Sandwich PhD Programme

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A Sandwich PhD Programme, aka Partial Doctoral Fellowship or ‘Sandwich Doctorate’, is a Postgraduate PhD program offered by some research institutions in collaboration with a (generally foreign) research institution. In such a program, the PhD student initiates his PhD in his own country, usually taking classes and defining a problem. The second phase, varying from a few months to one or more years, takes the student to carry out research in the foreign institution. The third phase finds the student back in his home country to finish his studies and present his thesis/dissertation.

Many countries have this kind of PhD in their graduate programs. In Brazil, for example, two main governmental research institutions Capes and CNPq provide scholarships to support PhD students to stay from 4 months to one year abroad. The requirements for selecting the candidate to the program are that they have to be in a PhD program of recognized quality, they have to prove the language proficiency, through language tests like TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS (International English Language Testing System), DELE (Spanish Diplomas as a Foreign Language), according to the idiom required, and the candidate has to have a co-advisor at the foreign institution with a detailed work project and schedule approved by both research institutions.

Another example is the scholarship offered for Chinese students by the Asia Link EuropeAid Co-operation Office. Their scheme for the sandwich PhD programme is as follows: A Chinese student is jointly supervised by a Chinese and by a European supervisor. Both are supposed to be staff of partner institutions of the network. The student with a masters degree (3-year PhD-programme) typically spends the first year of PhD studies at a European partner institution and the remaining years in China, with some extended visits to Europe during the second and third year of PhD studies. The student without a masters degree (5-year PhD-programme) spends the second year of PhD studies at a European partner institution and the remaining years in China, with some extended visits to Europe during the third to fifth year of PhD studies.

One more example is the one provided by the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). VNU is authorized by the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) to carry out a Sandwich PhD programme with overseas institutions. The main items of their programme are as follows: Candidates of the programme are selected in accordance with the regulations of MOET and/or VNU. Among the regulations, a good foreign language proficiency, e.g. a minimal English level of 450 points for TOEFL or 5.0 IELTS, is required. The candidate's PhD project must be approved by a team of international (Vietnamese and overseas) supervisors. Thesis should be written in English or in a relevant foreign language and will be defended before an International Examination Committee. Thesis defense ceremony can be held either at VNU or at the overseas co-supervisor\u2019s institution. The duration of PhD course: Four years. Selected candidates will be allowed to study two years at VNU and two years at the overseas co-supervisor's institution. The degree would be conferred by VNU and/or by the overseas supervisor's institution in accordance with the agreement between two institutions. Allowance, tuition and other required fees would be covered by MOET (and/or by international cooperation funds if available). The programme applies to both the candidates who are selected from annual examination, and those who are currently undertaking their PhD courses at VNU (1st-2nd year of study).

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