The doctorate lies at the interface between teaching and research, whereas the Bachelor and Master levels focus primarily on teaching. Gaining academic competence via a personal and original contribution to research is the main part of a doctoral degree. At the same time and in addition to the development of academic competence, key objectives of the doctorate are the acquisition of subject-specific, methodological, and transversal knowledge and skills as well as the promotion of academic interaction and network-building.
Each Swiss university organises and plans the doctorate in keeping with the institution's profile and under consideration of the particularities within a certain discipline. Doctoral students plan and write their dissertations within the framework of a traditional doctorate or within the framework of "schools" or "programmes". They usually have access to various educational offers such as courses, seminars, or summer schools. A frequent way of financing doctoral studies is working in a university department as an assistant, or through funding (for individuals or projects/programmes) obtained from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) or other sources or third parties.
Admission to the doctorate lies in the autonomous responsibility of the universities and is decided case-by-case on the basis of individual qualifications. The doctorate has been designed on the basis of university Master’s studies. In case of proven scientific qualifications, access is also possible with a Master’s degree from other types of higher education institutions.
The doctoral degree grants candidates the right to use the university-defined title of Dr (...), which corresponds to the Ph.D. used in English.
Further information
- regarding the development of the doctoral degree at ProDoc
- in the 'Bericht zum Doktorat 2008' / 'Rapport sur le doctorat 2008'
Candidates interested in earning a doctoral degree who fulfil the admission requirements (i.e. a Master's degree acquired at a university or an equivalent diploma) choose
a) a university, or
b) a professor, who will be the future Ph.D. supervisor (scientific advisor), or
c) a given doctoral programme.
You will find helpful information for your decision-making at the university Web sites. The 'proff'-database is useful for searching professors. Existing doctoral programmes can be found by searching the databases listed under the navigation button Doctoral Programmes. Successful application to doctoral studies usually requires a professor's agreement to serve as your Ph.D. supervisor, but an admission decision by a committee may also be needed. Information regarding the university-specific admission requirements can be obtained via the units or student administration offices responsible for doctoral studies.