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Graduate Campus

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, guide: how to phd, this section provides those interested in pursuing a doctorate with an overview:.

Food for thought for beginning PhD candidates

• Collection of links to relevant topics for PhD candidates
• Preparation and procedure at UZH (following)

Table of contents

Find a supervisor, admission to doctoral studies, requirements for admission and procedures, content and requirements, individual phd and phd programs, procedures at uzh faculties, employment and funding, for international students and scholars.

First of all, get in contact with a UZH professor who is willing and able to supervise your doctoral project. If you are interested in participating in a PhD program, you should first of all carefully read through the application procedures for the program in question. Doctoral programs at UZH

The doctorate is comprised of a PhD thesis as well as coursework. It serves as a qualification for an academic career or other demanding professions.

As a general rule, a Master's degree or an equivalent degree from an accredited university is the prerequisite for admission to the doctorate. Certain criteria regarding content as well as formal conditions (e.g. grade-point average, qualification phases) are also considered when processing applications.

Admission to Doctoral Studies

The requirements for admission and the admission procedures are set out in the ordinance for obtaining a doctoral degree at the faculty in question. Some faculties also offer a  fast-track  doctoral program, a program for particularly talented students in which the Master's degree and PhD are integrated in a single program of study. The individual programs define their PhD programs' admission procedures – which, as a rule, are highly competitive.

Please note that PhD candidates must be matriculated at the University for the duration of their doctorate, i.e. until they have been conferred the final degree. 

Application and admission Application period

Writing a PhD thesis – independent and original academic work – forms the core part of the doctorate. The thesis can take the form of a monograph or consist of several publications on a single subject which have been published in scientific journals (a cumulative PhD thesis). You can find more information about the formal requirements in the doctoral program regulations for your subject area. As a general rule, however, the thesis should be of such scope and content that it can be completed within three years.

The required coursework serves to enhance subject-specific skills, but also goes toward developing transferable skills. All coursework will be recorded in your final transcript of records and Academic Record. Coursework requirements can be fulfilled by attending courses in your subject area, by visiting classes from the main pool of courses in transferable skills (transferable skills and university-level teaching), or, in some cases by attending courses at another institution. Alongside the required coursework (including transferable skills), it is highly recommended that PhD candidates develop their teaching skills. Transferable skills courses University-level teaching  

In many disciplines at UZH there are two types of doctoral programs offered: the individual doctorate and the structured doctoral programs . Moreover there are also interdisciplinary and inter-university schools or programs, partly financed by third-party funds. Doctoral Programs

Because the various faculties at UZH are thematically and structurally so diverse, each faculty is in charge of designing its own PhD program.

Be sure to read about the specific requirements at the faculty in question.

Various types of academic employment opportunities at UZH are open to junior scholars. During doctoral study, you can find employment as a «PhD candidate» or an «academic assistant»; postdocs receive positions as «postdocs» or «senior research and teaching assistants». These junior academic positions are an integral part of the procedure when pursuing an academic career. Junior academic positions are by nature temporary and are funded either by the university department in question or by a third party. Junior academic positions give young scholars the opportunity to achieve their next professional goal and to further qualify themselves for a career in academia. The main requirement for earning the necessary academic qualifications is performing individual research, but junior researchers are also given the opportunity to qualify themselves for teaching roles. In 2003 the guidelines for specifications at UZH faculties for employees holding junior academic positions were issued to define the rights and duties of UZH employees in junior academic positions. These were revised in fall 2023 and a new employment model was defined, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024. Employees with the status of a junior academic receive individual specifications which refer explicitly to their job description.

This UZH platform provides neccesary information from visits & exchange at the UZH to Visa, entry and residece permit. UZH for International Students and Scholars FAQ for International Students and Scholars

Weiterführende Informationen

Successful phd.

Food for thought for beginning PhD candidates

Collection of links to relevant topics

Mobility, Continuing education and courses, Career & Networking, Scientific integrity and Counseling

Best Practice for Doctoral Education

The guideline shows ways and possibilities to strengthen the quality, attractivity and internationalization of the doctorate at UZH.

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Faculty of Science

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, phd programs, doctoral studies and graduate schools.

