Doctorate

Before contacting Prof. Dr. Alexander, please ensure that you have carefully read through the general information on the doctorate program provided by the Faculty of Law. You will find the above mentioned information under the following section of the homepage of the University of Zurich Doctoral Studies 

Summa cum laude or magna cum laude in the Master's degree are prerequisites to be accepted by Prof. Dr. Alexander. Furthermore, students who studied abroad are required to submit two recommendation letters of Professors  who supervised and / or taught them and can comment on their ability and potential to carry out the writing of a PhD thesis.

Once you have familiarised yourself with the prerequisites, please send us an email. The email must contain the following information:

• Project description of 1-2 A4 pages
• Transcript of records and proof of graduation
• CV
• Two recommendation letters from former professors for graduates from a foreign university.

After reviewing your submitted documents, you may be invited to a meeting. Based on the meeting and the documentation, Prof. Dr. Alexander will make a preliminary decision on supervising your project.

The factsheets below areparticularly addressed to foreign PhD students thinking about doing a PhD at the Law Faculty of UZH. As our chair is host to many foreign PhD students, we realized that many of them encounter similar challenges on their way. The first document is a compilation made by our chair and shall provide more information and useful links on the most frequent questions (e.g. minimal requirements for application, admission process, Visa, IT-infrastructure, doctorate seminars, legals resources, etc.). Please note, our inofficial compilation shall by no means be a substitute for a sincere study of the official regulations. The second document is the (official) UZH PhD Guide in English.

Useful Information and Links for Foreign PhD Students (PDF, 128 KB)

UZH PhD Guide (English) (PDF, 3 MB)

All students whose first language is not English must be able to provide suitable evidence that their level of English language is adequate for postgraduate study.

Our current English language entry requirements are:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic Version: 7.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. The qualification or test result must have been awarded no more than four years prior to the proposed date of enrolment.
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) IBT: 94 overall, with no less than 21 in listening, 21 in reading, 21 in speaking and 24 in writing. The qualification or test result must have been awarded no more than four years prior to the proposed date of enrolment.
• Trinity College London, ISE III: CEFR C1 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. The qualification or test result must have been awarded no more than four years prior to the proposed date of enrolment.

Exceptions:
If you have been awarded a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in law or in an equivalent social science or humanities subject from a university or accredited college in one of the countries listed below, you will not be required to submit any further evidence of English language competency:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Canada
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Ireland
• Jamaica
• New Zealand
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

Additionally, if you are a national of one of the above countries, and can demonstrate conversational English in an interview or with authentic written work, the English language test shall be waived.