AV¶ÌÊÓƵ

Admission to the doctoral school is depending on :

Obtaining a position as a research physician-assistant, whose remuneration will be equivalent to 70% of a position as a clinical physician-assistant, or:

Obtaining a three-year MD-PhD federal programme fellowship and founded by various foundations. Application must be submitted to the SAMS with the approval of director thesis and the Commission MD-PhD, and must include a research project. A small number of fellowships are available each year at national level. The amount awarded covers the recipient's salary and is calculated on the basis of the maximum scale for SNSF doctoral students, plus 10%. Details of the national MD-PhD programme can be found on the SAMS website.

Finding a host group

• look at the basic research, clinical and dental departments web pages of the Faculty of Medicine
• contact group leaders or department heads interested by research topic of your interest and see what opportunities they have for carrying out the research project within this particular group. 

Submitting an application

After finding a host group and a director thesis, the candidate submits a dossier to the Commission MD-PhD, which decides on admission to the doctorate. The dossier must contain:

• covering letter with career plan (max. 2 pages)
• CV + publications' list
• copy of medical diploma (see specific conditions for admission and registration)
• title and description of research project
• written attestation from the prospective thesis supervisor guaranteeing coverage of salary and research expenses for the duration of the thesis, in accordance with university regulations
• attestation guaranteeing clinical training after the thesis has been defended

Programme Registration

When the candidate is accepted for the Doctor of Medical Sciences programme:

He/She will received an attestation from the Chair of Commission MD-PhD, he/she must register for the MD-PhD programme at this link:

/immatriculations/conditions#docs=.niv__605

A thesis committee is set up on the proposal of director thesis and must be approved by Commission MD-PhD.

End of thesis

When the thesis comes to an end

• Thesis Committee assesses the doctoral student's personal work as part of the research project, on the basis of director thesis' report.
• If it is satisfactory, the doctoral student submits a draft thesis manuscript to the Thesis Committee
• no earlier than two months after submission, the oral examination, conducted by the Thesis Committee, is carried out.
• If the oral examination is successful, director thesis submits manuscript thesis to the Commission MD-PhD, together with a report and a proposal for the composition of jury thesis.
• The jury thesis receives the manuscript and issues a report.
• If it is satisfactory, a date for the defence may be set in agreement with the Commission MD-PhD and the Thesis Jury.
• If necessary, after the Thesis Jury has requested changes to the manuscript, the candidate may present his/her thesis durong a public defence.

Awarding the diploma

• Once all the requirements have been met, Commission MD-PhD decides whether to award the diploma.
• The title of the diploma is: "Doctorat en sciences médicales de la Faculté de médecine de l'Université de Genève".

The national MD-PhD programme is run jointly by the and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). It is aimed at research-oriented doctors who wish to follow a second course of study leading to a doctorate in the fields of science, public health, clinical research or bioethics at a Swiss university.

MD-PhD fellowships are available to doctors who are applying for a doctorate in neuroscience, a doctorate in medical sciences (MD-PhD) or a doctorate in science (MD/PhD).

MD-PhD fellowships are awarded for a period of three years under this federal programme, which is subsidised by various foundations. The application, together with a research project, must be submitted, with the approval of director thesis, to the Commission MD-PhD, which is responsible for pre-selecting candidates.

A small number of grants are awarded each year at national level. The amount awarded covers the recipient's salary and is calculated on the basis of the maximum scale for SNSF doctoral students, plus 10%. Details of the national MD-PhD programme can be found on the .

Preference will be given to candidates with career perspectives in a university hospital.

Doctors with a federal medical diploma obtained from the AV¶ÌÊÓƵ or another Swiss university

• Provide to the secretariat (mdphd(at)unige.ch) of the Commission MD-PhD a single PDF file containing:

1. Covering letter with career plan
2. Summary of research project, max. 3 pages
3. Curriculum vitae with publications' list
4. Copy of the final medical examination or date of passing if not yet done (to be sent as soon as obtained)
5. Letter from the director thesis indicating acceptance of the candidate under his/her supervision for the MD-PhD thesis, the title of the thesis, the composition of the thesis committee, and coverage of salary and research expenses for the duration of the thesis.
6. Letter of support from the head of department indicating that, depending on the success of MD-PhD completion, clinical training will be offered to the candidate after obtain this diploma.

• Enrol at the AV¶ÌÊÓƵ after obtaining a certificate from the Commission MD-PhD.

Doctors who obtained their qualifications in an EU/EFTA country in accordance with the bilateral agreements

• Apply for equivalence of the medical diploma to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) - MEBEKO Secretariat - AV¶ÌÊÓƵ Training Section Schwarzenburgstrasse 157 - 3003 Bern - Switzerland - Phone: +41 31 322 94 83 - e-mail : MEBEKO-Ausbildung(at)bag.admin.ch 

• Provide to the secretariat (mdphd(at)unige.ch) of the Commission MD-PhD a single PDF file containing:

1. Covering letter with career plan
2. Summary of research project, max. 3 pages
3. Curriculum vitae with publications' list
4. Copy of the final medical examination
5. MEBEKO equivalence of the medical diploma
6. Letter from the director thesis indicating acceptance of the candidate under his/her supervision for the MD-PhD thesis, the title of the thesis, the composition of the thesis committee, and coverage of salary and research expenses for the duration of the thesis.
7. Letter of support from the head of department indicating that, depending on the success of MD-PhD completion, clinical training will be offered to the candidate after obtain this diploma.

• Enrol at the AV¶ÌÊÓƵ after obtaining a certificate from the Commission MD-PhD.

Doctors who qualified outside the EU/EFTA

• Doctors working in clinical practice while preparing for their doctorate, or doctors who have direct contact with patients as part of their doctorate, must apply for registration in the Federal Register of Medical Professions: 
• To enable the Admissions Committee to assess your eligibility for the present programme, you must send the following documents to the secretariat (mdphd(at)unige.ch) of the Commission MD-PhD a single PDF file containing:

1. Covering letter with career plan
2. Curriculum vitae with publications' list
3. Medical degree
4. Complete list of examinations taken during the MD programme
5. Results/Marks obtained
6. Teaching hours for each subject/exams
7. Certificate of registration in the Federal Register of Medical Professions (if working with patients, see above).
8. Letter of support from the head of department indicating that, depending on the success of MD-PhD completion, clinical training will be offered to the candidate after obtain this diploma.

• Enrol at the AV¶ÌÊÓƵ after obtaining a certificate from the Commission MD-PhD.