Students who complete our doctoral program are awarded the doctoral degree of Dr. sc. nat. – doctor scientiarum naturalium ). The degree requires students to conduct original, independent research and usually takes between three and four years. We offer doctoral programs that have an excellent international reputation in the following fields. Graduate Schools

• Life Science Zurich Graduate School
• Zurich Graduate School in Geography
• Zurich Graduate School in Mathematics
• Graduate School in Chemical and Molecular Sciences Zurich
• Graduate School in Physics
• Graduate School for Computational Science and Astrophysics and Cosmology

Ansprechpersonen

Biomolecular Structure and Mechanism Director:  Prof. Dr. Raymund Dutzler

Cancer Biology Director: Prof. Dr. Maries van den Broek

Chemical and Molecular Sciences Director:  Prof. Dr. Roland K.O. Sigel

Computational Science Director:  Prof. Dr. Romain Teyssier

Ecology Director:  Prof. Dr. Owen Petchey

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Director:  Prof. Dr. Milo Puhan

Evolutionary Biology Director:  Prof. Dr. Kentaro K. Shimizu

General Doctorate Director:  Prof. Dr. Ulrich Straumann

Geography/Earth System Science Director:  Prof. Dr. Ross Purves

Integrative Molecular Medicine Director:  Prof. Dr. Thierry Hennet

Mathematics Directors:  Prof. Dr. Thomas Kappeler  and Prof. Dr. Michael Struwe

Microbiology and Immunology Directors:  Prof. Dr. Leo Eberl  and Prof. Dr. Annette Oxenius

Molecular and Translational Biomedicine Director: Prof. Dr. Christian Wolfrum

Molecular Life Sciences Director:  Prof. Dr. Michael Hottiger

Neuroscience Director:  Dr. Wolfgang Knecht

Physics Director:  Prof. Dr. Andreas Schilling

Plant Sciences Director: Prof. Dr. Samuel Zeeman

Public Understanding of Science Director:  Prof. Dr. Kai Niebert

RNA Biology Director: Prof. Dr. Frédéric Allain

Science and Policy Director:  Prof. Dr. Ueli Grossniklaus

Systems Biology Director: Prof. Dr. Jörg Stelling und Prof. Dr. Uwe Sauer

Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology Directors:  Prof. Dr. Ben Moore  and  Prof. Dr. Lucio Mayer

Application and Admission Procedure

Important note: If you originate from a foreign country, which is not a member of the European Union it is of utmost importance, that the following procedure is followed exactly as specified below.

Chart - How to become a PhD student and what the administration offices will do for you (PDF, 97 KB) .

• Application to the Admissions Office of the University of Zurich .
• Visa application for non-EU students.
• You cannot start working on your doctoral thesis in Zurich until you have obtained a visa and a work permit.

Contacts for PhD students

If you encounter problems during your PhD studies, there are several offices at the Faculty of Science you can contact.

• Your first point of contact is always your doctoral committee or the  human ressources representative at your institute. 
• Then you should contact the director of your PhD program.
• In the last resort you can contact the Persons of Trust of the Faculty of Science .

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Graduate School of Business

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, doctoral programs and tracks, table of contents, study tracks, fields of study.

The Graduate School of Business at the University of Zurich offers two doctoral programs, one in «Business Administration» and the one in «Management and Economics». They are comparable to international PhD programs. The Graduate School of Business at the University of Zurich comprises 26 professors offering PhD courses in four fields of study «Accounting, Auditing & Corporate Governance», «Marketing», «Managing Human Resources and Education», and «Management, Organization, and Strategy».

Talented students with an excellent Bachelor or Master degree who aim at an academic career or leading positions in the public and private sector are invited to apply for one of the doctoral programs at the Graduate School of Business.

Read more about the program structure and the fields of study:

The Graduate School of Business offers two study tracks fitted to the academic background of applicants:

• Track B for students with a Master's degree
• Track C («Fast Track») for excellent students with a Bachelor's degree

Track B: Students with a Master's degree

Track B is considered for students with an excellent Master's degree (likewise a German diploma or a Swiss lic. oec.). Executive MBA programs are not eligible for our doctoral programs. The two semester course program consists of core courses such as Management Theory, Empirical Research Methods, Microeconomics and a number of electives and specialized courses. At the end of their course work, students write their research proposals and start working on their dissertation research under the supervision of a faculty member.

Track C: Excellent students with a Bachelor's degree

Any excellent student with a Bachelor's degree may apply for a «fast-track» program. Students start with Master courses and earn their Master's degrees after two semesters of coursework (60 ECTS) and a Master thesis; if permitted, they then go on with their doctoral course work and their dissertation. The fast track program may save excellent and ambitious students up to two semesters. One particular advantage is that their master thesis (30 ECTS) may serve as a research proposal if it is of outstanding quality. After their research proposals have been approved, students start with their dissertation under the supervision of a faculty member.

The Structured PhD-Course Program of GSB-UZH consists of three parts:

General Program Requirements (18 ECTS)

Independent of the research area, all PhD students have to take the «General Program Requirements» to acquire a solid theoretical and methodological basis in business administration:

• Business Administration for Research Students: Theory (9 ECTS)
• Business Administration for Research Students: Empirical Methods (9 ECTS)

We expect entering students to have sufficient background to perform successfully in these courses. In case a student lacks these prerequisites, additional preparatory courses should be taken prior or during the first year doctoral courses. In addition, fields may designate acceptable substitute courses. Substitute courses are only valid for students' course requirements if officially announced on the GSB homepage before taking a possible substitute.

