Doctoral education
A doctoral degree enables you to start or continue a piece of research in a field you are passionate about, building on the knowledge and expertise acquired in your Master’s degree. It is the highest degree awarded in an academic environment and means that you have achieved the highest level of competence in a given area of study.
Your timeframe and our quality assurance tools
- Full-time students spend between 36- and 48 months completing a doctoral degree.
- Part-time students have 96 months to complete their doctoral studies.
- Students who are offered a contract with the University of Luxembourg are typically employed for an initial period of 36 months, and their contract can be extended by 12 months.
To ensure that our doctoral candidates finish their studies within this timeframe, the University has introduced the DEA (Doctoral Education Agreement) and Thesis Supervision Committee (CET – Comité d’encadrement de thèse).
In essence, these are educational instruments as well as quality assurance tools: they give structure to your doctoral studies, ensure that each doctoral project is supervised in the best possible manner and give you access to several advisers. The 48/96-month timeframe gives you a clear perspective within which to structure your research, findings and report writing.
University Acts and By-Laws
The following documents are the legal basis of doctoral studies.
- Loi modifiée du 27 juin 2018 ayant pour objet l’organisation de l’Université du Luxembourg (PDF)
- Règlement d’ordre intérieur du 14 novembre 2023 (PDF)
- Règlement des études du 6 septembre 2022 (PDF)
- Annexe au règlement des études – programmes de diplôme d’études spécialisées en médecine (PDF).
As mentioned in the study regulations, the Doctoral Education Agreement (DEA) needs to be signed in the first six months of doctoral studies. This information is found in our legal framework page.
Highlight
Induction days for new doctoral candidates
All you need to know
Doctoral defences
Contact
If you have more questions, please contact the Office of Doctoral Studies (Bureau des études doctorales, BED)
via email or book an appointment via Affluences.
Address
We are located on Belval Campus
Maison du Savoir, 5th floor
2, place de l’Université
L-4365 Esch-sur-Alzette