md phd uni bern

Graduate School for Health Sciences (GHS)

Phd program.

To open the diagram including the corresponding links, please follow the link below:

Diagrammatic representation of the GHS structured PhD after the official acceptance (PDF, 114KB)

• The research projects of the doctoral students within the Graduate School for Health Sciences (GHS) focus on the health of individuals and groups in their social contexts and physical environments and they address questions rooted in basic and clinical research and applied fields.  
• Expertise for the diverse projects is drawn and synthesized from diverse academic disciplines, from the humanities to medicine and the natural sciences. The extensive pool of academic experts and resources enables the GHS students to develop into highly qualified researchers or professionals ready to use their knowledge and skills in complex subjects in their chosen area.  
• Depending on the field of research the candidates are allocated to specific expert committees, which are involved in the admittance, guidance, and evaluation of the PhD candidates. The GHS currently has three expert committees. Expert Committee I  (FK I) covers competences in areas such as preventive and social medicine, public health, medical education, psychology, rehabilitation, clinical research and others. Expert Committee II   (FK II) focuses on neurosciences. Expert Committee III  (FK III) accompanies the research activities of clinically active candidates who are completing a PhD program in parallel to their work in the clinic (for more information see: here ).  
• The PhD program of the GHS consists of the doctoral thesis involving 3 to 4 years of research work (for students under the Expert Committees I and II), carried out at one of the research units/departments collaborating with the GHS and of an individually tailored training program of 18.0 ECTS credit points. For students under the Expert Committee III (Clinical Sciences), the duration of the PhD program is 4 - 6 years.   
• Two intermediate evaluations (1st Year Examination and 2nd Year Examination) evaluate the PhD candidate’s comprehension and competence as well as the progress in the research project.  

At the end of the PhD research project the doctoral candidate is required to submit at least three scientific papers to peer-reviewed journals (for more information see here ). One paper, for which the candidate is the first author, must be accepted for publication, and another two must have reached the peer-review stage.

• Completion of the program entitles the candidate to bear the title "PhD in Health Sciences (Specialization)".

Find out more

• Doctoral Agreement (WORD, 77KB)
• Progress Report (old regulations) (WORD, 165KB)
• Progress Report (new regulations) (WORD, 165KB)
• Welcome Center, University of Bern
• Doctoral Studies at the University of Bern
• Career Service of the University of Bern

Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR)

Study programs.

The excellence of clinical research in Switzerland, and in particular at the Inselspital (Bern University Hospital), can only be maintained by offering the biomedical scientists of tomorrow the best possible educational opportunities.

Most of the research groups of the department are hosting or hiring master students, PhD-students, MD-PhD-students, and post-doctoral fellows who are integrated in the research projects of the individual groups. PhD-students are generally enrolled in the graduate school of cellular and biomedical sciences of the University of Bern.

This educational task is taken seriously in our department, and we organize progress reports, seminars, and conferences that can be credited by the PhD-students. Furthermore, all group leaders of the department are participating in teaching activities at the University of Bern.

• Bachelor Human Medicine
• Bachelor Zahnmedizin (Only German)
• Master in Biomedical Engineering
• Master in Biomedical Sciences
• Master in Medicine
• Master in Dental Medicine
• Master of Medical Education
• Dr. med. / dent.
• PhD in Cellular and Biomedical Sciences
• PhD in Health Sciences

ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research

Phd cellular and biomedical sciences.

The Biomedical Engineering PhD Program is regulated by the  Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences  of the University of Bern. It is jointly administered by the Faculties of Medicine ,  Science  and  Vetsuisse  and offers structured, experimental research training programmes leading to a PhD or MD-PhD degree.

Doctoral Program Brain and Behavioral Sciences

Phd program.

The “Doctoral Program for Brain and Behavioral Sciences" establishes and provides a semi-structured, research-oriented post-graduate curriculum for Ph.D. candidates, with the involvement of senior researchers and Ph.D. students working on issues related to brain and behavioral sciences, scientific writing, research methodology, and statistics.

This will be done with the help of content-focused graduate courses, annual summer courses, and by providing an active research network and the necessary infrastructure for high-quality research of selected Ph.D. candidates. For every course they attend, the Ph. D. students will receive a course certificate.

