eth phd language requirements

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Department of Computer Science

Application and admission.

Students holding a Master's degree in computer science or a related field are cordially invited to apply for doctoral studies in Computer Science.

Application and admission are possible at any time; there are no deadlines.

Applicants need a Master's degree with a strong background in computer science or a closely related field. Also, applicants need to be proficient both in written and spoken English. Language tests are not required. However, if you have documental proof, please include it in your application. Typically, personal interviews are conducted with candidates considered for admission. GRE tests are not mandatory. However, if proof of results is available, please include it in your application.  

Applications are always accepted in one of two ways:

Option 1 : You can contact a professor in an area of your interest to find out whether they have openings and may be interested in supervising you as a doctoral student.

List of professors and research groups: Research Groups

Once you have found a supervisor, you must submit your application via eApply. Details and further information you will find here .

Option 2 : You can submit your application online via our central application system . This way, your application will automatically be available to and reviewed by our entire faculty. The application is free of charge.

The online application is exclusively electronic. Please provide the following documents:

• Scans of diplomas of completed degrees
• Scans of grade records for all attended universities
• Statement of objective (text only in English)
• Contact information of three references providing recommendations

Note that all uploaded files should be unprotected PDFs each not exceeding 2 MB in size.

Once your application is submitted, it will remain active for four months. In this period, you may be contacted by any interested faculty member. Otherwise, you will receive a notification at the end of this period.

Doctoral students are employees and students. Therefore, upon admission, they receive an employment contract and a confirmation of provisional admission. Only after having passed the aptitude colloquium, which must take place after twelve months at the latest, doctoral students are admitted definitively.

Enrolment in myStudies at the beginning of every semester is compulsory right up to the decision on conferral of the doctoral degree.

In addition to conducting research, doctoral students are also teaching assistants and supervise student projects from the bachelor's and master's programmes. Open positions for teaching assistants are to be found here .  

Doctoral students generally have an employment contract. At D-INFK, the salary rates for doctoral students are Rate 4 or Rate 5, which enables them to cover their living expenses comfortably in Switzerland.

Additional information on admission costs, tuition and semester fees, and living costs can be found here .  

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Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

General admission information for the doctorate at the department of earth and planetary sciences.

The admission procedure for a doctorate at ETH Zurich consists of two stages: the provisional and definite admission . To initiate the admission procedure, the candidate must have obtained the written agreement of a faculty member to supervise the thesis.

Provisional admission

• The doctoral candidate must register at the central doctoral administration via eApply .
• Under certain circumstances, in agreement with the D-EAPS doctoral committee, admission may require extended doctoral studies (e.g. if there are professional gaps in the research area that need to be filled); additional requirements must be fulfilled before the end of the doctorate/doctoral examination.
• The central doctoral administration issues the confirmation of provisional admission.
• If employed at ETH, employment contracts can only be issued after provisional admission .
• As a rule, doctoral students are employed as research assistants. The drawing up of an employment contract is an additional process, which is organised by the supervisor's institute.
• Contract workflow varies greatly depending on the country of origin of the doctoral candidate. Allow enough time if a visa is required.

Definite admission

The definite admission is granted when the aptitude colloquium has been passed within the first year of the doctoral studies (9-12 months after start of the doctorate).

Questions and contact

Quick access.

• chevron_right Open positions on the ETH job portal
• chevron_right Registration and admission for an ETH doctorate
• chevron_right AVETH Survival Guide

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Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences

Steps towards your doctorate in the d-chab.

On the student portal you find everything regarding the doctorate.

Admission to the doctoral programmes of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich is regulated in the " ETH Zurich Ordinance on the Doctorate " as well as the " Rector’s Implementation Provisions " (January 1, 2022).

In addition, the Department has issued new Download Detailed Stipulations (PDF, 847 KB) for the doctorate and public presentations associated to the doctoral defence. ( Download Old detailed stipulations (PDF, 971 KB) )  

• Download Template doctoral plan (PDF, 106 KB)
• Download Memorandum on the Aptitude Colloquium for Doctoral Studies (PDF, 533 KB)

Information about the usual salary rate for an institute can be obtained from the respective institute's administration .

Teaching or service activities customarily performed in the department during the doctoral degree must be completed for a total of around 500 hours.

Ethics and Scientific Integrity : register for the course 529-0032-00L Ethics and Scientific Integrity for Doctoral Students in Chemistry and Related Fields offered in Spring and Autumn semester.

