The program is internationally oriented and aims at attracting the best students from Switzerland and abroad. Applicants need to have a Master of Science in Finance or Economics or a degree deemed to be equivalent by the local Admission Committee, composed of finance professors from the University of Zurich.
Application: Please make use of the standard application form for the Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program in Finance:
Your application to the program in Zurich needs to be submitted as a single PDF-file (.doc, .jpg, etc. will not be accepted) containing the stated documents and named as: LAST_NAME-FIRST_NAME-2016-app.pdf (e. g. Doe-John-2016-app.pdf). The following items are to be included in the pdf file, in exactly this order:
- Letter of Motivation (at most 2 pages)
- A complete curriculum vitae (at most 3 pages)
- A copy of official grade transcripts, detailed and complete, for your undergraduate, graduate studies and a transcript for on-going studies
- A copy of your university degrees
- GMAT or GRE is required for applicants with master degree from non-Bologna states or with master degree in fields other than economics, finance or business administration (“fachfremd”). GMAT has to be at least 660 points. The GMAT institution code for the University of Zurich, Doctoral Program in Finance is: 7382. There are no institution codes for GRE or TOEFL.
- Two to three letters of reference (two of which have to be from academic referees), if you have the letters. Otherwise, they may (as is usually done) be sent directly by postal mail (Swiss Finance Institute – Zurich, PhD Program in Finance, Plattenstrasse 14, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland) or email (zurich[at]sfi-phd.ch) by the person recommending you.
Please send the pdf file by email to the managing assistant of the Doctoral Program in Finance (currently Ms. Mira Jovanovic): zurich[at]sfi-phd.ch. The official grade transcripts and university degrees may be in English, French, German, or Italian; otherwise, copies of the originals, along with a certified translation by the embassy or consulate of the originating country, must be provided. Letters of recommendation may be in English or German. All other documents (application form, letter of motivation, curriculum vitae) must be in English. For non-native English speakers, you may submit your results of a standardized English test such as theTOEFL, though please keep in mind that this is neither necessary nor sufficient: As mentioned in the details of Who Should Apply, your English skills need to be excellent. This will be confirmed if you are invited for an interview.
Application Deadline
There are two rounds of candidate selections with application deadlines of January 15th and March 31st. Courses start in September.
You will be informed about the result of your application within four weeks after closure of the application deadline.
The number of yearly admissions to the Doctoral Program in Finance at the University of Zurich will typically not exceed six students so as to keep the program small and guarantee personal interactions between students and faculty.
Please note: if you wish to apply simultaneously to the Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program located at another campus, you should then submit one full application package to each campus separately. Other campuses may have other application requirements.
Visiting Doctoral Student
The admission for application as visiting doctoral student (up to one year) is competitive. Pre-selection of candidates is based on the submitted application file (including a short CV, letter of motivation, transcripts of previous degree and two references). You may use the following document (please indicate that you apply as visiting student):
The PhD admission committee will also carry out a phone interview with all pre-selected candidates before taking any final admission decision. Please note that visiting doctoral students must provide their own funding.