This article analyses the so-called joint or co-tutelle PhDs graduate programs developed through international partnership, which are increasingly prominent in Brazilian higher education. We demonstrate that although they fit Brazilian universities’ internationalization objectives, they are still a source of inaccuracies and contradictions. After differentiating these programs from other types of international PhDs, we seek to identify how “Co-tutelles” are understood and practiced in other countries and whether they constitute a single, unitary model. Finally, we compare the international and Brazilian situations, demonstrating that Resolution 01/2001 of the National Council of Education and its interpretation by some Brazilian universities prevent full implementation of this type of partnership in the country and make it unappealing.