Program Details Excellence Program

Target group, course language and certificates of achievement - here you will find further information on the Excellence Program.

All future/aspiring or recently enrolled UZH PhD students who are interested in digital transformation in society and expect digitalization to have a significant impact on their research or dissertation are invited to apply to participate in the program. Candidates can come from all disciplines (social sciences, humanities, medicine, natural sciences, economics, law, computer science,...).

The Excellence Program is intended as a complementary curriculum to a UZH doctoral program. All participants must already be enrolled in a PhD program in your discipline or still be accepted there.
Candidates who already have a PhD supervisor must discuss the planned participation in DSI activities and the corresponding time resources with the PhD supervisor before applying.

You can find out more about the structure of the program under Program content and/or Program 2023.

As a rule, the Excellence Program must be completed within two years. Exceptions are possible after consultation with the program coordination.

The Excellence Program begins each fall semester with an approximately three-day block course.

The course language is English.

In the case of scheduling conflicts with the disciplinary doctoral program, it is possible in exceptional cases to postpone the attendance of a module for one year.

To pass the curricular portion of the Excellence Program, participants must, during their time in the program,...

• ... Successfully complete all required courses, and
• successfully complete at least two elective modules from the categories of «DSI Elective Modules» and/or «Other Elective Modules». A total of 4 ECTS must be earned in the elective courses.
• In exceptional cases, booking and attending a course may be postponed for one year, in consultation with the program coordinator.
• The participants themselves are responsible for booking the courses properly. Booking is also necessary for the compulsory courses.

According to the UZH regulations, all DSI courses include performance assessments (module exams, presentations, submission of papers, etc.).

Participants are encouraged to support the group feeling by registering in the DSI Network, interacting with other participants and showing commitment to the DSI Community.

In case of concerns and conflicts, a trusted person is available to the participants of the Excellence Program. The first point of contact is the program coordinator. In case of problems with the program coordination itself, the DSI office is available.