Financial matters for doctoral students
The following costs are incurred during doctoral studies:
| Admission costs | Amount |
| Registration fee for graduates from Swiss universities: | CHF 50.00 |
| Registration fee for graduates from abroad | CHF 150.00 |
| Global fee for qualifying examination(s) (if required) | CHF 120.00 |
| Tuition and semester fees | Amount |
| Flat-rate tuition fee for doctoral students: | CHF 1'200.00 |
| Compulsory semester fees (sport, scholarship fund) | CHF 32.00 |
In special cases, doctoral students can apply for a scholarship or a loan
| Living costs, per month | Amount |
| Rent, health insurance, transport, food | CHF 1'500.00 bis 2'000.00 |
Scholarships for doctoral students
Main content
ETH Zurich does not finance a student's complete doctoral course with scholarships.
Doctoral students at ETH Zurich generally have an employment contract. If the employment contract cannot be extended, they can apply for a scholarship. Scholarships for doctoral students are limited to three months. Requests must be submitted in the form of a letter to the Scholarship Office.
deadline for applications
Doctoral students do not have to keep to the official deadlines for semester enrolment. This means that you can register for doctoral studies at any time. However, you should try, if possible, to submit your application as early as possible. Nevertheless please do not send it more than 4 weeks before the start of your doctoral studies.
Note: Students submitting applications during a period when there are no lectures will always be matriculated for the following semester. For example: if your application is received in June, after the official end of the spring semester, you will be matriculated for the autumn semester.
Who can apply?
In principle, all university graduates with a Master’s degree or an equivalent university degree can apply for admission to doctoral studies.
With the following degrees an admission is not possible:
· Degrees from universities of applied science
· Master’s degrees from university continuing education departments (MAS, DAS, etc.)
· Any kind of MBA (Master of Business Administration)
· Bachelor's and/or Bachelor Honours degrees
Furthermore, definite agreement is needed from an ETH Zurich professor that they will supervise your thesis project. This agreement is confirmed with their signature on the application form.
