Before you begin your doctorate
Thinking of doing a PhD ? Find out all the essential information to help you make your decision.
To register for a doctorate at the University of Lausanne, you must :
- Find a professor who agrees to supervise you or be accepted into a doctoral programme.
- Think of how to fund your PhD for its entire duration.
- Submit your complete application to the Admissions Office.
You will find more information below.
Choose a supervisor
Before enrolling for a doctorate, you must have found a professor or MER who is ready to supervise your thesis and who shares your scientific interests.
The choice of the person who will supervise you during your doctorate at UNIL is essential.
We strongly recommend that you read the UNIL Code of practice for the doctorate and discuss it with your future thesis supervisor.
We also recommend our guide Getting your thesis off to a good start 2023.
For the establishment of co-supervision or a joint supervision of a thesis («cotutelle»), please refer to this page.
The following list provides an overview of the doctorates offered by UNIL's seven faculties. If you have any questions about a particular doctorate, please contact the faculty directly.
- Doctorate in Medicine (MD)
- Doctorate in Medicine and Sciences (MD-PhD)
- Doctorate in Life Sciences (PhD)
- Doctorate in Neuroscience (PhD)
- Doctorate in Nursing Sciences (PhD)
- Doctorate in the Humanities and Social Sciences of Medicine and Health (PhD), offered together with the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences
- PhD in Geography
- PhD in Earth Sciences
- PhD in Environmental Sciences/Studies
- PhD in Tourism Studies
- Doctorat en Business Analytics / PhD in Business Analytics
- Doctorat en économie / PhD in Economics
- Doctorat en finance / PhD in Finance
- Doctorat en histoire de la pensée et philosophie économiques / PhD in History and Philosophy of Economics
- Doctorat en management / PhD in Management
- Doctorat en sciences actuarielles / PhD in Actuarial Science
- Doctorat en systèmes d'information/ PhD in Information Systems
Doctorat en Théologie et Sciences des Religions
Budget and funding
Before starting a PhD, it is essential to have sufficient and sustainable financial resources for the entire duration of your thesis. More information on the following page.
Register for a doctorate
You are recommended to obtain all necessary information concerning administrative procedures well in advance from the UNIL Admissions Office (Service des immatriculations et inscriptions) and the relevant faculty or doctoral school office (for the FBM and HEC faculties). At UNIL, each faculty has its own regulations regarding doctorates and needs to agree to the admission of any doctoral researcher.
For the conditions of access to the doctorate, please consult the Admissions Office's page.
You are required to submit your complete application to the Admissions Office :
- Autumn semesters: before 31 July
- Spring semesters: before 30 November
For more information, you can visit the following websites :
- Registration conditions for doctoral studies with a Swiss university degree
- Registration conditions for doctoral studies with a foreign university degree
- Access to doctoral studies
- The information you need
Contact :
Admissions Office (Service des immatriculations et inscriptions)
Unicentre
Phone: +41 21 692 21 00
The Doctorate Admission Committee of the University of Lausanne decides the admission of candidates who do not meet all the formal admission criteria, that is, the obligation to hold a Master's degree awarded by a Swiss university or by a higher education Swiss institution, or a degree judged by the University of Lausanne Rectorate to be equivalent to a Master's degree awarded by a Swiss university or by a higher education Swiss institution, in other words a degree awarded following a course of study judged to be equivalent. Moreover, the candidate should have already found a professor ready to supervise their doctorate (PhD or MD).
All applications for consideration by the Commission must be submitted by the Dean Office of the Faculty concerned. On the basis of their positive pre-evaluation, the Faculty's Dean Office sends the candidate's complete file to the Vice-Rector for Research and the Graduate Campus two weeks prior to the date of the next Commission meeting.
The Commission meets in general three to four times per semester. Meeting schedule for 2025 will be announced here shortly.
Further information is available in the Commission's regulations (in French only).
Contact
Dr Pauline Fritsch
Graduate Campus
Unicentre, office 341
graduatecampus@unil.ch
Setting up and starting out
General and practical information such as working in Switzerland, immigration and VISA, rent a flat, public transport, health insurance, security, taxes, cost of living :
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Welcome Centre
Coordination platform for several administrative departments and faculties at UNIL responsible for welcoming new arrivals.
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Campus Card
The campus card allows you to access the library, and gives you various discounts.
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Aides et soutiens
Logement, jobs d'étudiants
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Venir accompagnée, accompagné de votre partenaire
If you have just been recruited to UNIL, the Welcome Centre can help your partner explore existing career opportunities.
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Venir en famille
Useful information for people moving to Lausanne with their families.
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Profawo
Non-profit organisation working to reconcile work and family life
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Vaudfamille
Information centre for families in the Canton of Vaud (private organisation)
Human resources
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Château de Dorigny, CH-1015 Lausanne
+41 21 692 45 00
Service des affaires sociales et de la mobilité étudiante (SASME)
Accommodation, student jobs, financial and administrative support, mobility
Bureau de l’égalité des chances
Le Vieux Pressoir, CH-1015 Lausanne
egalite@unil.ch
+41 21 692 20 59
Welcome Centre
Château de Dorigny, CH-1015 Lausanne
welcomecentre@unil.ch
+41 21 692 23 28