Life Science Zurich Graduate School PhD Positions

The Life Science Zurich Graduate School is run jointly by the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich and covers 17 separate PhD programmes across the life sciences, from molecular biology and neuroscience to biomedical engineering and systems biology. It offers over 80 fully funded PhD positions on a regular basis. The funding matters enormously for a Sri Lankan applicant: every research group provides financial support in line with the Swiss National Science Foundation's PhD salary scale, currently between CHF 48,216 and CHF 55,000 a year — roughly LKR 17.8 to 20.4 million — paid as an employment contract with accident and unemployment insurance. This is a salaried job, not a stipend you must stretch, and Swiss PhD pay is generous even measured against Zurich's high cost of living. The programme states it aims to attract the most promising young scientists from across the world, and applications are entirely in English. There are two application rounds a year, closing 1 May and 1 November. To be eligible you must hold, or expect soon to obtain, a Master's degree or equivalent in a relevant field from a recognised university. The doctorate typically runs four years, and on arrival you register with either UZH or ETH Zurich depending on which institution your research group belongs to. Be realistic: these are among the most sought-after PhD positions in Europe and the applicant pool is global. A research-based Master's thesis, demonstrable laboratory or computational skill, and ideally a publication or preprint are what get an application shortlisted. Zurich is also one of the world's most expensive cities — the salary covers it comfortably for one person, but not for supporting a family back home at the same time.

Two calls a year with application deadlines of 1 May and 1 November. Over 80 fully funded positions across 17 PhD programmes — confirm current call details on lifescience-graduateschool.uzh.ch