• It is a single PhD degree jointly awarded by more than one university.
• Your application, admission and academic program must meet the PhD requirements of each university.
• It is a collaborative academic program of scholarship and research designed, supervised, and examined by faculty from each university.

• Consult with academic units in the respective universities.
• You must meet the admission requirements of each partner university. It is expected that you will spend significant periods of time engaged in academic work at each university.
• Your academic program must satisfy all PhD requirements at each university.
• It will be established from the outset that one of the partner universities will be designated the “home” university.
• A memorandum of agreement (MOA) will be established between the partner institutions. It must have final approval from the deans of graduate studies in each university. 
• The MOA will be established as close to the first registration as possible. It must be approved and signed no later than by the time you have reached candidacy.
• The MOA (see template) will include, but is not limited to:    
  • details related to the academic program the student will be required to complete
  • assignment of supervision, required coursework, candidacy examination(s), dissertation requirements including the language, length and format of dissertation, oral defence, and submission of the final dissertation
  • the arrangements among the partners on various responsibilities and regulations including:
    • the administration of student admission
    • registration
    • monitoring of progress
    • funding and student support
    • tuition and fees guidelines*
    • intellectual property guidelines
    • graduation and awarding of parchment(s)

*Students in jointly-supervised individual PhD programs typically pay tuition to the university in which they are resident in each term.

• Contact the graduate adviser in the academic unit you'd like to be admitted to for this degree.
• Gain approval in principle from the academic unit to admit you into this joint degree.
• Apply for admission to the PhD program with that academic unit.
• Find a faculty member in that academic unit who agrees to be your program supervisor.
• Review the MOA template with your supervisor and with the potential partner-university supervisor.
• Contact the assistant dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. They'll facilitate the negotiations and development of the MOA.
• Complete the MOA document with your supervisors. Get it approved by each institutions’ graduate advisers and academic unit chairs.
• Once the above approvals are obtained, submit the MOA to the deans of the respective Graduate Studies faculties for approval.
• Once all approvals are given, your academic record will be amended to reflect that you have been admitted to a jointly-supervised individual PhD program.

What is co-op?

Co-operative education (co-op) is a learning strategy that lets you:

• alternate your academic studies with paid, relevant work experience in your field of study
• enrich your academic studies by drawing on practical, real-world experience from your work terms
• develop competencies to excel in the workplace
• potentially pursue work terms related to your graduate research or project

Can you do co-op?

Graduate co-op may be available to students who are pursuing thesis and non-thesis (or professional) degrees. Participation is optional, and admission is determined after consultation with your graduate adviser and department. Contact the co-op program in your degree area for details, or email coopinfo@uvic.ca.

Note: Co-op is not open to one-year graduate degrees, graduate certificates and diplomas, and non-degree graduate students.

What other career development support does UVic offer?

UVic Co-op and Career can support you through every stage of your career development, through:

• One-on-one career guidance
• Career development programs and workshops
• On-campus networking opportunities with employers
• Online work search resources
• Competency development and assessment

Looking for work?

Apply for all types of job opportunities at learninginmotion.uvic.ca.