Upon completion of the Doctoral Program, the Ph. D. students will be awarded with a doctoral program certificate.

Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB)

Course work.

The PhD program of the GCB grants each candidate a completely tailor-made training, in order to match specific needs and individual interests in relation to the planned research project. Training modules may be selected from courses and seminars organized and supported by the GCB, from the teaching units of the participating faculties at the University of Bern, and also from approved, project-related courses and summer schools offered by other Swiss Universities or recognized institutions in Switzerland and abroad.

The selection of courses is decided upon at a meeting between the candidate, the supervisor and the GCB representative (mentor), after admission to the GCB, and is recorded in the GCB PhD Doctora lAgreement.docx for PhD Candidates and in the GCB MD-PhD Doctoral Agreement.docx for MD-Phd Doctoral Candidates. This signed and dated document is then submitted electronically to the GCB [email protected] for final approval.

Minimum Mandatory Curriculum Requirements 6 (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) ECTS:

• Pass Exam with number grade * - 3.0 ECTS are acquired with lecture courses or book clubs which include a graded exam with marks , and that provide the candidate with new knowledge relevant to the individual research project.
• Participate in the lecture - “Scientific Integrity” (List this course in Mandatory requirement in your doctoral agreement)
• Attend and participate in – the GCB Symposium starting the 2nd year of the PhD studies (e.g., students registered in 2020 will participate in the 2022 symposium)

*Mandatory Course exams must be passed after a maximum of two attempts. This is an obligatory prerequisite to continue with the PhD program (see «Promotionsreglement», Art. 92 and Art. 191).

Additional Optional Achievements

Transferable skills courses - (academic writing, presentation skills, etc.) are considered as optional courses and cannot be acknowledged as part of the required minimum of 6.0 ECTS.

ECTS are awarded for courses , workshops, summer schools etc. which include some type of performance assessment, i.e. an exam, a talk, a poster presentation or a written report. Requests for ECTS reviews must be submitted to [email protected] and include:

• Course listed on Doctoral Agreement ( see Training: Courses and Examinations for more information on ECTS )
• Signed and Dated Certificate of Achievement - pdf format (not jpeg or smartphone photo)
• Course content (course dates, effort in terms of days/hours, exams, presentations, etc.) - in the situation when the course has not been previously approved

For more information on European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), please follow this link .

Any changes to the planned courses listed as «Mandatory Requirements» in the relevant doctoral agreement are subject to the approval of the supervisor and the mentor of the PhD candidate, and must be communicated to the coordinator of the GCB for final approval. Additionally, the written agreement of the mentor (e-mail) must be submitted to the GCB.

Major changes (mandatory requirements) to the Doctoral Agreement must be recorded in a revised Doctoral Agreement, which must again be dated, signed, and submitted to the GCB for approval.

New Courses

PhD candidates and supervisors are very welcome to suggest topics for new courses to be added to the GCB course catalog.

Degree Programs & Courses Doctorate

Funding program: doctoral programs university of bern 2021-2024.

In view of the swissuniversities TP1 project "Doctoral Programs of the Universities 2017-2020" coming to an end, and swissuniversities not having a successor project after 2020, the Executive Board of the University of Bern has allocated funds from the university’s own resources to support doctoral programs for the period 2021-2024.

The purpose of the new funding program "Doctoral Programs University of Bern 2021-2024" is

• to further strengthen the quality and attractiveness of doctoral degree programs 
• to  improve the career prospects of doctoral students within and outside of academia.

The aim of the program is to support academic offerings that promote the doctoral students’ disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transferable skills.

The following doctoral programs are supported by the University of Bern:

Brain and Behavioral Sciences

Interdisciplinary sport science, public administration.

• Link to the program

Classical Studies

Digital humanities bern & basel, theology basel, bern, zürich, network in accounting research (be-dar-ch), chemistry bern-zürich.

Medizinische Fakultät

Graduate schools (md-phd, phd).

Navigation auf uzh.ch

Faculty of Medicine

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, md-phd-programm, table of contents, general information, admission requirements, program structure, study guide and curriculum, interfaculty md-phd committee impk.

