CIS Doctoral Program
The Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS) offers different ways to complete a doctoral program. The 12 ECTS doctorates of the Department of Humanities, Social and State Sciences (D-GESS) at ETH Zurich specialize in one of the five core research topics – Democracy, Market and Politics, Political Violence, Sustainable Development, and Security. It is possible to pursue a subject-specific or cross-disciplinary doctorate.
The subject-specific doctorate is intended for candidates who have completed a master’s degree in a subject area of a D-GESS professorship (e.g., law, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, economics). The master’s degree should have a similar focus as the doctorate.
The cross-disciplinary D-GESS doctorate is recommended for candidates who have obtained a Master of Science (MSc) in natural or technical sciences from ETH Zurich or another university. The D-GESS doctorate requires cooperation with another ETH department – for example, in the form of co-referees from the natural or technical sciences of ETH Zurich.
The first step in the application procedure is to find a CIS faculty member who is willing to serve as the main advisor of your PhD dissertation. To do so, we suggest identify the CIS faculty member whose research comes closest to your interests and educational background.
Write a detailed proposal outlining your research interest and central research questions (max. 4 pages).
Send an email or letter including: (a) a letter of motivation, (b) your CV; (c) name of one CIS professor whose research interests and expertise are best suited to your proposal, and explain the relevance of your proposal with regard to the professor's field of interest.