Introduction

Over the last decades, doctoral students in economics from all Swiss universities have participated in the Study Center’s Swiss Program for Beginning Doctoral Students in Economics. The program sequences in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics cover the material of a US-style first-year PhD program. They target excellent beginning doctoral students who seek a broad and thorough training in economics to understand and conduct first-rate academic research.

Program

The program consists of an optional mathematics review as well as sequences in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. In each sequence, leading international academics teach four week-long courses. A typical course day includes classroom lectures of three hours per day as well as exercise review sessions. Course weeks start on Monday at 10:30 and end on Friday at noon. Returning to their home institutions in the periods between the course weeks, participants review and prepare the material covered in class, solve mandatory take-home problem sets, and study for the exams. On successful completion of the program, participants are awarded a Certificate. It is the responsibility of participants to obtain credit with their universities.

Funding and Organization

The program is heavily subsidized. The fee for one sequence amounts to CHF 500, the fee for two sequences to CHF 1'000, and the fee for the full program to CHF 2'000 of which CHF 1’000 is refunded if and only if the full program is successfully completed within one year. The fee covers tuition as well as the cost of a single or double room with full board. For information about the hotel services, see the website of the Study Center’s hotel. The restaurant offers meat, fish, and vegetarian meals and caters to special diets. No accompanying persons are admitted.

Admission

The Study Center invites Swiss universities to nominate candidates. As space is limited, the Center cannot admit all qualified nominees. Repeat nominations are possible.
Nominees must hold an undergraduate degree and must be enrolled in the doctoral program at a Swiss university. They should hold a MA degree or complete their MA studies before the program starts. Under exceptional circumstances, an applicant without MA degree may be fast tracked into the program. Preference is given to applications for the full program.

Application

Candidates affiliated with a Swiss university should indicate their interest to the representative at their home institution listed below. The representative can provide the online application link to the candidates. There is no application form to download from the Study Center’s website. 

A complete application includes: a) completed online application form; b) recent GRE general test scores with a quantitative analysis score of at least 160; c) statement of purpose as submitted to the doctoral program of your university (in English); d) most recent grade transcripts & Master diploma; e) name of supervisor.

For information about the GRE including how and where to take the test, see the website of Educational Testing Service. Applicants should have Educational Testing Service send their GRE results to the Study Center directly by indicating our Company Code 7381 (Study Center Gerzensee Swiss Program for Beginning Doctoral Students in Economics).

University Representatives

EPFL, G. de Rassenfosse
ETH Zurich, P. Egger
The Graduate Institute, C. Tille
University of Basel, Y. Lengwiler
University of Bern, D. Niepelt
University of Fribourg, H. Herz
University of Geneva, F. Robert-Nicoud
University of Lausanne, R. Hakimov
University of Lucerne, S. Luechinger
University of Neuchâtel, D. Kaufmann
University of St.Gallen, R. Föllmi
Università della Svizzera italiana, L. Kueng
University of Zurich, R. Weber

Program Rules

Participation is compulsory: Participants are expected to prioritize the program and behave responsibly. In particular, they must attend all lectures and sessions, submit solutions to problem sets in time, and participate in the exams. The Study Center reserves the right to request a medical certificate in case of nonparticipation due to medical reasons.

Take-Home Problem Sets: In the periods between the course weeks, participants solve mandatory take-home problem sets. They must submit solutions latest by the set deadline. Solutions are graded on a scale from 0 to 100 points and transformed into a grade on a scale from 1 to 6, with 6 being the best grade. Grades may be contested within a month after they have been communicated. A problem set may not be retaken. The total grade for the problem set solutions in each sequence is computed by averaging all grades of the participant’s solutions.

Exams: There are two exams for each sequence. The first exam covers the material of weeks 1 and 2. The second exam covers the material of weeks 3 and 4. Exams are graded on a scale from 1 to 6. The passing grade for an exam is 3.5. Grades may be contested within a month after they have been communicated. An exam may be retaken once, in the following year.

Grades and Certificate: For each sequence, the overall grade is computed as a weighted average of the grades for the problem set solutions (10%) and the first and second exam (45% each). To pass a sequence, the participant must pass both exams of that sequence and achieve an overall grade of at least 4. The Study Center reports the grades for each sequence to the representative of the participant’s institution, which in turn decides about the recognition of those grades. The Study Center awards a certificate to participants who pass all three sequences of the program within one year.

Further Questions

Please contact Ms. Rahel Zainhofer for further questions.