The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS) support doctoral programmes (ProDoc) in Switzerland. Funding is approved for training schemes of doctoral candidates (candocs) and for their research needed to complete the doctorate. The call is open to all scientific disciplines.
A ProDoc includes at least 12 directly involved candocs, of whom a maximum of ten may benefit from SNSF funding in the framework of the programme. The maximum number of directly involved candocs is particularly determined by the excellence in the supervision of the candocs to be expected.
Structure
ProDoc has a modular structure. Research modules (RM) cover the salaries and research expenses of the candocs, and complement a central training module (TM) that integrates training and management activities of the programme. The ProDoc formed by the different modules constitutes a coherent unit. For each module a separate application is submitted, however, all applications must be co-ordinated. A ProDoc will initially last for 3 years (training module).
The candocs dedicate the majority of their time to research and training. The ProDoc guarantees a high-level education for the participants. Furthermore, it also aims at a reduction of time needed for the doctoral theses.
The SNSF intends to raise the percentage of funded women to 40%.
In order to allow Swiss candocs to participate in an international graduate programme, ProDocs, where only training expenses are supported, can also be funded.
If only an application for the training module is submitted to the SNSF, it is necessary to explain for which reason(s) no application for research modules are submitted. In the other case, ProDocs including right from the start several linked research modules do receive, by principle, a higher funding priority than those ProDocs which have only one “isolated” training module.
Conditions of participation
The applicants must be qualified to supervise doctoral theses. Candocs wishing to take part in an ongoing graduate programme may contact directly the responsible persons of a ProDoc.
The applications for the TM must contain a compulsory written statement of the rectorate/ presidency of the University or of the executive board of the Institute of Technology where the main applicant for ProDoc is employed. The university authority testifies herewith its support for the proposed doctoral program. For its comments a copy of the application for a RM must be sent to the institution at which the applicant is employed.
Selection procedure
The SNSF ensures the management of the programme (calls for proposals, information to the scientific community, evaluation of the applications, decisions, management of the subsidies). Whereas the CRUS takes over general issues concerning the doctoral education; this includes among others the delegation of experts who are competent to assess the institutional aspects during the evaluation process of the applications.
Call for applications and submission
All application documents have to be submitted electronically via the web platform mySNF.
Next call for applications: end of 2009
Next submission deadline (only to the SNSF): 1 March 2010
Start of the grants: from 1 September
Subsequent Research modules: 1 March or 1 October
Start of the grants: earliest six months after submission deadline
mySNF:
To meet the submission deadline a mySNF user account must be requested two weeks before the submission deadline at the latest.