Open calls

Professors at the University of Geneva publish calls for specific PhD spots on this page, between October and November each year. You apply to one of these calls with a research proposal written for that call.

The program introduced this change because the number of applications has grown while supervision capacity has remained limited. Working with calls means you know in advance who the supervisor would be and what that supervisor is looking for, and the program no longer receives proposals for which no supervisor is available. The program has about 15 spots per year, and each call leads to the selection of one candidate.

Each call is written by the supervisor and states the title and thematic focus of the PhD spot, background information on the ongoing projects it connects to, the supervisor or supervisory team, the main research question if the call is narrowly defined, the time window in which the PhD should be completed, any funding that is available for research work or courses, and what is expected in terms of travel and face-to-face visits. Some calls are broad and leave room for you to shape the topic, others are narrowly defined.

Application procedure and key dates sets out how and when to submit.