You may undertake your thesis with joint thesis supervision, allowing you to benefit from greater support and a wider range of expertise. This approach is common in interdisciplinary PhD programmes and is even mandatory for the PhD in Art and Art Sciences.

In practice, thesis supervision for a PhD at ULB is organised as follows:

  • a main supervisor from ULB
  • a co-supervisor, who may be from ULB or another institution


For an interdisciplinary PhD, this joint thesis supervision is particularly valuable, as it provides broader expertise across fields.

External co-supervisors must be permanent members of a higher education or research institution, or part of an organisation with which ULB has a joint PhD supervision agreement.

If you are a PhD student in art and art sciences, your co-supervisor is a member of a higher school of arts.

Procedure

No action is required on your part: the joint thesis supervision is approved as soon as you enrol in the PhD programme. In the rare cases where the institution of the co-supervisor requires the signature of a joint thesis supervision agreement, you can contact us: cotutelle@ulb.be
Updated on October 6, 2025