Doctoral Supervisor's Handbook: Navigating Doctoral Success  

Public presentations

At the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry (LAC), there is an additional Download guideline (PDF, 177 KB)  

At the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry (LPC), there is an additional Download guideline start before 2022 (PDF, 30 KB) , Download guideline start 01.01.2022 (PDF, 118 KB)

At the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry (LOC), there is an additional Download guideline (PDF, 267 KB)

At the Institute of Molecular Physical Science (IMPS), there is an additional Download guideline start before 2022 (PDF, 30 KB) , Download guideline start 01.01.2022 (PDF, 118 KB)

At the Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering (ICB), there is an additional Download guideline (PDF, 509 KB)

At the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (IPW), there is is an additional Download guideline (PDF, 114 KB)

A doctoral degree is granted for participating in a doctoral programme under the supervision of a professor. Admission to a doctoral programme requires that you hold a diploma or a Master's degree with excellent grades. Furthermore, a professor of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has to accept you as a doctoral student. Therefore, prior to submitting an application to the Admission's Office, prospective doctoral students should contact a professor of the Department. Please use the link « Research ».

Doctoral Committee D-CHAB (01.01.2024)

• LAC Prof. Dr. Maksym Kovalenko
• LOC Prof. Dr. Peter Chen
• LPC Prof. Dr. Hans Jakob Wörner
• IMPS Prof. Dr. Gunnar Jeschke
• ICB Prof. Dr. Andrew de Mello
• IPW Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Leroux

Supervision of Master's theses

Download Master's theses guidelines D-CHAB (PDF, 142 KB)

• Location location_on HCI H 207
• Phone phone +41 44 632 30 55
• contacts vCard Download

Dep. Chemie und Angew. Biowiss. Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10 8093 Zürich Switzerland

• chevron_right Doctoral Administration of ETH Zurich
• chevron_right «Survival Guide» of AVETH (Association of Academic Staff at ETH Zurich)
• chevron_right VAC Union of Ph.D. students, postdocs and academic staff of the Chemical Laboratories
• chevron_right PSA Pharmaceutical Scientists' Association
• chevron_right Homepage for International Students at ETH
• chevron_right Your start at ETH Zurich
• chevron_right Supervising

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Dept. of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering

Students in the first year of their doctorate at ETH Zurich are warmly invited to participate in the Introductory programme for new doctoral students , which consists of several events, workshops and seminars distributed between September and November 2022.

The introductory programme offers a great opportunity to get useful information and build up a network of contacts within ETH Zurich!

More information on the new 2022 doctoral ordinance will follow, please refer to ETH's corporate website on the doctorate at ETH Zurich .

Doctoral studies mean catching up with the forefront of research and pushing it further. Doctoral (PhD) students at D-ITET are individually supervised by a professor. Doctoral studies should take about 4 years (beyond the master degree) and must result in a thesis with a definite scientific contribution to research on an international level. A small number of graduate courses (12 ECTS credits) is also mandatory. A doctoral plan (approved by the supervising professor) must be submitted no later than 12 months after the beginning of the doctoral studies.

Research and teaching

Doctoral students at D-ITET generally hold paid positions with one of the research laboratories of the department. In addition to working on their own research project, most doctoral students are also teaching assistants and supervise student projects in the bachelor and master programs.

Further details on the doctorate at D-ITET can be found in the Download presentation of the welcome event for new doctoral students .

How to apply

Applications for a PhD position should be sent directly to the individual professors . Applicants must have a master degree from a well reputed university. Admission may be conditional on passing one or two courses at ETH.

General information about the doctorate at ETH Zurich.

Information about professors , laboratories and research areas .

• Phone phone +41 44 632 33 36
• contacts vCard Download

Dep. Inf.techno.u.Elektrotechnik ETZ H 87 Gloriastrasse 35 8092 Zurich Switzerland

Legal basis

• chevron_right Legal collection
• chevron_right Directives collection
• chevron_right Ordinance on Doctoral Studies at ETH Zurich
• chevron_right Rector's Implementation Provisions
• Download vertical_align_bottom Detail Regulations for Doctoral Studies at D-ITET (2021)  (PDF, 171 KB)

Links & Downloads

• chevron_right Upcoming meetings of the doctoral committee
• chevron_right Code of Conduct
• chevron_right Respect campaign
• chevron_right Academic Calendar ETH
• external page call_made Career Center
• chevron_right Course catalogue
• chevron_right Doctoral administration office
• chevron_right Doctoral studies at ETH
• chevron_right myStudies
• chevron_right Welcome Center

Associations

• chevron_right AVETH
• chevron_right LIMES - Ladies in Mechanical & Electrical Engineering
• chevron_right VMITET