Field Course Requirements (15 ECTS)

In addition to the General Program Requirements PhD-students choose a field of specialization and are within this field free to choose from a variety of courses (18 ECTS). The GSB offers four attractive fields with structured PhD-course programs that guide students to become competitive on the international academic market.

Generic Competencies (3 ECTS)

Last but not least, students have to take 3 ECTS in courses on «Generic Competencies».

In addition to their PhD-title, students who finish the necessary 18 ECTS according to one of the field-specific study programs receive a formal confirmation issued by the department of business administration signaling their field-specific profile as a PhD-student.

The four fields of study offered by GSB are:

• Accounting, Auditing and Corporate Governance
• Management, Organization and Strategy
• Managing Human Resources and Education

Weiterführende Informationen

Useful links.

• University of Zurich
• Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics
• Department of Business Administration
• Open positions (Department)
• Open positions (University, all)
• UZH for Doctoral Candidates
• UZH for International Students and Scholars
• Graduate Campus
• Research Funding (Grants Office)

University of Zurich Department of Business Administration Graduate School of Business Plattenstrasse 14 8032 Zurich Switzerland

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PhD Program Biomedicine

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The comprehensive study and understanding of organ function in health and disease requires multidisciplinary approaches in basic, applied and translational biomedical research. The PhD program “Biomedicine” (BioMed) is part of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School (LSZGS) and imparts knowledge, concepts and modern technologies to address complex questions in biomedical sciences on a molecular, cellular and systems level with the vision to advance clinical translation and improve patient care. BioMed offers students a strong and interactive program that combines groups from the University of Zürich (UZH), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and the University Hospital Zürich (USZ). The highly international scientific environment at the institutions combines cutting-edge research with a modern teaching curriculum.

The PhD students of the PhD program in Biomedicine can not only choose from a broad selection of research topics and participate in front line science, but can also take advantage of a large number of graduate courses on various topics. Topics range from human physiology to cancer biology, stem cells, genomic medicine and laboratory techniques. They also include transferable skills like statistics, project management for research, scientific writing and career planning. The PhD program organizes an annual retreat for scientific exchange and networking among students.

The PhD students of BioMed can either register at the University of Zürich or the ETH Zürich, depending on the affiliation of their direct supervisor and her/his research group.

Students can apply to the program via Track I by May 1st and November 1st through the website of the LSZGS or via Track II (see application ). Enrollment into the program is decided by an admission committee.

• Research groups
• Current students
• Application
• Travel Grant
• Documents to download and useful links

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Department of Informatics

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, phd program, welcome note.

The Doctoral Program of Informatics is where academia and industry meet, where theories are developed and challenged in praxis, where new knowledge is created, and where scholars emerge. The Department of Informatics offers Switzerland’s best application oriented informatics and, internationally, ranks among the best institutions in its field. Application areas range from business information systems to social sciences, linguistics, natural sciences, and medicine. The Department creates joint research ventures and integrates their results in the teaching of students. In addition, internationally renowned visiting professors regularly give courses on special topics. All of us in the Department of Informatics wish you good fortune as you pursue your advanced degree, and we hope you will contact us if we can help you along the way.

Direct Links

Programs Description of our Doctoral Programs

Admission Information about the admission process

PhD: While studying All the information you need while doing your PhD (e.g. Curriculum, PhD Proposal Defense, PhD Thesis, PhD Defense, Publication)

Summer Schools Information about the current and past PhD Summer Schools

IfI Colloquium Information about the current and past IfI Colloquium Series

Team/Advisory Service Contact information

PhD Theses Archive

Here you find the PhD theses published at IfI since 1968.

Weiterführende Informationen

Best practice guideline for doctoral education at the university of zurich.

• Best Practice Guideline

Bereichs-Navigation

Unterseiten von phd.

• Admission/Registration
• PhD: While studying
• Summer Schools
• IfI Colloquium
• Team/Advisory Service
• Previous IfI Colloquia

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Department of Economics

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Welcome to the Zurich Graduate School of Economics (Zurich GSE), the doctoral (PhD) program of the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich.

Established in 2009, it now offers one of the leading European PhD programs in Economics. The Zurich GSE is highly selective and attracts both Swiss and international students with excellent qualifications and promise for successful independent research. Between 12 and 15 students are admitted to the program every year.

The Zurich GSE offers two years of PhD coursework, taught in English by leading academics, and a world-class research infrastructure.

