Cotutela della tesi di dottorato

Swissuniversities Cotutelles de thèse

Swissuniversities supports PhD candidates enrolled at a Swiss university who wish to have their dissertation co-supervised by a partner institution abroad (within the Bologna system, as well as in Israel). A co-supervision agreement must be signed.

Further information can be found here.

Who can apply

Deadline: 31 March 2026

At the call deadline, applicants must:

• Be enrolled in a doctoral programme at a Swiss institution;

• Have spent at least 1 year at a Swiss institution (at Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD level);

• Hold a Swiss nationality or a B or C permit (applications from G permit holders are evaluated on a case-by-case basis).

USI internal deadline: 13 March 2026

Send the complete dossier to [email protected]

Applications must include:

• Application form;

• Support letter from USI supervisor;

• Support letter from co-supervisor;

• Signed co-supervision agreement that follows this template.

There is no application portal. Applications must be sent to the Research Service, which will be responsible for the formal submission by email by 31 March 2026.

Applicants older than 40 must submit a motivation letter and can apply in legitimate, well-founded exceptional cases (e.g. disruptions in an applicant’s career, as depicted in Art 1.1 of theExplanatory notes).

Non-Swiss applicants must provide a copy of their residence permit. As stated in art. 1.1 of the Explanatory notes.

Applicants not holding a degree from a Swiss higher education institution must submit a confirmation of matriculation from the Swiss higher education institution proving that they have been matriculated at a Swiss higher education institution for at least 2 semesters.

Funding and duration

Applicants can request up to CHF 10’000 for the duration of the co-supervision until the PhD defence date. Funding can be requested retrospectively, if the agreement was signed up to 1 year before the call deadline.

Eligible costs:

• For PhD students and CH supervisor: travel and living costs in the partner country;

• For co-supervisor abroad: travel and living costs in CH;

• Conference participation, if related to the project.

Conclusion of the project

After the defence of the PhD thesis, the PhD supervisor at the Swiss higher education institution and the doctoral student submit a report providing an account of the successful completion of doctoral study. If the co-supervision is discontinued, a document stating the reasons for premature discontinuation must be submitted. (Art. 2 of theExplanatory notes)

Further information.