After passing the candidacy exam, doctoral candidates must meet their thesis director (and co director if applicable) once a year to fill out an annual report. This is a good opportunity for the students to receive official feedback from their advisors. The information is entered in an online form that must be filled out first by the student, then by his/her director (and co director if applicable). The online tool will generate a final PDF document sent to all participants at the end of the process.
In EDIC, it is due by October 30, every year.
The annual reports are reviewed by the EDIC Program Committee to make sure that all doctoral students are making satisfactory academic progress. A mid-term evaluation is required six months later for those who failed to get a satisfactory grade in the annual evaluation (April 30, every year).
Doctoral students starting their second year and those who are within three months of defending their thesis are exempt from filling an annual report.
Access online tool: link sent to doctoral candidates by the doctoral program two months prior to deadline
Connection: with your MS account credentials
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS
Each year, starting one year after the Candidacy exam, you have to submit an annual report to your thesis director on the state of progress of your work (art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate ).
To prepare your report, you will receive the link to the online tool two months before your annual report is due.
In the online tool, you are requested to fill in 3 sections with:
- your basic information;
- your research progress:
- and a self-assessment of your progress: this section is completed separately by you and your thesis director(s), then discussed during the annual meeting (collaborative review)
Please note that the content you fill in is not confidential and will be available to all parties after the independent self-assessment and once the process is completed.
From September 9th 2025, you have the option to:
- attach a PDF file to your report, but we recommend that you do not use this option and enter all your information in the form.
Please note that the option to upload a PDF file is not available for first-year reports.
- arrange a confidential meeting with your mentor as part of your annual report (tick box). In this case, they will receive an email (with you in cc) informing them of your wish to meet, with a provisional PDF version of your report (sections 1 and 2) attached. You are responsible for organizing this meeting, which can take place at any time during the process. Only the director of your doctoral program will know whether you decide to meet with your mentor or not (if they have to check your report*).
*After the collaborative review, the report will be sent to the director of your doctoral program for verification only if:
- it is rated as: “needs some improvement” or “unsatisfactory”;
- you disagree with the content of the report.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the help page
- on the annual report process, please contact your doctoral program: [email protected]
ANNUAL REPORT’S DEADLINES
The annual report in EDIC is due by October 30 every year. We strongly encourage you to plan the meetings with your thesis director (co-director if applicable) and your mentor (optional) ahead of time, to insure that your annual report is finished by the requested deadline.
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS
Each year, starting one year after the Candidacy exam, your doctoral candidate has to submit an annual report on the state of progress of their work (art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate ).
A notification to write the report will be sent by the program administrative assistant to the doctoral candidate two months prior to the due date so that the process can be completed on schedule.
Once your doctoral candidate has completed the annual report, you will be requested by email to connect to the online tool to review the information provided and complete your progress evaluation. Please note that the content you fill in is not confidential and will be revealed to all parties after the independent self-assessment and once the process is completed.
You will then be asked by email to arrange a face-to-face meeting with your doctoral candidate (and the co-director if applicable) to review the information, discuss goals achieved and planned, and evaluate overall progress.
During this collaborative review, you will have to give a general appraisal of the progress of your doctoral candidate:
- exceeds expectations: the progress made during the previous year is exceptionally good; the thesis is on track; only a few doctoral candidates will receive this rating during their PhD;
- meets expectations: the progress during the previous year is good; the thesis is on track; this is the most common rating;
- needs some improvement: the progress made during the previous year is short of expectations; the thesis can get back on track if the doctoral candidate follows the feedback received; an intervention by the doctoral program director is not needed; some doctoral candidates may receive this rating during their PhD;
- unsatisfactory: the progress made during the previous year was insufficient; this signals a serious risk of failure; an intervention by the doctoral program director is necessary; this assessment is rare.
The report will be sent to the candidate’s doctoral program director for verification if:
- it is rated as: “needs some improvement” or “unsatisfactory”.
- the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content of the report.
And if the report is rated as “unsatisfactory” or the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content, a meeting will be held to seek appropriate measures to resolve possible problems and conflicts, and to improve the performance.
At the end of the process, everyone involved will receive a PDF version of the report by email. Please note that neither the report nor the information is stored in the online tool once the report is completed.
ANNUAL REPORT’S DEADLINES
The annual report is due by October 30 of each year
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the help page
- on the annual report process, please contact your doctoral program: [email protected]
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS
Each year, starting one year after the Candidacy exam, your doctoral candidate has to submit an annual report on the state of progress of their work (art. 10 of the Ordinance on the doctorate ).
A notification to write the report will be sent by the program administrative assistant to the doctoral candidate two months prior to the due date so that the process can be completed on schedule.
A confidential meeting between the mentor and mentee is a mandatory element of the annual report. The doctoral candidate is responsible for organizing this meeting early enough so that the process can be completed on schedule. Thank you for confirming that the meeting has taken place, by connecting via the following link: https://phd-annual-report.epfl.ch.
From 9th September 2025, a confidential meeting between you and your mentee is an optional part of the annual report. If your mentee chooses to meet with you, this can take place at any time during the process. You will receive an email informing you of their wish to meet, with a provisional PDF version of their report attached. Only the candidate’s doctoral program director will know whether your mentee decides to meet with you or not.
Once the annual report process is complete, you will receive a PDF version of the report by email.
The following topics could be discussed:
- Advancing as a researcher (what has gone well, less well, how to improve, goal setting, which resources are needed, …)
- Facets of career-building (contributions to the community, conferences, awards, networking opportunities, participating in possible soft skill courses on writing, communicating, managing, spin-off training, …)
- Work-life balance
- Communication (within the laboratory, with the thesis director(s) and other lab members, matching expectations in terms of progress and future goals, …)
- Life after the PhD (what kind of career options are there and how to explore them, …)
ANNUAL REPORT’S DEADLINES
The annual report is due by October 30 of each year
The process must be completed in approximately 8 weeks.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the help page
- on the annual report process, please contact your doctoral program: [email protected]
ANNUAL REPORT’S PROCESS
You will be notified by email each time:
- an annual report of a doctoral candidate in your program is rated as: Need some improvement or Unsatisfactory;
- the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content of the report.
And if the report is rated as “unsatisfactory” or the doctoral candidate disagrees with the content, you should hold a meeting to seek appropriate measures to resolve possible problems and conflicts, and to improve the performance.
In the online tool, you will have to confirm that you have checked the annual report, and you may indicate any comments you have.
You and your administrative assistant will receive a PDF copy of every report of EDIC doctoral candidates by email.
Please note that neither the report nor the information is stored in the online tool once the report is completed.
Should you have any questions:
- on how the tool works, please consult the help page
- on the annual report process, please contact the Doctoral School: [email protected]