Weiterführende Informationen

About the Program

• Fasttrack (Maters & PhD)
• Master's Year

How to apply

• Checklist for Application (PDF, 45 KB)
• Current Students
• Student Directory
• Econ Intranet – Funding Opportunities, Doctoral Agreement, Manuals, IT
• Recent placements
• Jobmarket Candidates

Applications for academic year 2025/2026 will open on October 1st, 2024.

Job Market Candidates 2023

Contact Graduate Schools

Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics

Graduate Campus (GRC) – for early career researchers

• Fast Track (Master & PhD)
• Program Details
• Admission Procedures
• Recent PhD placements
• Job Market Candidates
• Student-Directory

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Department of Psychology

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All important administrative information about the doctoral studies in Psychology can be found on the webpages of the Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: https://www.phil.uzh.ch/en/studies/doctorate.html

• Curricular coursework within the PhD
• Regulations
• Research Funding and Grants for Doctoral Students
• External links
• The Life Course: Evolutionary and Ontogenetic Dynamics (LIFE)

Weiterführende Informationen

German Version

Subscribe to the PhD mailing list by sending an e-mail to

[email protected]

Central offers of the University of Zurich for PhD students

Graduate Campus Continuing Education in University Teaching and Learning

• PhD according to regulations 2019
• Research Funding / Grants

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Life Science Zurich Graduate School

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Welcome to apply for a PhD Program at the Life Science Zurich Graduate School!

Doing your PhD at the LSZ Graduate School of the ETH and the University of Zurich means that you will belong to a large and ambitious life science research community. You will receive a comprehensive and challenging education that will allow you to take further career steps within academia as well as in industry – in Switzerland or worldwide.

We are searching for highly motivated students with a Master’s degree in the field of Life Sciences. You are looking for a PhD position at a renowned institution? That could be a good match! You are welcome to apply now!

Can I apply?

As a rule you must hold or anticipate receiving a university Master’s degree or equivalent in the field of natural sciences, computer sciences or engineering. With an excellent track record and good skills in spoken and written English you are welcome to apply to our PhD programs. Our funded positions are open for national and international (also non-EU) students. PhD studies at our programs usually last around 4 years.

When can I apply?

Our deadlines are 1 November (23:59 CET) and 1 May (23:59 CEST).

Please note that PhD Programs: Drug Discovery, Biomedical Ethics and Law - Medical Track, MD-PhD Program are not recruiting via track 1 ! 

Ready to apply?

Weiterführende informationen, application process, registration form, frequently asked questions, admission requirements, admission to doctoral studies at uzh, admission requirements at ethz, what is it like to do a phd in zurich.

Meet our students in the video spot

• Application Process
• Candidate Registration

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Employment as a doctoral candidate or teaching / research assistant

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Below are basic principles, parameters, Q&A, and documents that provide an overview for doctoral candidates and teaching / research assistants and serve as a guideline for supervisors and recruiters when hiring. 

On August 29, 2023, the Extended Executive Board of the University approved a completely revised set of regulations on the general outline of rights and responsibilities of the faculties for teaching / research assistants and doctoral candidates (Regulations on the general outline of rights and responsibilities), which will come into effect on January 1, 2024. The regulations of rights and responsibilities include provisions on employment, in particular on the share of tasks and working hours, of holders of junior academic positions, which apply to the entire university. For postdocs and senior teaching and research assistants, the previous regulations on the outline of rights and responsibilities of the faculties for holders of junior academic positions remain unchanged (only available in German). Reglement über die Rahmenpflichtenhefte der Fakultäten für die Inhaberinnen und Inhaber von Qualifikationsstellen (PDF, 227 KB)   The aim of the new employment model is to strengthen PhD candidates at UZH by creating clear and transparent employment conditions, especially in the area of their own research time. In order to increasingly promote research work during the qualification phase, a minimum limit for the amount of own research work (protected time) will be defined and ensured.

Weiterführende Informationen

Presentation Meet-Ups for early career researchers  (EN) Presentation Meet-Ups for HR Representatives  (DE)

University acts and practices at UZH

Models and parameters

Description of the new model, graphical representations and requirements

Current regulations 2023, templates new doctoral agreement and individual outline of rights and responsibilities 

Questions and Answers

General Questions, recruiting for the year 2024 and existing employment

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Department of Sociology

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, doctoral program in sociology.

The Department of Sociology, in collaboration with sociologists at the Swiss Federal Department of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), offers an attractive, internationally competitive, interuniversity doctoral program in sociology.

The doctoral program in sociology currently receives financial support from swissuniversities and is embedded in the Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences .

The doctoral program in sociology gives PhD candidates broad freedom in choosing dissertation topics and courses. In addition to writing a doctoral thesis, PhD candidates are required to complete 12 ECTS credits of course work from curricular modules.

