Guidance Notes for Completing the
Individual Co-tutelle Agreement Proposal Form
Please note that it is not normally possible for a student who has already started on a
St Andrews PhD to convert to a co-tutelle degree.
If you have any questions, please call CSA on 3310 or email [email protected]
Section 2
Applicant Details
Dates of Study: please note that the student must spend at least 12 months in St Andrews, although
this could be divided into blocks of 6 months.
Section 3
Academic Rationale for Co-tutelle Proposal
Please make a case for this student to engage in a co-tutelle agreement, rather than studying fulltime at St Andrews.
Section 4
Partner Details
When considering safety of working environment, please also make reference to any fieldwork
location.
The St Andrews Equal Opportunities Policy can be found at:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/edi/equalityschemeandpolicies/equalitypolicy/
Section 6
Financial Arrangements
Students usually pay fees locally, ie to St Andrews while registered here, and to the partner
institution for time spent there. Our Fees team uses the study dates provided in the Co-tutelle
Agreement to assess fees due, hence the need for changes in study dates to be flagged to us. If
revised dates vary considerably from the original agreement, an addendum should be submitted for
approval.
Fees are charged pro-rata, in units of one month.
Please note that certain scholarships may carry their own stipulations: for example, the
Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarship is incompatible with a co-tutelle PhD. Funding obtained by the
partner university may require, for instance, that it be the lead institution.
Section 7
Supervision, Progression and Assessment
The relevant section of University Policy relating to progression of PGR students can be found here:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/staff/policy/tlac/postgraduate/research/#d.en.53725
The student will be required to submit a hard copy of the thesis and a CD to St Andrews, as well as
meeting the Lead institution’s requirements.
Please specify what report will be sent to St Andrews following successful completion.
Section 8
Graduation and Award
The student may decide which graduation ceremony to attend; it is not necessarily at the lead
institution. It is helpful if this decision can be made at the time of agreement so that the joint
certificate can be negotiated well in advance of graduation.
If St Andrews is not the lead, we will require notification from the partner that the student has
graduated. This may be in the form of the programme of the event at which the degree has been
conferred, or an extract from a register. This is required for Registry to close off the student record.
Section 9
Services, Rules and Regulations
St Andrews’ Complaints Policy is found at:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/administration/complaints/
Next steps

Internal approval will be sought from the Provost on the basis of the information
provided above.

Following internal approval, the co-tutelle agreement will be negotiated with the
partner institution.

Signatures will be collected from both institutions and from the student. When the
agreement has been fully signed, a scan will be sent to the partner institution, both
supervisors and the student. The original will be stored at St Katherine’s West in the
CSA office.

The Student will apply to both institutions, stating that their application is for a cotutelle degree; the St Andrews online application form automatically flags up to CSA
that an intention to undertake a co-tutelle degree is indicated. Any offer made by St
Andrews prior to signing of the co-tutelle agreement will be subject to completion of
the agreement.

Should study dates in St Andrews deviate from those stated in the co-tutelle
agreement, supervisors are asked to notify CSA so that the PGR and Fees Teams can
update the student record. A significant variation in dates may require an
Addendum to the agreement; should this be necessary, CSA will prepare the
document, seek approval, and circulate as necessary.