PhD program in Care & Rehabilitation Sciences

The PhD program in Care and Rehabilitation Sciences is run in cooperation with the ZHAW School of Health Professions. It opens a university postgraduate qualification opportunity (Dr. sc. med. / PhD) in research for the health professions regulated in the Swiss Healthcare Occupations Act (GesBG): www.gesbg.admin.ch

It promotes high-quality research and offers structured postgraduate training in the fundamentals and methods of research.

The focus of the PhD program in Care and Rehabilitation Sciences lies on research with people with or without health issues in the areas of prevention, clinical (outpatient or inpatient) treatment and rehabilitation, and on applied studies grounded on basic research for the developement and improvement of interventions and treatments.

The Faculty of Medicine of the UZH offers further PhD programs with which the PhD program in Care and Rehabilitation Sciences cooperates.

The PhD program in Care and Rehabilitation Sciences is open to applicants from Switzerland and abroad who are highly qualified academically and display a strong interest in research in the areas mentioned above.

To be admitted to the program, applicants must

1. hold a Master's degree from a university or an equivalent academic degree from a university of applied sciences in a health profession regulated in the Swiss Healthcare Occupations Act (GesBG); the equivalence of degrees is decided conclusively by the doctoral program commission on a case-by-case basis. Admission of applicants from other academic health science disciplines in health care (i.e. disciplines which can be studied at universities or universities of applied sciences); including nursing (MSc in Nursing), is decided on an individual  basis by the doctoral program commission.
2. have proof of their academic qualification (for example, in the form of academic transcripts, awards, scholarships or publications),
3. show motiviation and commitment regarding their research interests, and
4. have good knowledge of German and English.
   
   Combine these documents into one pdf and send it with the separate application form to: doktorat.gesundheit@zhaw.ch

The overall responsibility for the PhD program in Care & Rehabilitation Sciences lies with the doctoral program commission. It includes four faculty members from the UZH Faculty of Medicine and four professors from the ZHAW School of Health Professions. The doctoral program commission is headed by a faculty member from the UZH Faculty of Medicine. The doctoral program commission reviews all applications received within the deadline which have successfully passed the preselection at the ZHAW (application deadlines are April 30 and September 30). Applicants who have passed the preselection phase will be invited to a personal application interview.

The doctoral program commission includes the following members:

UZH Faculty of Medicine

Prof. Dr. med. Claudia Witt, UZH Faculty of Medicine, head of the commission (Website)

Prof. Dr. med. Dirk Bassler, UZH Faculty of Medicine ( Website)

Prof. Dr. med. Oliver Senn, UZH Faculty of Medicine (Website)

Prof. Dr. phil. Rahel Naef, UZH Faculty of Medicine (Website)

ZHAW School of Health Professions

Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Gerber-Grote, Dean ZHAW School of Health Professions (Website)

Prof. Dr. Hannu Luomajoki, ZHAW School of Health Professions (Website)

Prof. Dr. Karin Niedermann Schneider, ZHAW School of Health Professions (Website)

Prof. Dr. André Fringer, ZHAW School of Health Professions (Website)

Diana Studerus, PhD Representative

The ZHAW School of Health Professions makes a preselection of applicants using the admission criteria and quality standards which have been laid down by the doctoral program commission. Please use the application form: Application Form (PDF, 562 KB)

The application must include the following documents:

1. curriculum vitae,
2. academic transcripts,
3. Letter of motivation describing the applicant's interests within the filed of research as well as proposed research questions which the applicant would like to address, as well as the applicant's reasons for applying and future career plans,
4. Doctoral project: In the project outline, you describe on a maximum of two pages the status for the doctoral project at the time of application (background, research questions, methods, relevance of the expected results for research or health care practice).
5. two letters of recommendation describing the applicant's qualification and potential (signed by a person with a doctoral degree, not to be issued by members of the doctoral program commission),
6. if possible: a suggestion of a potential supervisor from the Faculty of Medicine for the University of Zurich,
7. if possble: a suggestion of a potential supervisor from the cooperating university of applied sciences, and
8. proof of a funding plan for the applicant covering a period of at least 3 years, the funding must be confirmed in writing by the funding provider. Please use the template for the confirmation: Vorlage Finanzierungsbestätigung (in German) (PDF, 103 KB)

The PhD program in Care and Rehabilitation Sciences is regulated in the Ordinance on doctoral studies, Care & Rehabilitation Sciences. It formalizes the promotion regulation for the title Dr. sc. med. (equivalent to a PhD) from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich.

Doktoratsordnung PhD Care and Rehabilitation Sciences

FAQ_English (PDF, 130 KB)

University of Zurich
Faculty of Medicine
Pestalozzistrasse 3
CH-8032 Zurich