Economics

The Zurich Graduate School of Economics offers a set of courses taught in English by internationally renowned scholars and world-class research opportunities. Close collaboration between Doctoral students and supervisors and a strong team spirit among students are specific features of the Doctoral program. Our students enjoy the benefits of a highly interdisciplinary, vibrant research community with access to first-class facilities. Students can choose from a wide range of research interests in all areas of Economics, including Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Applied Microeconomics, and Behavioral and Experimental Economics. A separate doctoral program is also offered in Neuroeconomics.

1 First Year 

During their first year of doctoral studies, students take core courses in Mathematics, Econometrics, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. These core courses provide the foundation for the topic or specialization courses taken during the second year, which are held by UZH faculty and by distinguished international scholars. Further, students have the opportunity to present the results of their own research in several specialized seminar series. Finally, there are many weekly research seminars with guest speakers. 

Fall

• Mathematics for Research Students
• Econometrics for Research Students Part I
• Macroeconomics for Research Students Part I
• Microeconomics for Research Students Part I 

Spring 

• Econometrics for Research Students Part II 
• Macroeconomics for Research Students Part II
• Microeconomics for Research Students Part II

In addition to the core courses, we strongly recommend that our students attend the seminar Faculty Research for Graduate Students. The seminar takes place on Mondays from 15.15 to 16.45h and gives doctoral students the opportunity to get to know the faculty members and their research within their first year of studies. 

2 Second Year

While the first year of the program will typically be devoted to the core courses, students in their second year will have the opportunity to work on their dissertation projects along with attending the second year program. A Research Proposal is also part of the program and has to be done within 6 semesters. Students have to choose an advisor/co-advisor at some point in their second year. In accordance with PVO1 2013 § 11, graduate students have to submit the Doctoral agreement to the program coordinator no later than six months after the requirements for assigning a supervisor have been met. Students can download the Doctoral agreement from the departmental intranet. Students are allowed to change their primary advisor according to their research interests, but must notify the program director of any changes. 

3 Third Year and beyond 

3.1 Thesis and Defense

The doctoral thesis can either be a monograph or an accumulation of published research papers. All professors of the Department of Economics can function as a supervisor. The report with a grade for the doctoral thesis will be written by your supervisor and co-supervisor. The final grade for the doctoral thesis is the average grade of the two reports and the student can only pass if both referees grade the doctoral thesis at least 4.0 (“pass”). There will be a public thesis defense: 

• 30 minutes of thesis presentation to the thesis committee 
• 30 minutes of public discussion 

The members of the thesis committee will determine the final grade for the thesis defense. The final grade of the doctoral degree will be a weighted average based on grades obtained for

• thesis defense weight: 1
• doctoral thesis (monograph or three essays) weight: 3 

For admission to the Zurich Graduate School of Economics (ZurichGSE) a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Economics from a university or an equivalent degree with the distinction of summa cum laude or magna cum laude is required. Applicants from other fields will be considered if their academic performance is outstanding.
Degrees from Master of Advanced Studies programs (e.g. MAS, EMBA, MBA, etc.) do not qualify for acceptance to our program.

Students are expected to devote themselves full-time to their programs of study.

It is strongly recommended that applicants take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) General Test. Applications without GRE will be reviewed, but not submitting GRE test results will be considered a major drawback and must be offset by very strong academic credentials (e.g., high grade point average). Applicants obtaining a university degree from a non-Bologna country have to hand in a GRE in order to have a chance to be admitted.

Proficiency in English is required. No specific test is required, but applicants who have taken the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) are encouraged to provide a copy of the official test results. Applicants obtaining a university degree from a non-Bologna country whose native language is not English, have to hand in a recognized English certificate and meet the  minimum requirement of the University of Zurich in order to have a chance to be admitted.

• Curriculum vitae
• Transcripts of academic records (documents in English, German, or French require no translation; documents in any other language must be translated into English or German and certified for official use) 
• A Statement of Purpose concerning your plans for doctoral studies and career objectives. The statement should be written in English and should not exceed 1,500 words.
• One copy of an essay that you have written (a seminar thesis for example, a Master's thesis or a research proposal, etc. The purpose is to get an idea of how your scientific work is)
• Letter of recommendation. You will be asked during your online application to invite referees to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf and you have to submit at least 2 letters in order to complete your application.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Expenses

Living expenses depend very much on the individual student. These figures should therefore be regarded as a guideline only (in CHF): 

The expected minimum cost of living for students therefore comes to a total of CHF 1,750 per month.