Almost all of the benefits of a joint PhD can be achieved through co-supervision arrangements as detailed in Supervision of Research Students | University College Cork.

UCC supports the following collaborative doctoral arrangements:

Co-supervision: Supervision of Research Students | University College Cork.

Joint PhD: Prior to the issuance of an offer of admission via UCC apply and with the agreement of the Dean of Doctoral Studies, a joint doctoral arrangement is possible, where UCC plus one or more degree awarding institutions collectively contribute to the supervision of a PhD student, leading to one viva voce examination and resulting in one degree parchment awarded by the awarding institutions.

Double/Dual PhD: : Prior to the issuance of an offer of admission via UCC apply and with the agreement of the Dean of Doctoral Studies, a Double/Dual doctoral arrangement is possible, where UCC plus one or more degree awarding institutions collectively contribute to the supervision of a PhD student, leading to one viva voce examination and resulting in two or more degree parchments from the awarding institutions. A Double/Dual doctorate is permitted in very exceptional circumstances.

Joint and Double/Dual doctoral arrangements may only be developed when the following criteria have been met:

1. The proposed collaboration is in line with the University Strategic Plan.
2. The proposed collaboration has a sustainability plan, including for example, adequate cohort size, short-and long-term funding plans, sufficient consideration of staffing, resources etc.
3. The PhDs students involved must meet UCC’s academic and English language entry requirements and must apply via UCC Apply for admission to UCC. And must register on an existing UCC PhD programme.

For Joint or Double/Dual Doctorates the approval process is as follows:

Step 1: Considerations in advance of approval

The UCC Lead Academic (Lead Supervisor) is responsible for completing the proposal form (Appendix A ) and must submit it to the head of their local Unit for approval to proceed.p

Key considerations for submission and analysis by the Head of Unit:

• Single student requests are not permitted.
• Is the proposed collaborative arrangement in line with the strategic plans of the Unit, School, College and UCC?
• What are the existing relationships between UCC and the proposed partner(s)?
• Is the proposed collaboration part of a funding call or is local funding available to establish the collaboration?
• What are the costs for the Unit associated with this proposed collaboration, fees, bench fees, consumables, etc.?
• What are the training arrangements, the examination arrangements, the progress review arrangements? Are they aligned with UCC policies?
• What is the sustainability plan to ensure resourcing and ongoing intake that this is not a one-off intake?
• What are the intellectual property (IP) implications for the students work and the institutions involved?

Step 2: Approval

If the Head of Unit approves the proposal in principle, a request to proceed is submitted by the Head of Unit to the Vice Dean of Graduate Studies of the relevant College for consideration by the College Management Team, including all submitted documentation and rationale for the request to proceed.

If a new Doctoral programme is required, (e.g. a thematic PhD) then, in parallel to the approval for a Joint PhD, a business case for the proposed new programme must be made by the Lead UCC Academic (Lead Supervisor) via the standard process on CIM in accordance with standard curriculum approval processes.

If the College Management Team apapproves the proposal in principle, (and where necessary, Academic Board approves the development of a new Doctoral programme), confirmation of full approval, i.e. the fully completed and fully signed Appendix A , along with all relevant supporting documentation must be collated by the UCC Lead Academic (Lead Supervisor) and the UCC Lead Academic (Lead Supervisor) must submit copies to the Head of Unit, the Dean of Doctoral Studies and the Head of Graduate Studies Office. If a collaborative doctorate is being proposed with a new partner institution, a copy must also be submitted to the Office of the VP Global Engagement.

Step 3: Drafting of the agreement

In addition to completion of Appendix A , each student prior to admission, must have a Collaborative Research Degree Programme Agreement or equivalent prepared. A template is aapvailable on request from the Academic Secretary. Again, it is the proposer, the UCC Academic Lead (Lead Supervisor) who is responsible for ensuring that the Student Agreement is fully completed and signed by all parties.

The key items that must be included are:

• Where UCC is the lead institution, all existing UCC policies will apply in the case of a Joint or Double/Dual Doctoral arrangement.
• Templates for agreements. The template of the lead institution will be used.
• Supervisory arrangements to be outlined (roles, responsibilities, expectations, practicalities).
• Duration of study in each institution.
• Training credit requirements in each institution (equivalence statements where necessary).
• Mechanism for annual reviews and progression (cross reference with IUA Guidelines).
• Examination board composition and examination regulations should satisfy the regulations in all participating institutions. Details of how examination approval will be managed in UCC should be included.
• Language of the thesis and viva voce.
• The language of all administrative activities must be English or Irish.
• Fee liability and associated costs, such as bench fees, consumables, travel expenses (to and from the partner institutions, etc.) must be determined prior to registration. All students must pay fees. If the fee is to be amended from the published UCC fees, then this must be done by prior agreement at College Level with the involvement of the relevant College Financial Analyst.
• Process for formal annual (at a minimum) progress reviews.
• Process for completion of the research learning plan.
• Intellectual property arrangements for work produced as part of the PhD.
• Appeals processes.
• Text and logos for the parchment(s).
• Conferring arrangements.

Next review 3 years from the date of approval

9 Further Information

Contact Email:dds@ucc.ie

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