Overview

Key facts:

An ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Earth Sciences doctorate provides an excellent educational preparation for a career in academic or industry research. A doctoral degree generally takes three to four years with support through a research assistantship.

All degrees, but particularly the Master and PhD Programmes allow people to study at other universities, either independently or through collaborations and joint programmes such as those at the University of Zurich or the IDEA League of RWTH Aachen and TU Delft. The Department of Earth Sciences also has extensive research and teaching connections with leading universities in North America and Asia, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, TIT in Tokyo and the National University of Singapore.

Programme Structure

Curriculum:

Usually the doctoral students are hired as assistants, funded from research grants from government, industry or the ETH Zurich. Prospective doctoral students may participate in the writing of a research proposal during their Master's degree by collaboration with a potential doctorate advisor, thereby participating in the project definition.

More frequently, however, project positions are advertised internationally and candidates selected from the international talent pool. All doctoral students contribute to teaching or to the administration of the departmental laboratory infrastructures.

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months

Start dates & application deadlines

You can apply for and start this programme anytime.

More details

There is a rolling admission policy for the doctorate: you can contact a potential supervisor and submit your application at any time.

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Credits

12 ECTS

Delivered

On Campus

Disciplines

Earth Sciences View 4 other PhDs in Earth Sciences in Switzerland

Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Student insurance

Make sure to cover your health, travel, and stay while studying abroad. Even global coverages can miss important items, so make sure your student insurance ticks all the following:

Additional medical costs (i.e. dental)
Repatriation, if something happens to you or your family
Liability
Home contents and baggage
Accidents
Legal aid

We partnered with Aon to provide you with the best affordable student insurance, for a carefree experience away from home.

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Starting from €0.53/day, free cancellation any time.

Remember, countries and universities may have specific insurance requirements. To learn more about how student insurance work at ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and/or in Switzerland, please visit Student Insurance Portal.

Other requirements

General requirements

The admission procedure consists of two stages, the provisional and final admission. To initiate the admission procedure, the candidate must have obtained the written agreement of a faculty member to supervise the thesis.

The candidate must register at the rectorate.

The supervisor reviews the application and the scientific qualifications on the basis of the candidate's dossier. In agreement with the doctoral committee he proposes additional requirements to be met.

The department submits a recommendation of approval (or rejection) together with the additional requirements to the Rector.

Tuition Fee

To always see correct tuition fees

International

1460 CHF/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 730 CHF per semester during 36 months.
National

1460 CHF/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 730 CHF per semester during 36 months.

Living costs for Zürich

1920 - 2572 CHF /month

Living costs

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.