Application and admission

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
• CV
• 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.