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Joint Doctoral Research Scholars

A UBC faculty member with doctoral student supervision privileges at UBC that has been formally recognized by another university as a co-supervisor of the doctoral research of a student registered at that university may request that the student be designated at UBC as a Joint Doctoral Research Scholar (JDRS), and may host the student to visit UBC in order to participate in collaborative scholarly work. A JDRS will normally have at least one research visit on-site at UBC during their enrolment.

A Joint Doctoral Research Scholar must enrol at UBC as either a Visiting International Research Student (VIRS), or as a Visiting Graduate Student (includes graduate exchange programs), and will be registered in VGRD 699 (Joint Doctoral Research Scholar) for all terms which overlap with their active collaboration with their UBC co-supervisor.

An international student (requiring Canadian study permit) seeking designation as a Joint Doctoral Research Scholar will normally follow the VIRS administrative procedure for enrolment. If an international student Joint Doctoral Research Scholar wishes to take UBC courses for credit, they must enrol as a Visiting Graduate Student.

A Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident seeking designation as a Joint Doctoral Research Scholar will normally follow the Visiting Graduate Student, Western Deans' Agreement, or Graduate Exchange Agreement procedures for enrolment, as appropriate to their home institution.

The fees, policies, administrative procedures for enrolment, ability to register in courses, and access to student services as a Joint Doctoral Research Scholar will align with the student’s entry pathway (VIRS, Visiting Graduate Student, Western Deans' Agreement or Graduate Exchange Agreement). Additional verification of the formal co-supervisory arrangement is required.

UBC Ph.D. students that have a formally approved co-supervisor at a non-UBC university will also be enroled in VGRD 699 (Joint Doctoral Research Scholar) to notate this arrangement on their formal UBC academic record.

Joint Doctoral Research Scholars will be eligible to obtain a confirmation letter from Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to validate that their doctoral thesis research was co-supervised by a UBC faculty member, and that they attended UBC as a Joint Doctoral Research Scholar as part of their doctoral studies at another university.


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