PhD Candidates

Information for prospective doctoral students from outside Switzerland

The Institute for Swiss Reformation Studies welcomes international scholars interested in doctoral studies in its area of research. Before getting in touch, please ensure you meet the following requirements:

Formal Requirements by University and Faculty

• Master’s degree diploma with at least a “good” predicate (magna cum laude, GPA 2.7 [80%] according to the US system, First Class [70%] according to the British system), from an officially recognised state-accredited university.
• The diploma itself is state-accredited.
• The diploma would entitle you to enter doctoral studies at a state-accredited university in the relevant country.

Please also carefully read the university’s announcement on admission to doctoral studies: www.uzh.ch/en/studies/application/doctoralstudies

Additional Requirements by the Institute

In order to ensure the best possible supervision, the Institute has following material requirements:

• Doctoral projects must be placed within the Institute’s area of research. It is the responsibility of the ap-plicant to demonstrate how their project would fit into the research profile of the Institute.
• Doctoral students must be able to read and analyse their primary source material in the original lan-guage. Please provide sufficient testimony of your abilities when getting in touch with the Institute.

1. Inform yourself about funding – the Institute will not be able to subsidise you.
2. Assemble your documents:
   Curriculum Vitae (1 page) demonstrating your education and academic merits.
   Letter of recommendation by the supervisor of your Master’s thesis.
   MA Diploma and language certificates showing your ability to read and analyse your primary sources.
   Exposé on your planned project (max. 2 pages) outlining your research question, the primary source material you wish to analyse, how your project would fit into our institute’s research profile, and an overview over the secondary literature you have already consulted.
3. Contact the Head of Institute, Prof. Dr. Tobias Jammerthal, via tobias.jammerthal@uzh.ch and attach your documents.
4. After a meeting with the Head of Institute, you will shortly receive notice on whether your project could be included into our programme.
5. In case you receive a positive answer by us, please proceed to the formal UZH-application-process.

The pre-admission process can be quite lengthy depending on e.g. the visa-process, or the time it will take for you to secure funding. Please also take into account that we will need some time to appropriately consider your pro-posal, and that you yourself might need additional time in order to improve your proposal. Additionally, the Uni-versity administration does need time to process your application.

www.trf.uzh.ch/en/phd-candidates (faculty information)
www.grc.uzh.ch/en/counseling/how-to-phd (general university information)
www.research.uzh.ch/en/funding/phd (university information on funding possibilities)
www.uzh.ch/en/studies/application/fees (university information on admission fees)
www.uzh.ch/en/studies/application/entry (information on VISA etc.)