Doctorate

For general introduction to obtaining a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences , we recommend that you first consult the How to PhD guide [1] provided by the UZH Graduate Campus [2]. It explains the most important rules, procedures, and resources for planning your doctorate.

The Doctorate and Graduate School pages [3] provide further information on the options for obtaining a doctoral degree and give access to important study-related documents. The legally binding regulations for the doctoral degree are provided by the Faculty’s Legal Basis (Rechtsgrundlagen) [4], which includes the Doctoral Program Regulation (in German, Doktoratsordnung) and the Ordinance on Obtaining a Doctoral Degree (PromVO 2019).

You can find a brief overview of the most important topics on the Doctoral Studies at PhF page [5].

Information for international students is provided on the UZH for International Students and Scholars [6] webpages.

1. How to PhD | Graduate Campus | UZH
2. GRC | Graduate Campus | UZH
3. Doctorate | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | UZH
4. Legal Basis | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | UZH
5. Doctoral Studies at PhF (Overview) | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | UZH
6. Internationals | UZH for International Students and Scholars | UZH

There are no doctoral scholarships or graduate programs at the University of Zurich. Doctoral students must, therefore, provide their own funding. Basically, there are three possibilities:

• through a employment at UZH,
• by pursuing a professional activity outside the university,
• or by raising funds independently to finance your doctorate.

Open positions as a doctoral student are published at theUZH job market. Funding instruments where doctoral researchers can apply for fellowships or a project funds can be found at the webpageFunding for PhD Researchers | UZH for Researchers | UZH.

As a general rule for a PhD study, three to four years of full-time work is estimated. The maximum duration of the doctorate at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is six years. 

In cases where external full-time or part-time employment is undertaken, especially if this employment is not closely related to the dissertation project or outside the university, the duration of a PhD will be accordingly prolonged. In such cases the chances of successful completion of the dissertation are also dramatically reduced. More information can be found on the Faculty's webpageDuring the Doctorate | Duration of the Doctorate.

Individual doctoral studies at UZH in Computational Linguistics and Phonetics may be accepted, if:

• they have obtained a Master’s degree diploma from a state-accredited university.
• they have obtained a binding consent of two professors to supervise your PhD.

There is no general entitlement to be admitted to the program, even if all requirements are fulfilled.

Supervisors may also specify additional requirements which doctoral students have to fulfill during their degree.

Candidates which require a student visa must be able to prove to the immigration authorities of Switzerland (with bank statements, etc.) that they able to financially support themselves for the duration of the doctoral studies, usually at least 4 years. As the cost of living in Zurich is relatively high, a minimum of 36,000 Swiss Francs per year is recommended.

• For the successful completion at the general doctoral level, modules amounting to 12 ECTS credit points must be completed.  Please see below for rules regarding the acquisition of ECTS credits.
• The dissertation may be written as a monograph or as a cumulative thesis.
• The doctoral examination consists of a colloquium in the field of the dissertation and lasts 60-90 minutes. The doctoral colloquium is open to all members of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

All doctoral modules of the UZH can be credited according to the Course Catalogue. Furthermore, it is generally possible to credit any MA module to the doctorate.

In addition to the UZH modules, the following can be credited:

• Transferable Skills
• Language courses of the Language Center (are also considered as Transferable Skills, except for courses in the language of the dissertation). 
• Courses offered by the Academic Communication Center (are also considered as Transferable Skills). In particular, we recommend the following courses:
  • Doctoral Writing for Research and Publication (2 ECTS)
  • Argumentation Skills (1 ECTS)
  • Presentation Skills (1 ECTS)

External creditable events are:

• Summer/Winter Schools
• Courses/Workshops
• external Transferable Skills (university courses)

In most cases, a certificate of attendance or a transcript from another university is required.

A maximum of 4 ECTS credits from Transferable Skills may be applied toward the 12 ECTS credits required for the PhD in Computational Linguistics and Phonetics.