International opportunities - Cotutelle doctoral degrees

Add an international perspective to your PhD experience, enhance collaboration and access world-leading research through a cotutelle doctoral degree.

A Cotutelle Doctoral Degree refers to a doctoral degree program that is undertaken jointly at Flinders University and an international higher education institution. In practice, this means that the PhD student (domestic or international) is supervised jointly by academics from both institutions and divides his/her candidature between Flinders and the partner institution, spending a minimum of 12 months at each. Upon successful completion of a PhD students will also be awarded two parchments, one from each institution. Flinders can either be the home institution (where the student spends the majority of their time) or the host institution.

Relevant details such as admission requirements, supervisory arrangements, examination processes and timeframes will be identified in a cotutelle agreement between the student, supervisors and institutions.

To be eligible for a cotutelle doctoral degree you will need to be:

admitted to a doctoral degree at your home institution
a full-time student
within the first year of your PhD
have the support of your home institution principal supervisor, and
have identified a potential supervisor at the host institution

For more information refer to the HDR Policy and cotutelle procedures.

Timeframes

Due to the detailed nature of cotutelle arrangements, it can take up to three months to develop an agreement and gain approval. Where Flinders University has not previously engaged with the partner institution, it will take additional time to assess the reputation and the equivalence of doctoral procedures.

Benefits

Key information

The Cotutelle Travel Grant

How to apply

International partners

Jess Young and friends, University of Western Ontario, Canada

“I am a Speech Pathologist with a passion for dementia care and communication. I am currently enrolled in a cotutelle PhD with Flinders University and the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Engaging in PhD study as a cotutelle student has allowed me to maintain invaluable local relationships with leading researchers at Flinders, whilst also learning from and engaging with inspirational international researchers. In my first year of the program, I have been able to make the most of the opportunities and resources that both universities offer, have had some amazing travel experiences (living through a Canadian winter, visiting New York for Christmas, attending an international conference in New Orleans - just amazing), and continue to build an incredibly supportive and engaging international network of mentors and collaborators. I feel very lucky to have had this wonderful experience and couldn’t recommend it more highly!”

Jess Young

Benefits for students

Cotutelle Doctoral degrees provide significant benefits to students including:

exposure to different educational environments
increased networks, personally and professionally
enhanced career opportunities
access to different research expertise, equipment and perspectives, and
the ability to increase the global impact of their research.

To find out more about how a Cotutelle Doctoral Degree can enhance your PhD experience, listen to Jess Young’s video.

Benefits for supervisors and Flinders University

As identified above, cotutelle doctoral degrees are an avenue to creating and enhancing research collaborations between Flinders University and leading international institutions. As such, Flinders University’s reputation as a research-intensive university will also be enhanced.

There are also a number of benefits for supervisors which include:

establishing new or enhancing existing research collaborations
developing broader research programs
increasing professional networks
experiencing new and different research perspectives
extending the global impact of research.

Key information

Cotutelle doctoral degrees incorporate a number of factors to consider before you apply.

Students will need to satisfy each university’s admission requirements, including language proficiency.
Students will be responsible for identifying any coursework and milestone progress requirements.
Students will arrange and cover the costs of travel, insurances, health cover and accommodation for the Cotutelle arrangement.
Students are liable for fees at the home institution and provided with a fee waiver by the host university for the duration of candidature.
Students must spend a minimum of 12 months at the host institution. This may be split into a series of visits provided both institutions agree.

Examination processes will be identified within each agreement and may follow one institution or a combination of both.
Examination may include an oral defence.
All theses must be in English.
Students are responsible for managing interaction between themselves and their supervisors at both institutions.
Both supervisors are responsible for following the Charter of HDR Student and Supervisor Responsibilities.

The Cotutelle Travel Grant

Students whose home institution is Flinders University may be eligible for the Flinders University Cotutelle Travel Grant. The Cotutelle Travel Grant can reimburse the cost of travel to and from the international host institution for the research period(s) identified in the cotutelle agreement. Students for whom Flinders is the host institution should check with their home institution regarding potential support.

More information is available in the cotutelle travel grant rules.
To apply for the grant, complete the application for cotutelle travel grant.

How to apply

Before you apply for admission to a cotutelle doctoral degree, discuss it with your supervisor and identify potential institutions and supervisors where collaboration would be beneficial. You should also read the Cotutelle Procedure to ensure you are aware of the requirements and responsibilities involved.

All students are required to complete the cotutelle proposal form, which captures information essential to organising the cotutelle arrangement such as institutional information, supervisory arrangements, research periods etc.

Students whose host institution is Flinders University are also required to apply for admission to Flinders University via the online application process. Students whose home university is Flinders University should have undertaken this process already.

Please be aware that where either the on-line application or the cotutelle proposal form does not provide all of the required information, they cannot be progressed.

Once both the cotutelle proposal form and online application are complete, the proposed cotutelle arrangement is assessed through the following process:

Cotutelle application process flowchart

The Office of Graduate Research will liaise with students and supervisors at both institutions throughout the process.

Flinders University students should also liaise with their host institution supervisor to ensure they follow the appropriate admissions and enrolment process for the host institution.

For more information, please contact us.