Second Advisor

Doctoral students are supervised by at least two people - the supervisor and a second advisor.

In agreement with the doctoral student, the supervisor nominates the second advisor. The appointment must be made at the latest by the time the doctoral plan is submitted. However, it is strongly recommended to do it as early as possible. The second advisor must be an ETH professor, a titular professor, a “Privatdozierende/r”, or a senior scientist or an external expert (other university or research institution) of equivalent rank.

The second advisor is involved in developing of the doctoral plan and part of the aptitude comittee. Also during the studies, the second advisor plays an important role at the time of the annual progress report. This again is important for the part of the annual status conversation that focuses on the scientific progress of the research project. The second advisor can be a member of the exam committee; however, that is not mandatory.  

The second advisor should preferably be appointed as early as possible through Download this (PDF, 282 KB) form.

For doctoral students who were admitted until end of 2021, the following applies:

• admitted provisionally by the end of 2021 (research plan not yet approved): the second advisor must be appointed until 31.12.2022
• admitted definitively (research plan approved): the second advisor must be appointed until 30.06.2022