A choice of modules is offered in the following subject areas to choose from:

Standard Curriculum PhD Sociology (PDF, 78 KB)

Weiterführende Informationen

Doctoral program in Sociology - a collaboration with sociologists at ETH Zurich.

PhF Faculty's Graduate School

The Graduate School, which serves as the organizational framework for doctoral studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, hosts detailed information about the doctoral program. 

Please direct questions about the doctoral program to the social sciences doctorate coordinator:

Dr. Doreen Spörer-Wagner Doktoratskoordination  Sozialwissenschaften Tel: +41 44 634 52 12 [email protected]

Visit the UZH Graduate Campus

The Graduate Campus is a university-wide support platform for Early Career Researchers (doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers) at UZH.

Doctoral Studies:

• Methodological Training
• Module Offerings
• Admission and Study Program
• Persons Authorized
• Index of Dissertations

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PhD Program in Cancer Biology

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The Cancer Biology PhD Program offers ambitious and talented students interested in cancer research a stimulating international environment. The program runs under the umbrella of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School.

Organization Rules & Regulations Thesis information Teaching

• Organization
• Rules & Regulations
• Thesis information
• Teaching regulations

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Department of Astrophysics

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, phd programme in computational science, graduate school for computational science.

The PhD programme in Computational Science is a joint initiative of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, which aims to:

• Foster sustained interactions between PhD students, faculty and staff
• Promote exchanges between academia, industry and society enabled by computational science

Computational Science (CS) integrates Information Technology and Mathematics to address scientific and societal challenges such as Energy, Health, Climate and Finance.

CS is a unique method of scientific inquiry, complementing theory and experiments, providing us with unprecedented potential for scientific discovery and innovation.

Application and enrollment

The Computational Sciences PhD programme is a 3-4year MSc to PhD program. Participating students can choose from a broad selection of research topics and classes. Enrollment into the program is decided by an admission committee. In order to graduate, students need to fulfill the following requirements:

• Acquisition of 12 credit points of advanced courses
• Deposition and defense of a Ph.D. thesis describing the student’s original research work,
• Additional requirements imposed by the host institution (University of Zurich or ETH Zurich) so as to comply fully with their regulations.

The final degree is conferred by either the University of Zurich or the ETH Zürich, depending on the academic affiliation of the host laboratory.

Official PhD regulations for the Computational Science Programme: PDF EN / PDF DE

Link to the Regulations Governing PhD Studies at the MNF

Link to the official page of the Graduate School for CS

Admissions to Promotion - Useful links and documents:

Admission to Doctoral Studies at the University of Zurich

Factsheet Admission to a PhD Program at the Department of Astrophysics (PDF, 621 KB) Checklist for PhD students

"Confirmation of Supervision for Doctoral Students" (PDF, 242 KB)

"Acceptance Confirmation Structured Doctoral Program" (PDF, 225 KB) Annual committee meeting minutes (PDF, 1 MB)

Confirmation Sheet - TA Hours (PDF, 224 KB)

Fact sheet PhD Defence (EN) / Merkblatt (DE)

Program Director Prof. Dr. Robert Feldmann [email protected]

• Search PhD Projects & Programmes
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University of Zurich

The University of Zurich – the largest university and the broadest range of courses in Switzerland The University of Zurich was founded in 1833, though its origins stretch back as far as 1525 and the days of protestant reformer Ulrich Zwingli. Today the University enjoys international renown as a place of education and research. Two thousand lecturers in 140 special institutes provide the broadest range of subjects and courses available from any Swiss seat of higher education. With 24,000 students and 1,900 graduates every year, Zurich is also Switzerland’s largest university. The University provides academic services, works with the private sector and considers itself part of a national and global network for the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge. Zurich’s international reputation is based on groundbreaking research, particularly in molecular biology, brain research and anthropology, and on the work of the University Hospital and Veterinary Hospital. The University’s researchers, lecturers and students benefit from the infrastructure that Zurich provides as a center of teaching and research. Apart from its own institutions, the University offers its members access to archive collections, libraries and the facilities of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), as well as to the city’s private institutions. Nine museums and collections, covering subjects from anthropology to zoology, constitute yet another valuable academic resource.

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World University Rankings 2024 by subject: physical sciences

The physical sciences subject ranking uses the same trusted and rigorous performance indicators as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, but the methodology has been recalibrated to suit the individual fields.

It highlights the universities that are leading across the following disciplines: mathematics and statistics, physics and astronomy, chemistry, geology, environmental sciences, and earth and marine sciences.

 This year’s table includes 1,370 universities, up from 1,307 last year.

