Finance a PhD

To ensure the best research conditions, it is vital to be financially covered. In western Switzerland, 1900 CHF per month is considered a bare minimum for food, rent and basic needs. Starting a PhD at UNIL, you basically have four options:

1. You are hired as a doctoral assistant, or teaching assistant, directly financed by the state.

Your activity will be split between your own doctoral research (for which you are paid), and other tasks such as teaching, research or administration at the faculty, insitute or department level.

2. Your supervisor receives a federal, European or private research grant, from which she or he can employ you as a PhD researcher paid from external funds.

In those two instances, UNIL will take care of social benefits, unemployment insurance, maternity leave, pension contributions, and so on. You can find currently available job openings on the HR website.

3. You decide to do your PhD in parallel with a professional activity

It is very important to consider the delicate balance between research and work, especially at the doctorate level and with an external job. Your thesis director needs to be informed about your work and financial situation, as it will affect the supervision and duration of your thesis. The thesis director who accepts to supervise you should also be able to refer you to some job opportunities or financial solutions (1 through 3 above).

Some foundations and organisations provide financial support such as grants or scholarships : 

For more information on funding opportunities, please visit the following page on the Research support website.