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PhD studies of the Program in Ecology primarily involve research projects in one of the internationally acclaimed research groups at University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. To enhance student’s PhD experience, the program offers research training in the interdisciplinary field of ecology, general skills training for academic and non-academic excellence and opportunities to interact with other doctoral students. The program includes a curricular part of at least 12 ECTS credits, teaching experience, and is usually completed within three to four years (full-time). It offers yearly graduate schools, courses on subject specific matters and on methods that are of direct use to the work of doctoral students. Additional courses on transferable skills prepare students for professional life, whether this is in an academic institution or not. Research seminars foster international collaborations and the exchange of experiences among doctoral students and experts from different fields of ecology.
Core Elective Modules
- BIO 604 R Lunch Group
- BIO 605 Seminar for Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies
- BIO 606 BEEES Seminar (Behaviour, Ecology, Environment and Evolution Seminar)
- BIO 633 Reproducible Research in Ecology, Evolution, Behaviour, and Environmental Studies
- ECO 301 Journal Club: Ecological Theory
- ECO 334 Mixed-Effects Modelling with R
- ECO 369 Visualising Research - Making an Effective Science Movie
- ECO 373 Developing your Personal Impact and Presence
Elective Modules
|
Courses about specific subject matters |
LH* |
CP** |
| Ecological Theory | 28 | 2 |
| Animal Movement Ecology | 28 | 2 |
| Conservation management | 35 | 2.5 |
| Ethics for life science | 14 | 1 |
| Journal club with a difference | 14 | 1 |
| Journal club: Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning and community history | 14 | 1 |
| Microbial Ecology: Biogeochemistry of alpine wetlands | 28 | 2 |
| Molecular microbial Ecology | 28 | 2 |
| Natur und Kultur | 28 | 2 |
| Post-genomic biology for "non"-biologists | - | - |
|
Courses on methods |
LH* |
CP** |
| Applied ecophysiological techniques for plant studies | 14 | 1 |
| Estimation of abundance, occupancy and species richness in large-scale surveys in ecology and monitoring | 35 | 2.5 |
| Introduction to meta-analysis and research synthesis in ecology | 14 | 1 |
| Introduction to Bayesian statistics for biologists using WinBUGS | 28 | 2 |
| Bayesian population analysis using hierarchical models in BUGS and JAGS | 28 | 2 |
| Introduction in ArcGIS: work with geodata for environmental research | 14 | 1 |
| GIS-course 1: General usage of geodata for environmental research | 14 | 1 |
| GIS-course 2: Data-analysis with ArcGIS for environmental research | 14 | 1 |
| Introduction to using R for data analysis and graphics | 21 | 1.5 |
| Statistics for free I: Linear Models in R | 35 | 2.5 |
| Statistics for free III: Generalized Linear Models in R | 28 | 2 |
| Contemporary analysis of ecology: Generalized Linear Models in R | 14 | 1 |
| Statistics for free IV: Mixed Effects Models in R | 28 | 2 |
| Contemporary analysis of Ecology: Mixed Effects Models in R | 14 | 1 |
| Study design and data analysis using R | 28 | 2 |
| R4All. A recipe for success with R | 21 | 1 |
| R Lunch group | 14 | 1 |
| R Graphics course: GGPLOT | 14 | 1 |
| Hierarchical models in ecology | - | - |
| Gardening techniques | - | - |
|
Skills training courses |
LH* |
CP** |
| Environmental life cycle assessment and ecobalance | 21 | 1.5 |
| Good graphics in R | 14 | 1 |
| Green fingers: an introduction into gardening | 14 | 1 |
| How to present experimental results | 14 | 1 |
| Online publication practice | 14 | 1 |
| Plant systematics and identification | 21 | 1.5 |
| Project management | 14 | 1 |
| Green Business | 14 | 1 |
| Environment, Social and Governance | 14 | 1 |
| Summer Graduate School 2010: Leadership and Management | 21 | 1.5 |
| Summer Graduate School 2011: Sino-Swiss Alpine Ecology | 28 | 2 |
| Summer Graduate School 2012: Effective Publishing | 28 | 2 |
| Winter Graduate School 2013: Ecological Theory | 28 | 2 |
| Summer Graduate School 2014: Understanding Ecology through the Humanities | 28 | 2 |
| Summer Graduate School 2015: Data Carpentry Boot Camp | 28 | 2 |
| Summer Graduate School 2015: Animal Movement Ecology | 28 | 2 |
| Summer Graduate School 2015: Urban Wildlife Ecology | 28 | 2 |
| Graduate Workshop 2016: Community Ecology | 14 | 1 |
| Summer Graduate School and Symposium 2016: Urban Ecology | 28 | 2 |
| Teamwork | 14 | 1 |
| Writing up scientific research | 28 | 2 |
| Scientific Writing | 28 | 2 |
| How to deal with media | 7 | 0.5 |
| Practical and teaching assistance skills | 7 | 0.5 |
| Introduction to Teaching Field Practica | 14 | 1 |
| Expert literature data basis | - | - |
| Ökobilanz | - | - |
| Scientific Drawing | 14 | 1 |
|
Research Seminars |
LH* |
CP** |
| Postdoc Funding and Career Management | - | *** |
| Zurich Interaction Seminar | - | 1 |
| Seminar for evolutionary biology and environmental studies (SEBES) | - | *** |
| BEEES seminar (Behaviour, Ecology, Environment and Evolution) | - | *** |
| Network seminar | - | *** |
| Seminar in plant population biology and biodiversity research | - | *** |
| Symposium of the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Centre | - | *** |
| Ökodose (Research seminar for all PhD students | - | *** |
| Brown Bag Lunch: Statistics in biology and environmental sciences | - | *** |
| Organization of conference / seminar | 1 |
*14 LH (lesson hours) = 1 ECTS credit point = 30 hours of work (including preparation, participation, homework)
**CP = credit points
***Presentation (talk) in one of the seminars = 1 CP
- A Master's degree (MSc) or equivalent from a university before starting the PhD Program in Ecology
- Sufficient knowledge in ecology / environmental sciences (equivalent 10 ECTS-points) and in mathematics (including statistics) and physics (equivalent 6 ECTS-points)
- Excellent knowledge of English
Expenses
Living expenses depend very much on the individual student. These figures should therefore be regarded as a guideline only (in CHF):
| Rent incl. heating | 550 |
| Additional expenses (telephone, internet) | 200 |
| Meals | 400 |
| Insurance | 250 |
| Travel | 80 |
| Clothing, laundry, personal items | 70 |
| Leisure, spending money | 150 |
| Teaching materials | 50 |
| Total | 1,750 |
The expected minimum cost of living for students therefore comes to a total of CHF 1,750 per month.
