How to Apply

Democracy Studies welcomes motivated new PhD candidates who:

• Are interested in the topic of democracy
• Hold an MA in Political Science, Media and Communication Science, Anthropology, Empirical Cultural Studies, Sociology, Political Philosophy, Political Economy or in a related discipline of the social sciences
• Are fluent in English
• Are enrolled as doctoral candidates and in an initial phase of their PhD
• Bring their own funding (no scholarships available)

Democracy Studies Admission Process

Applicants willing to join Democracy Studies should follow this three-step procedure:

Already enrolled UZH PhD candidates can directly 3. Apply for Democracy Studies

According to Graduate School regulations, the first requirement for admission for all prospective doctoral candidates at UZH is the binding consent of two professors to supervise the PhD project. All applicants should fill in the Provisional Confirmation of Supervision (PCS) in agreement with the prospective supervisory committee, sign it, and send it to the Graduate School for approval. Once the Graduate School approves the PCS, prospective doctoral candidates can proceed with the application and UZH enrollment process.

For any questions regarding Doctoral Studies at the PhF, please contact the PhD students’ Coordinator for Social Sciences , Dr Doreen Spörer-Wagner. You can also read more from the Graduate Campus Guide: How to PhD

Applications can only be submitted online.

• Prospective doctoral candidates already matriculated at the UZH must apply for a change of study level from MA to PhD, submitting a request via the student portal.
• Prospective doctoral candidates not yet matriculated at the UZH must submit an application to the Admission Office. Applications are submitted via the UZH Application Portal.
• Prospective doctoral candidates already enrolled in another Swiss university can apply for UZH incoming module mobility.

For any questions regarding the UZH application procedures, please contact the Admissions Office.

Once enrolled at the UZH, prospective doctoral candidates are eligible to apply to Democracy Studies. Within the first year of their doctorate, applicants should submit an Application Dossier in a single PDF file including:

Once you are enrolled at UZH, registered at the Graduate School PhF and have prepared the Application Dossier, you can fill in this form to apply to Democracy Studies UZH using your UZH credentials.