Program Overview

General Information

The PhD program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics is run by the Life Science Zurich Graduate School (LSZGS), a joint organization belonging to UZH and ETHZ. It fosters the PhDs' research expertise in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and promotes their acquired skills for careers within and outside academia. The overall goal is to train our PhDs in designing, conducting, and analyzing research studies in biomedicine. Depending on the specific research area, students are expected to acquire core competencies in epidemiology or biostatistics.

How to Obtain a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics?

Obtaining a doctoral degree from the PhD program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics depends on the fulfillment of the following requirements:

• Curriculum: Earning at least 12 ECTS and fulfilling the curricular requirements.
• Teaching: Completion of all required teaching hours depending on the responsible professor's affiliation.
• Doctoral Committee: Successful completion of at least two committee meetings, including a pre-doctoral exam at the second committee meeting.
• Dissertation and Defence: Composition and successful defence of a dissertation containing original research.
• Potential Conditions: Completion of all relevant conditions and all additional requirements set by the institute or department where the student is matriculated.
• PhD Progress Tracking: Continuous updating of personal MNF Student Admin (for UZH PhDs) or DissGo profile (for ETH PhDs), including the dissertation and reached milestones.

In addition to the mandatory requirements, all students from the PhD program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics are expected to participate in the following activities:

• Retreat: Attending our retreat.
• Kick-off Event: Attending the semester kick-off event in fall.
• EBPhD Talks: Giving an EBPhD talk to the EBPhD community. The students will be approached by the coordinator approximately 1.5 years after starting the PhD. The scope will either be at a retreat or during the semester, dependent on the timing.
• EBPhD Events: Participating in our EBPhD events.

Additional Information

Life Science Zurich Graduate School

More about Life Science Zurich Graduate School. The graduate school is committed to best practices for doctoral education, as outlined by the UZH Faculty of Science PhD regulations and ETHZ PhD regulations.

Program Structure

The program includes the following subpages:

• Curriculum
• Teaching
• Committee Meetings
• PhD Progress Tracking
• Dissertation and Defence

These components are integral to the PhD program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, ensuring a comprehensive education and research experience for students.