Admission process and pre-requisites

The standard requirements for MD-PhD candidates to pursue an MD-PhD include a Master in Medicine or a degree deemed equivalent by the Admissions office of UNIL and a guaranteed slot for doctoral training.

Preparatory phase  (113 Ko)

Track I and Track II  (420 Ko)

The admission process - from the initial applicaton to the selection of candidates who will compete for a National MD-PhD scholarship can be subdivided into 7 steps:

1. Inquiry and statement of interest

Students interested in joining the programme must submit a written application and statement of interest to the MD-PhD office.

E-mail to: md-phd@unil.ch
 

2. Interview with the President/Coordinator

Candidates are then invited for an interview with the President of the MD-PhD Commission to explain the reasons for choosing to do an MD-PhD. The interview allows the President to assess the candidates' motivation to embark upon a multiyear research project and provides the candidates with all the practical information regarding the programme. The President and the coordinator of the MD-PhD Commission remain available to the candidates for any questions they may have and schedule additional meetings if needed.
 

3. Interview with the MD-PhD Commission

Following the interview with the President, candidates are invited to meet the members of the Commission. The candidates present themselves to the Commission explaining their motivation to engage in an MD-PhD and describing their career plan, their field of interest and their specific project, once it has been defined. The Commission validates the choice of laboratory/thesis director and project and appoints a mentor to help candidates prepare their project presentation in view of competing for a National scholarship.
 

4. Submission of the project draft

A written agreement to supervise their respective candidate(s) is provided by the thesis director along with the project summary.
 

5. Preparatory requirements

Based on the credit system, candidates must obtain 25 ECTS credits prior to the start of the thesis and 10 additional credits immediately thereafter (see preparatory training).
 

6. Presentation of the project

Candiates present their thesis project to the MD-PhD Commission according to the format prescribed by the National MD-PhD Committee. Each project is presented using no more than 3 PowerPoint slides in no more than 6 minutes. The Commission provides feeback to help the candidates optimize their presentation.

7. Selection of candidates (January) to compete for the National MD-PhD scholarship in Bern (spring of the same year)

Only Swiss citizens or residents for at least 2 years can apply for a National scholarship (see SAMS regulations) and only 5 candidates can be selected each year by each Swiss medical school. The Lausanne MD-PhD Commission selects candidates based on project innovation and feasibility, the candidates' grasp of the subject matter and methodology surrounding the project and the quality of the presentation itself.
 

Beginning of the MD-PhD thesis