The PSC PhD Program in Plant Sciences is a joint program of the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich and the University of Basel. The structured curriculum offers training in frontier topics of the plant sciences, including molecular biology, environmental sciences, ecology and agronomy. It also provides opportunities to acquire transferable skills for careers in and outside of academia. All courses are in English.
The PhD Program in Plant Sciences includes a written dissertation about the own independent scientific research project in natural sciences and is usually completed in three to four years (full-time). The program aims to broaden the skill base of PhD students and to strengthen their research competence in the plant sciences with workshops on frontier research skills methods and techniques in plant sciences / statistical methods / research management / communicating and disseminating science / professional conduct / finance, funding and resources/ professional and career development / dialogue of science and public.
The program includes a curricular part of at least 12 ECTS credits composed of:
the colloquium "Challenges in Plant Sciences", a choice of intense scientific courses on frontier scientific and methodological topics in the plant sciences, a selection of transferable skill.
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.
