Pursue a PhD in Europe

[Ameri]

Hi there,

 

As an international student, I have a question regarding PhD programs in Europe. As far as I know, in most countries, international students are responsible for their tuition and cost of living. However, the students have the opportunity to win a scholarship or become a research or teaching assistant at the university and in this way they can afford the high expenses. However, if they are not eligible for scholarships, they have to pay the cost by their own. Countries such as England, Switzerland, etc. are among this group I think.

 

On the other hand, there are some countries that consider doing a PhD as a job, and they pay the students stipend. For instance, in Netherlands, the university makes a contract with the student and they pay for PhD students an amount between 3,000 to 6,000 Euro each month. Or, in Germany, PhD is free and students should be only responsible for cost of living and there is no tuitions. In this case, the student's funding is somehow guaranteed (Although you should first find vacancies and gain admission!).

 

I would be grateful if you could tell me what are other European countries that can be placed in the second group (such as Netherlands). In what countries the PhD is free indeed, are there any?!

[Maxtini]

Switzerland (ETH-Zurich) consider PhD student as employee~ you get CHF 47,040 (60% employment) a year.

https://www.ethz.ch/en/doctorate.html

[Ameri]

Switzerland (ETH-Zurich) consider PhD student as employee~ you get CHF 47,040 (60% employment) a year.

https://www.ethz.ch/en/doctorate.html

 

Thanks a lot for your assistance. Is this the only university in Switzerland that treats the PhD as a job?! Or all the universities in Switzerland are the same?

Edited December 22, 2014 by Ameri

[iphi]

In Luxembourg you can apply for a government grant which pays you a decent amount (I think between US$30-40k/year). Acceptance rate is 50%.

[Page228]

This popped up on Facebook today:

No idea what they pay, if anything, for PhD programs, but I thought I'd share.

[Garyon]

Hi,

 

in Italian Public Universities - which offer the majority of the PhD programs here - there are some scholarships reserved to foreign students (in fact, as a foreigner I believe you could apply only to those). Those are usually 2/3 for each program (but it really depends on the department) and the applications are usually due between march and September.

In italy, a PhD comes with a stipend of 1200 Euro per month. Tuition fees range from € 850 to € 1,000/year. There are some differences for Private Institutions of course, or for PhD programs specifically designed as international oriented (e.g. working lanhguage being english instead of italian). If you need more detailed information, feel free to PM me.

Anyway, I really suggest you contact a POI before applying to a PhD here.