PhD Opportunities in Philosophy in Switzerland

The University of Zurich is advertising more than 25 fully funded PhD positions across a broad range of research areas. The opportunities are based in Zurich, Switzerland, and are offered as paid positions rather than as a single scholarship programme. Fields represented in the listings include life sciences, medicine, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, astrophysics, and the social sciences and humanities. The breadth of the call may suit applicants seeking doctoral research in biomedical an...

TurboImpact is a Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network project hosted at EPFL in Neuchatel, within STI IGM LAMD. The position focuses on the integrated design and optimization of small-scale turbomachinery for applications such as heat pumps, fuel cells, organic Rankine cycles, and gas turbines. The PhD project aims to build robust design methods for high-speed turbomachinery systems. The successful candidate will work on developing reduced-order models for gas-bearing supported turbomachinery, c...

The University of Zurich’s Implementation Science in Health Care Research Group, based at the Medical Faculty, is offering a PhD position in the UMZH-funded Learn4Sepsis project. The group is led by Prof. Lauren Clack and focuses on optimizing the integration of evidence-based practices and research findings into routine health-care delivery. The doctoral researcher will contribute to the LEARN AND IMPLEMENT work package, which combines implementation science, human-centered design, and organiza...

This PhD position is hosted at EPFL’s STI IGM LAMD in Neuchatel and is part of the TurboImpact project, a Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network focused on advancing the design, optimization, materials selection, and manufacturing of small-scale turbomachinery. The project addresses a broad set of technical challenges relevant to compact machines used in heat pumps, fuel cells, organic Rankine cycles, and gas turbines. Within this network, the doctoral researcher will contribute to research on mul...

The Rhine AI research group, led by Prof. I. Bogunovic in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Basel , is offering a PhD opportunity in the post-training of diffusion-based large language models (dLLMs). The SNSF-funded project, “Foundations of Post-Training for Reasoning in Diffusion Large Language Models,” investigates how post-training can improve the reasoning capabilities of dLLMs. These models represent an emerging alternative to standard autoregressive l...

The Rhine AI research group at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Basel, invites applications for a fully funded PhD position in post-training diffusion language models. The project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, is titled “Foundations of Post-Training for Reasoning in Diffusion Large Language Models.” The successful candidate will develop reinforcement learning methods for post-training large diffusion-based language models, investigate reasonin...

The University of Zurich is inviting applications for a two-year funded PhD position in Philosophy at 80% employment, starting November 1, 2026, or by agreement. The doctoral researcher will join the SNSF-funded project Countering Epistemic, Semantic and Technological Asymmetry in AI-Human Collaboration Focusing on Expert-Layperson Simplification (CREST-AI) at the University of Zurich’s Digital Society Initiative (DSI). Under the supervision of Dr. Reto Gubelmann, the project examines the philos...

Fully funded PhD in Formal Epistemology of Human–AI Interactions at IDSIA USI-SUPSI in Lugano, Switzerland. The four-year doctoral position is part of a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)-funded project led by Andrea Ferrario and focuses on the foundations of human–AI interaction. The research brings together causal modelling, multi-agent systems, mathematical optimisation, and the philosophy of AI. Potential real-world applications include neuro-intensive care and cybersecurity. The docto...

The Institute for Historical Theology at the University of Bern is recruiting for a four-year, 100% fixed-term doctorate and assistantship in Ancient and/or Modern History of Christianity . The position is based in Bern, Switzerland, and is scheduled to begin on September 1, 2027, or by arrangement. The successful doctoral researcher will develop a dissertation project in Historical Theology, focusing on the older and/or modern history of Christianity. The assistantship also includes supporting ...