The MD-PhD Program enables medical students and graduates (in addition to their regular degree in medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine) to gain a basic natural science education which allows them to conduct regular doctoral studies at the Science Faculty of UZH, without previously attaining an MSc degree in natural science. The program serves as an entry point for medical students and graduates into the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. The role of the MD-PhD program is to select eligible candidates and to coordinate their integrated science education. The program consists of original research (doctoral thesis) as well as of curricular content (propaedeutic studies).

The MD-PhD is oriented exclusively toward Master students and graduates of degree courses in human medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry. The MD-PhD program can be entered as MD-PhD Track I in parallel to the medical Master studies at UZH. Applicants to the Track II program must hold a Master's degree from a university in human medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry.

The MD-PhD program is supervised by an Interfaculty steering committee (IMPK), which consists of representatives of the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Vetsuisse Faculty.

Track I: The Track I MD-PhD program is open to students who are enrolled in a medical Master program at UZH, with at least good grades during their Bachelor studies.

Track II: Students who have earned at least a Master’s degree in human medicine, veterinary medicine or dentistry. We recommend that candidates enter the program no later than five years after completing their medical degree. Admission of applicants from outside Europe is subject to the recognition of their degree by the Admission Office of UZH.

Graduates of other fields such as biology, pharmacy, or biochemistry are not admitted.

In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the regular doctoral studies at the Science Faculty, MD-PhD students are required to earn additional ECTS credit points in the framework of the MD-PhD propaedeutic studies.

Track I: The propaedeutic studies are entered in parallel to the medical Master studies at UZH. The doctoral dissertation is conducted after earning the medical Master degree.

Track II: Both propaedeutic studies and doctoral dissertation are conducted after attaining a medical Master degree (human medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry).

The doctoral dissertation must be carried out in one of the research groups of UZH affiliated to the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. Students must endeavor independently to secure a position in a host laboratory.

The study guides for students and supervisors as well as the curriculum of the propaedeutic studies can be downloaded on the right.

3 years minimum

Dr. sc. nat.

The doctorate is conducted in the frame of one of the PhD programs of the Life Science Graduate School (MNF).

Regulations: https://www.mnf.uzh.ch/de/studium/reglemente/phd.html (in German)

Medical doctorate degrees (Dr. med., Dr. med. dent., Dr. med. vet.) are not awarded in the framework of the MD-PhD program. They have to be obtained separately from the respective faculties.

The MD-PhD program is supervised by an Interfaculty steering committee (IMPK), which consist of representatives of the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Vetsuisse Faculty.

The responsibilities of the IMPK include:

• Supervision and coordination of the MD-PhD program
• Supervision and coordination of the MSc Medical Biology program
• MD-PhD program
• Clinical Science
• Biomedical Ethics & Law
• Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Current members:

• Prof. Dr. Adriano Aguzzi (President, supervision MD-PhD)
• Prof. Dr. Nicole Joller (Vice President, supervision MSc Medical Biology)
• Prof. Dr. Felix Beuschlein
• Prof. Dr. Urs Greber
• Prof. Dr. Johannes Loffing
• Prof. Dr. Bjoern Menze
• Prof. Dr. Anne Müller
• Prof. Dr. Christian Münz
• Prof. Dr. Chantal Pauli
• Prof. Dr. Hanspeter Nägeli (Vetsuisse representative)
• Prof. Dr. Nikola Biller-Andorno (representative for Biomedical Ethics & Law)
• Prof. Dr. Milo Puhan (representative for Epidemiologie und Biostatistik)
• Prof. Dr. Beatrix Latal (representative for Clinical Science)

Artemi Bendandi, Coordinator E-mail: [email protected]

Weiterführende Informationen

Study guides

Study guide MD-PhD until 2021

Study guide MD-PhD from 2022

Information for Supervisors

Propaedeutic Studies

Application deadlines

• 15. Juni

• 15. Dezember

Confirmation of Host Laboratory

National MD-PhD Scholarship

https://www.samw.ch/en/Funding/MD-PhD-Program.html

Open MD-PhD position

PhD position at University Heart Center