Information on the Doctorate programme
The path to a PhD at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Lucerne offers various opportunities to pursue and successfully complete your own research project.
Below you will find information on the PhD programmes, the required academic achievements, and details regarding admission and registration.
Promotional models
A PhD position with employment means that, alongside your PhD studies, you will be employed by a department, either through the Faculty of Economics and Management or via externally funded projects (examples of such projects). As part of this role, you will play an active part in the chair’s research and teaching projects. Employment is usually on a 50 per cent basis. Part of this workload is set aside for writing your doctoral thesis. The remainder of your working hours is spent on work and research for the department. This includes, for example, running tutorials, supervising term papers, assisting with exam preparation, supervision and marking, and presenting research findings at national and international academic conferences. At the start of the PhD programme, a supervision agreement is concluded with the supervisor. This sets out mutual expectations as well as the key framework conditions and milestones of the PhD programme. Vacancies are published on the University of Lucerne’s job portal.
Legal basis:
Regulations on Research Assistants at the University of Lucerne;Doctoral Regulations
;Guidelines on the Doctoral Regulations
A PhD programme for independent doctoral candidates means that the doctoral studies are undertaken without employment as a research assistant at the University of Lucerne. The only formal link to the university is through enrolment as a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Economics and Management. The selection of a supervisor takes place before the start of the doctoral programme and forms the basis for academic supervision throughout the doctoral project. The list of professors who are eligible to act as supervisors can be found on the Faculty of Economics and Management page.
At the start of the PhD programme, a supervision agreement is drawn up with the supervisor. This sets out the mutual expectations, as well as the key framework conditions and milestones of the PhD programme.
Legal basis:
Doctoral Regulations
;Guidelines on the Doctoral Regulations
Study Requirements
A dissertation is an independent piece of research. It may take the form of a single monograph or consist of several publications taken together. The dissertation is assessed by two people (the supervisor and a second examiner).
During the PhD programme, students must earn at least 18 ECTS credits through coursework. This coursework may be undertaken externally in the field of economics, for example at the Gerzensee Study Centre or at other universities (see the list of the Swiss Network of PhD Courses in Economics and Finance). In the field of Business Administration, for example at GSERM. See also Mobility and Networking. These courses are of a training nature and must generally be undertaken externally. Internal courses are possible in exceptional cases, for example as part of the Graduate Academy or faculty-internal courses.
In addition, at least two presentations on the doctoral project are compulsory. One must be delivered as part of the faculty’s Research Seminar; further presentations may take place, subject to agreement with the supervisor, as part of department-organised sessions for doctoral candidates.
The academic achievements and the compulsory presentations must be confirmed by the supervisor. The decision-making authority regarding credit allocation rests with the Director of Studies, Prof. Dr Lukas D. Schmid.
The form ‘Transcript of Achievements for the Doctoral Programme’ and the guidelines on the doctoral regulations can be found on the following regulations-page.
The defence is a public presentation during which the dissertation is presented, followed by a discussion in which questions about the thesis are answered. The supervisor and the second examiner are present at this event. Anyone interested may also attend, such as family members or friends.
The thesis must be published within two years of its successful defence. It may be published either by a publisher or as open access via the ZHB (LORY): https://www.unilu.ch/forschung/open-science/open-access/
Future prospects and alumni
After completing their PhD, graduates remain connected to their faculty through the University of Lucerne’s alumni network. The network offers the opportunity to maintain contact with the university and former fellow students, and to continue exchanging ideas on both professional and personal matters.
A PhD at the Faculty of Economics and Management at the University of Lucerne is well worth it – it provides a solid foundation for an academic career or a research-related role in business, public administration or international organisations, as the following examples of former PhD students and their current positions demonstrate:
Academic careers
| Alumni | Roles | |
| Melanie Clegg | Assistant Professor of Marketing at HEC Lausanne | |
| David Finken | Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich and Visiting Researcher at INSEAD | |
| Rino Heim | Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) | |
| Benjamin Krebs | Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellow at the University of Basel | |
| Flavia Tinner | Postdoctoral Researcher in Legal Psychology at the University of Lucerne |
Applied Research
| Former | Positions | |
| Christian Frey | Deputy Head of the Corporate Tax Policy Section @State Secretariat for International Financial Affairs (SIF) | |
| Anja Garbely | Senior Economist & Data Scientist @Alma Economics | |
| Patrick Leisibach | Senior Fellow, ‘Society of Opportunities’, and Co-Head of Research @Avenir Suisse | |
| Paula Sánchez Gil | Economic Analyst @European Commission |
Economy / Industry
| Former | Positions | |
| Maren Bartels | Lecturer @University of Lucerne & Senior Consultant @itdesign GmbH | |
| Gabriela Funk | Lecturer at the University of Lucerne & freelance consultant |