View the World University Rankings 2024 by subject: physical sciences methodology

The California Institute of Technology leads the physical sciences subject ranking, replacing Princeton University, which drops to joint sixth place.

The University of Cambridge is the only institution outside the US to make the top five, ranking in fifth place, up from seventh.  

The US’ Yale and Columbia universities switch places to rank 10th and joint 12th respectively.  Columbia shares the spot with the National University of Singapore, which is the highest-ranking university from Asia.

With nine institutions, Germany follows the US and the UK in the list of the most-represented countries in the top 100. In 22nd place, the Technical University of Munich is its top-performing institution.

  Read our analysis of the subject rankings 2024 results

View the full results of the overall World University Rankings 2024

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To unlock the data behind THE’s rankings and access a range of analytical and benchmarking tools,  click here

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Cancer Biology

(doctoral program), degree program: doctorate faculty of science.

General description Admission requirements ECTS credits Degree Language of instruction

General description

The PhD program in Cancer Biology trains participating students towards a PhD (Dr. sc. nat. or Dr. sc. ETH Zürich) in basic or clinical cancer research. In the course of the studies, the students’ scientific achievements actively contribute to the success of cancer research in Zurich. To be admitted to the program, the students must hold a Master Degree in biological sciences and pass an admission interview. The original research carried out during the course of the studies must be described in a PhD thesis, which is externally reviewed. Subject to a positive review, the students must defend the thesis in a public presentation that is followed by a closed examination by the responsible faculty members. During the course of the studies, the students must acquire at least 12 ECTS credits, and attend four mandatory courses and one students’ retreat. Furthermore, the PhD students are required to hold regular meetings with their thesis committee.

Admission requirements

Admission to doctoral study is governed by the ordinance on admission to studies at the University of Zurich (Verordnung über die Zulassung an der Universität Zürich VZS). The main requirement for admission to doctoral study is a Master's degree from a university or an equivalent degree. Each PhD project must receive approval from a professor at the Faculty of Science or from a person who has the right to confer a PhD at the Faculty of Science. There is no general right to be granted admission to a PhD program. Admission may be made contingent on conditions and/or restrictions in the form of additional coursework. Conditions must be met prior to admission to doctoral study; restrictions may be fulfilled during doctoral study. Coursework required to meet conditions and/or restrictions may not exceed a total of 60 ECTS credits; requirements are specified according to the demands of the subject in which the PhD thesis will be written. The Vice Dean of Studies decides on admission, on recognition of similar degrees, and on conditions and/or additional requirements that may apply. As a rule, the language of instruction in the PhD programs is English. All applicants whose native language is not English, or whose prior studies have not been conducted in English, are required to provide proof of sufficient knowledge of English.

ECTS credits

12 ECTS Credits

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Language of instruction

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New assistant professors bring talents to Illinois chemistry

The Department of Chemistry is welcoming three new tenure-track faculty members this academic year.

Joomyung “Vicky” Jun joined the department as an assistant professor in August, and Xiaotang Lu and Mayuko Isomura will officially start as assistant professors in January 2025.

Jun, Lu, and Isomura come to Illinois following exceptional postdoctoral research experiences at prestigious institutions, MIT and Harvard. All three said they consider working with students one of the most exciting aspects of launching their independent research careers in academia.

“I am excited to work with young, motivated students full of potential,” Jun said. “I look forward to fostering the synergy through interactions with students and both multidisciplinary collaborations, which I believe are key to resolve challenging biomedical problems.”

Isomura said, “I am most excited to work with highly motivated students at Illinois, conveying the fascination of organic chemistry research by sharing the thrilling experience of creating new molecules and reactions with our own hands, ones that no one in the world has yet discovered.”

Lu said it’s exciting to return to the field of chemistry after spending several years in a neurobiology lab, but she is most excited about working with students.

“I look forward to working with young minds to tackle the toughest questions in science,” Lu said.

Joomyung (Vicky) Jun

The first of the trio to officially join the faculty, Jun is already on campus, working from Roger Adams Laboratory on launching her lab in the organic and chemical biology areas of chemistry.

Originally from South Korea, Jun received her B.Sc. degree in chemical biology at UC Berkeley and participated in undergraduate research with Prof. Ken Raymond.

“I have been very fortunate to have amazingly supportive mentors throughout my scientific career. I especially want to acknowledge Prof. Ken Raymond, who gave me my very first research opportunity and told me, ‘The late bloomers are often the best flowers,’ a statement that has stayed with me,” said Jun, who went to work for two years at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before starting the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania.

“My doctoral research at Penn was focused on the development of novel and underexplored fluorogenic small molecules to study the misfolding of α -synuclein protein, a key protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease,” Jun said.

