Funding and Tuition

There are two application fees:

• 120 CHF charged by SFI when you apply, which covers a part of the administrative cost of running our selection process.
• The second application fee of 100 USD will be due to the University of Zurich only after acceptance into our PhD program, when you proceed to enroll at the University.

The University of Zurich charges about 320 CHF per semester in various fees.

Accepted candidates are offered a scholarship for the first year and employment as teaching and research assistants for the duration of their PhD.

The full scholarship (CHF 32’400) provided to all students during the first-year is usually deemed tax-free and allows you to concentrate on first-year coursework.

From the second year onwards, our PhD candidates are usually employed as teaching assistants.

The standard salary of a teaching assistant is 47'784 CHF (UZH salary scale 17/3 at a 50% employment rate). The University of Zurich estimates the cost of living in Zurich at about 2'000 CHF per month. For more information on relocating and living in Zurich, please consult our International Office.