How to Do a PhD in Switzerland: Positions, Salary and Visas
Swiss PhDs often run through a single professor, not a central doctoral school. Learn how positions work, what a doctoral assistant earns, and how non-EU students get a visa.
Switzerland hosts PhD researchers at universities and at the two Federal Institutes of Technology, ETH Zurich and EPFL. Many Swiss PhD positions are paid jobs. Rules on recruitment, pay, and visas are set by each institution, and sometimes by each canton. Check the current page of your target university before you apply.
Who can apply
The usual requirement is a Master's degree, or an equivalent qualification. At the University of Zurich (UZH), the formal rule is a Master's degree diploma from a state-accredited university, with any transferred credits also earned at an accredited institution. UZH also allows admission in some cases with a degree from a university of applied sciences, under the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
Beyond the formal rule, each programme sets its own academic admission requirements. At UZH, a professor with the right to supervise doctorates must first agree to act as your supervisor. For some programmes you must also be accepted onto a doctoral programme through a selective procedure, and in many cases you must be offered a position as a doctoral student or as a teaching and research assistant.
How PhD positions work in Switzerland
Switzerland does not run doctoral admission the same way everywhere. At ETH Zurich, there is no overarching doctoral school. ETH states that each potential doctoral thesis supervisor recruits their own doctoral students, and a professor at ETH must agree to supervise your dissertation before you can start. The official route is to contact the relevant professorship directly, through the website of the department where you want to do your PhD. ETH also advertises doctoral posts, through its current vacancies page and through "ETH get hired".
Other Swiss universities add a central step. At UZH, after you secure a supervisor (and, where relevant, a place on a doctoral programme), you must also apply separately to the UZH Admissions Office, through its application portal. UZH states this can take up to three months to process.
Because the process is different at each institution, always check your target university's own doctoral or graduate school page for its exact steps.
What a PhD pays, and what it costs
Most Swiss PhD researchers are employed, not only enrolled as students. At EPFL, doctoral candidates are mostly employed as doctoral assistants. EPFL describes this as a dual status of student and employee: they do research toward their doctorate, help teach undergraduates, and support their research unit.
EPFL states that the basic starting salary of a doctoral assistant is CHF 55,225 gross per year, valid from 1 January 2026. Its human resources salary scale for 2026 (gross annual pay, including the 13th salary month) shows:
| Year of doctorate | Gross annual salary (CHF) |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 55,225 |
| Year 2 | 56,225 |
| Year 3 | 57,225 |
| Year 4 to 6 | 58,225 |
EPFL adds that an increment of about CHF 1,000 a year is granted, if budget and economic conditions allow. Funding for these positions comes from sources such as the Swiss National Science Foundation, the European Research Council, other public and international agencies, and private industry. If you come with your own scholarship from your home country, EPFL says it will aim to match the income of an internally-funded doctoral student.
EPFL also charges a registration fee at the start of your studies, and a doctoral tax when you complete them.
Tip: These numbers are for EPFL only, for 2026. Other Swiss universities and institutions set their own pay scales and fees. Check the current scale for your own employer before you plan your budget.
How long a PhD takes
The University of Bern states that the duration of employment as a doctoral candidate is limited to a maximum of four years. Doctoral candidates must stay registered (matriculated) at the university for the whole doctorate. Bern places no fixed limit on how long you may stay registered, but it expects swift progress toward completion.
Check the exact duration rule for your own institution and funding source, since it is not the same everywhere in Switzerland.
Visas and permits for non-EU and non-EFTA students
If you are not a citizen of an EU or EFTA country, you will usually need a visa to move to Switzerland for a PhD. Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) states that whether you need a national visa depends on your nationality, and that the current list by nationality is kept by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). If you are not required to hold a visa, you may still enter without one, but you must register with the cantonal authority within 14 days of arrival, as the FDFA states for all travellers in this situation.
At UZH, the process for an employed doctoral candidate works like this:
- If you are offered employment for your doctoral studies and you are not a citizen of an EU or EFTA state, UZH will generally apply for your visa on your behalf. You contact the relevant faculty or graduate school for this.
- The visa is issued by the Canton of Zurich Migration Office.
- The visa is always subject to you submitting confirmation of matriculation within 14 days of entering Switzerland.
- Your visa only converts into a residence and work permit after the Migration Office receives that confirmation.
UZH is explicit on timing: do not travel to Switzerland before you receive the decision on admission, and do not start your doctoral studies before you have matriculated and hold a residence and work permit.
Visa and permit steps differ by canton and by university, so always confirm the exact process with your own institution's international office, and check the SEM pages for your nationality before you plan your move.
How to apply, step by step
- Check the formal requirement. Confirm your Master's degree (or equivalent) is recognised, using your target university's own page.
- Find a supervisor. At institutions such as ETH Zurich, contact professors directly, based on your research interest, since there may be no central doctoral school.
- Check for an advertised position. Look at the university's current vacancies page, or sites such as "ETH get hired," for funded posts.
- Apply to any doctoral programme, if one exists, through its own selection process.
- Apply to the central admissions office, if your university has one (as at UZH), and keep its processing time in mind when you plan your start date.
- Plan your visa early, if you need one. Check the SEM nationality list, and ask your university whether it applies for the visa on your behalf.
- Wait for your formal admission decision before you travel or resign from your current position.
Common mistakes
- Assuming one process fits all of Switzerland. ETH Zurich's professor-led model is not the same as UZH's two-step process with a central Admissions Office.
- Traveling before admission is confirmed. UZH warns against this directly, because your visa only becomes valid once your matriculation is confirmed.
- Missing the 14-day registration rule after arrival, which applies even if you did not need a visa to enter.
- Using salary figures from one institution for another. EPFL's 2026 scale does not apply at other Swiss universities.
- Forgetting the registration fee and doctoral tax when budgeting for a PhD at an institution that charges them.
Where to find open positions
PhD Atlas lists open PhD positions in several countries, including Switzerland. If you are also considering other countries, see our guides on doing a PhD in Germany and doing a PhD in Norway, or read how to find a PhD position in Europe for a general search plan.
PhD Atlas matches open positions to your CV, so you can find the professors and programmes in Switzerland that fit your research interests.