To expand her expertise in chemical biology into translational research, Jun pursued postdoctoral research at MIT in the lab of Ron Raines, where she received two postdoctoral fellowships from the Koch Institutive for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and the Life Sciences Research Foundation sponsored by Shurl and Kay Curci foundation.

Jun advanced the utility of diazo compounds in protein-based drug delivery by devising a rapid synthesis method to discover a new reversible late-stage protein modification strategy. That led to several collaborations, including work with world-class biomedical engineering labs at MIT building therapeutic platforms for in vivo protein delivery. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jun founded the Postdoc Buddy Program at MIT to foster a diverse and inclusive community among postdocs. They often start without a cohort, Jun explained. The program has successfully integrated over 995 postdocs from more than 40 different departments, labs, and centers across 44 countries and was recognized with the 2022 Infinite Mile Award from MIT's Office of the Provost and Vice President for Research.

At Illinois, Jun is interested in developing modular chemical tools to address biomedical problems in drug delivery at the molecular level.

“My research vision is to provide molecular-level insights into drug delivery and revolutionize the field of medicine by introducing proteins as next-generation therapies for currently undruggable diseases,” she said. “My research program will encompass synthetic organic chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical biology to train students to branch out to nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, pharmacology, and optical imaging.”  

Jun will be teaching Chem 570: “Concepts in Chemical Biology” to the incoming graduate class this fall.

“Chemical biology is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field with applications in diverse areas in biomedical research,” Jun said. “I am excited to train the next generation of chemical biologists and curious to see how this new generation will navigate their own chemical biology research.”

Xiaotang Lu

Originally from Huangshan, China, Lu said the beautiful mountain town is famous for its scenic beauty and was the filming location for the bamboo forest scene in the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

After completing her undergraduate and master’s studies in China, Lu moved to the United States to pursue a PhD in Materials Engineering in Prof. Brian Korgel’s lab at the University of Texas at Austin, where her graduate training focused on nanomaterials for energy applications.

While she was fascinated by the numerous applications enabled by nanomaterials, Lu became interested in other nanostructures in nature that give rise to a multitude of important functions:  the interconnected neurons that make up our brain. She decided to shift focus for her postdoctoral research and worked with Prof. Jeff Lichtman at Harvard, who pioneered connectomics, a nascent field in neuroscience that aims to produce and analyze comprehensive wiring diagrams of the brain.

Lu’s postdoctoral research focused on developing tools and refining techniques to overcome challenges in connectomic studies. She received a National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative Pathway to Independence Award, which supports highly qualified postdoctoral researchers in mentored research experiences and then independent research positions.

“The technical challenges in this new field and the aspiration to understand how the interconnected nanostructures in our brain translate to diverse functions, and how diseases disrupt those connections, motivated me to pursue a career in academia,” Lu said.

At Illinois, Lu’s research will focus on developing biochemical tools and methods to enable multimodal, multiscale, and multiplex brain circuit imaging with the goal of applying newly developed technologies to understand neuropsychiatric diseases.

“These diseases not only lack cures, but they are also not associated with any specific pathology, which may be embedded in the disrupted nanoscale connections between neurons,” Lu explains. “Our work will provide new insights into the diagnosis and prognosis of these conditions. But first and foremost, we need new chemistry to enable us to ‘see’ the pathology of the mis-wired neurons.”

Lu will also be in the classroom this coming Spring, teaching Chem 588 – “Physical Methods for Materials Chemistry.”

Mayuko Isomura

As a high school student in Tokyo, Isomura’s chemistry tutor would often share graduate-level chemistry and research.

“Through him, I discovered the fascinating aspects of chemistry and the excitement of engaging in cutting-edge research,” said Isomura, who went on to study chemistry at the University of Tokyo, where she did undergraduate research in Prof. Eiichi Nakamura’s group and discovered that she enjoyed reaction development. After graduating at the top of her class, Isomura completed a master’s degree at the University of Tokyo.

With a fellowship from the Funai Foundation, she left Japan for Switzerland, where she completed a PhD in the research group of Illinois chemistry alum Prof. Erick M. Carreira at ETH Zürich and studied the development of enantioselective reactions using transition-metal catalysts.

Some pivotal moments in her research so far include discovering a new reaction and the exhilaration of realizing, at that moment, that she was the only person in the world who knew about the reaction.

“Another moment was the joy of exploring the molecular world, after observing puzzling reactivity, and then elucidating its mechanism by various methods. I wanted to further deepen my knowledge in this field during my postdoctoral research,” said Isomura, who was awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation Early Postdoc Mobility fellowship and a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellowship to pursue postdoctoral work at Harvard University in the research group of Prof. Eric N. Jacobsen, a former Illinois chemistry faculty member.

