PROGRESS REVIEW PROCEDURE FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS AT THE EAMT

1. A doctoral progress review refers to the Doctoral Council’s evaluation of the doctoral student’s progress in academic, creative and research activities. Successfully passing the progress review procedure is a prerequisite for continuing doctoral studies.
2. The progress review shall take place once every academic year from 1 June to 22 June. The review is mandatory for all matriculated doctoral students and external students, except for doctoral students on academic leave and doctoral students whose studies have been suspended for reasons due to taking care of a child of up to three years of age or performing compulsory military or alternative national service.
3. The exact timetable of the progress review shall be determined by the Head of the Centre for Doctoral Studies and communicated by the Secretary of the Doctoral Studies to all doctoral students, to their supervisors and members of the Doctoral Council at least two weeks before the progress review.
4. By the specified date the doctoral student shall enter the formal data regarding his/her artistic and/or research work and the completion of his/her individual plan into the EMTA internal information system (information on research publications shall be added to the Estonian Research Portal). Doctoral students shall attend the progress review before the Doctoral Council at the specified date and time to present an oral briefing on the state of their doctoral studies and answer the questions of the Council members.
5. For a valid reason, the doctoral student may be absent from the progress review . In such a case, the student shall submit a written application to the Doctoral Council to be reviewed on the basis of written material.
6. The Doctoral Council has a quorum when at least 3 of its members are present at the progress review.
7. The supervisor of the doctoral student shall also attend the progress review, to assess the progress of the student’s doctoral thesis and creative projects. If the supervisor cannot be present at the progress review, they shall submit their assessment in written form.
8. Based on the report of the individual plan of the doctoral student and other materials submitted, the Doctoral Council shall evaluate the following:

• volume of the curriculum fulfilled;
• progress of the doctoral thesis or the artistic research project;
• academic and artistic activities related to the doctoral project (publications, conference presentations, performances of works, concert performances etc.)

9. At the progress review, the Doctoral Council shall provide doctoral students with feedback on their doctoral studies so far and may also make recommendations for planning their further studies and creative and research activities.
10. Based on the materials submitted by the doctoral student and the progress review, the Doctoral Council shall make either a positive or negative review decision. A decision is adopted if more than half of the participating members of the Doctoral Council vote in favour.
11. The progress review decision may include a proposal to change the status or the individual plan of the doctoral student.
12. Doctoral students that pass the progress review shall be transferred to the next academic year. The Department of Academic Affairs shall submit to the Rector a proposal to dismiss doctoral students who have not passed the progress review.
13. By way of exception, the Doctoral Council may place the doctoral student on probation by specifying precise curriculum-specific obligations with deadlines for their implementation. Upon expiry of the deadline, the Head of the Centre for Doctoral Studies shall check the 2 fulfilment of these obligations. If the obligations are not met, the Head of the Centre for Doctoral Studies shall submit to the Rector a proposal to dismiss the doctoral student for poor progress.
14. The Secretary of the Doctoral Studies shall forward the decisions made at the progress review within three working days by e-mail to all members of the Doctoral Council and will personally communicate the respective decision to each doctoral student.
15. Doctoral students have the right to contest the decision regarding their progress review within ten working days by submitting a respective written application to the Rector.
16. If the progress review procedure has been violated, the Rector may revoke the progress review decision and order the Doctoral Council to review the doctoral student a second time within two weeks.

Approved by the Council of EAMT on 30.06.2011. Amended on 19.02.2014, 13.06.2022, 13.06.2022, 14.06.2023.