Program Overview

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PhD Program in Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology

The PhD program in Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology provides key information on the relevant regulations, as well as details on the application and admission procedures. The information presented serves as general guidance and may be subject to change.

Requirements

• A Master's degree (or equivalent) in physics, astronomy, or a related field.
• Specific requirements and applicable regulations can be found in the respective program pages.

Application to the Doctoral Program

• Application materials should include a CV, a letter of intent (no more than 2 pages), transcripts (undergraduate and Master's), and the Master's thesis (or another scientific writing sample if the thesis is not yet available).

Application to the Admissions Office of the UZH

• Official enrollment at the University of Zurich must be completed via the UZH application portal.
• The 2 documents needed for the admission (Confirmation of Supervision / Acceptance Confirmation) will be created and sent to the student by the HR representative of the Department as soon as possible.

Duration and Funding

• The PhD program typically lasts 3 to 4 years.
• Application costs and semester fees have to be covered by the prospective student.
• General employment conditions can also apply for Doctoral candidates, who are generally employed at 80%. Withholding taxes and social security contributions are deducted from the salary.

Duties and Progress

• After official enrollment at UZH, PhD students receive an invitation to the MNF Student Admin Tool, an online system for tracking the PhD process from start to finish.
• In this system, milestones must be updated and completed within set deadlines.

PhD Committee

• Within 6 months of enrolment, the student must complete the formation of the Doctoral Committee in consultation with the Main Advisor.
• The Committee consists of at least three members, at least two of whom have the right to confer doctoral degrees at the Faculty of Science.

Doctoral Agreement

• The doctoral agreement, specifying the scope and working title of the PhD project, the course work and planned teaching, must be handed in via the Student Admin Tool within 6 months after the start of the PhD.
• PhDs employed at UZH must file a signed version of the outline of rights and responsibilities.

Teaching Assistance

• Teaching assistance (TA) for up to 420 hours is part of every doctoral program.
• In the final semester, exemptions may be granted upon request.

Course Work / ECTS

• Registration of earned ECTS credits – specifications can be found in the official regulations of the respective program.

Annual Committee Meetings

• The PhD advisor and the doctoral committee provide the doctoral student with regular feedback on the quality and progress of the primary research work, doctoral curricular part, and teaching duties.
• The PhD committee meets with the PhD student every year, and the minutes of the meetings must be reported to the PhD program and uploaded on StudentAdmin.

Further Potential Activities

• PhD students may assist in organizing and participating in department-related events for different target groups.
• Work on boards and committees is also possible.

Thesis

• The content, spelling, and capitalization of the title page must correspond to the instructions in the template.
• The committee mentioned must correspond to the information in the Student Admin Tool.

Registration for Defense

• Registration via the Student Admin Tool must be done at least 6 weeks and at most 12 weeks before the defense.