As a postdoc, Isomura has studied organocatalysts (hydrogen-bond donor catalysts) through the development of asymmetric reactions, DFT calculations, and collaborative research with industry, involving new screening techniques.

Isomura said studying under the supervision of two great alumni of UIUC definitely gave her a strong dream to work at this outstanding university. And now as a new assistant professor, Isomura will focus her research on reaction development, identification and design of practical catalysts, asymmetric synthesis, and mechanistic studies employing methods of physical organic chemistry.

“There are still many unknowns in the world of organic chemistry. I eagerly look forward to challenging what is considered ‘common knowledge’ or ‘difficult’" as taught in textbooks and solving the problems with curiosity and excitement,” said Isomura, who added that she is very happy to be starting this phase of her scientific career.

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Operating from 9,300km away

Researchers at ETH Zurich and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have succeeded for the first time in using remote control to perform a magnetic endoscopy on a live pig. The researchers controlled the probe from Zurich while the animal was on the operating table in Hong Kong.

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• Researchers at ETH Zurich and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have had their first success in performing a magnetic endoscopy in Hong Kong from Switzerland.
• This breakthrough was made possible by a secure, fast internet connection as well as a magnetic navigation system developed at ETH Zurich featuring a magnetically operated endoscope.
• In the future, the technology could enable better surgical care in remote areas – especially for procedures for which no local expertise is available.

It’s three o’clock in the morning, and Alexandre Mesot is in a room in Zurich operating an endoscope. The doctoral student in ETH’s Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, headed by Professor Bradley Nelson, looks at a screen displaying live images of the endoscopy as he manipulates the joystick of a PlayStation controller. The operating theatre, however, is in Hong Kong – over 9,300 kilometres away.

With a delay of only around 300 milliseconds, a 4-millimetre-thick probe responds to the signals from Zurich as it moves around the stomach of a live (anaesthetised) pig in the operating theatre in Hong Kong. Mesot guides a camera to examine the animal’s stomach wall and takes tissue samples with a tiny gripper arm. This procedure is the first ever remote-controlled magnetic endoscopy. Details have just been published in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems .

Two things were crucial for this breakthrough: a magnetic navigation system developed at ETH Zurich with a magnetically operated endoscope, and a secure, fast internet connection to the operating theatre.

Safety first

In the operating theatre, the remote-controlled procedure was supported and monitored by surgeons from the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Before Mesot took over the navigation of the probe in Zurich, it was tested in the operating theatre by a team from the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab and by the Hong Kong surgeons. The latter also inserted the magnetic endoscope through the pig’s mouth into its stomach.

The endoscope is controlled by a magnetic field generated by Navion, a surgical navigation system that ETH Professor Nelson and his team developed. “Not only can the endoscope be bent in any direction thanks to its magnetic head; it’s also smaller and easier to manoeuvre than conventional devices,” Mesot explains.

Magnetic endoscopies are less stressful

Thanks to the superb flexibility of the magnetic endoscope, Mesot was able to carry out a manoeuvre called a retroflexion in the animal’s stomach without any problems: after entering the stomach cavity, the endoscope is bent backwards 180 degrees to inspect the stomach’s entrance. This complex procedure shows that magnetic endoscopes can be manipulated remotely at least as flexibly as standard devices.

In addition, the smaller endoscope can also be inserted via the nose in humans rather than via the oesophagus, as is usual with conventional endoscopies. This is less stressful, as patients don’t have to be fully sedated and can stay awake during the procedure to provide feedback. The magnetic endoscope is also potentially suitable for use in children, for whom the usual probes are too large.

Minimally invasive cancer screening and better care in remote areas

Professor Nelson from the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich is already thinking ahead: “In the next step of our research, we hope to carry out a teleoperated endoscopy on a human stomach. There’s a lot of potential in this technology. Here I’m thinking of minimally invasive procedures in the gastrointestinal tract, such as cancer screening.”

Dr Shannon Melissa Chan, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, also points out: “Teleoperated endoscopy can be used not only for training surgeons, but also for providing diagnostic and surgical care in remote areas, especially in places where there’s a lack of local expertise. We could even provide trained nurses with instructions from a distance on how to carry out the procedures.”

Alexandre Mesot completed his B.Sc. in mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich and specialized in biomedical devices for his M.Sc. His master thesis dealt with a magnetically controlled laser probe for eye surgery. Since 2020 he is a PhD student at the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab (MSRL) .

Mesot A, Mattille M, Boehler Q, Schmid N, Lyttle S, Heemeyer F, Chan SM, Chiu PWY, Nelson B, Teleoperated Magnetic Endoscopy: A Case Study and Perspective, Advanced Intelligent Systems, 18 August 2024, doi: external page 10.1002/aisy.202400522  

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