To open the diagram including the corresponding links, please follow the link below:
Diagrammatic representation of the GHS structured PhD after the official acceptance
What Must Be Done after Admission to the GHS?
All rules for the doctoral studies at the GHS under the old regulations can be found in the documents "Bylaws for the Graduate School for Health Sciences of the University of Bern" ("Organisationsreglement"), "Rules for Conferring a Doctorate at the Graduate School for Health Sciences of the University of Bern" ("Promotionsreglement"), and the "Study Rules for the PhD Program of the Graduate School for Health Sciences at the University of Bern" ("Studienplan"). The rules for the doctoral studies at the GHS under the new regulations can be found in the documents "Bylaws for the Graduate School for Health Sciences of the University of Bern" ("Organisationsreglement"), "Regulations for the degree program of the Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern (PromR GHS 22)" ("Promotionsreglement"), and the "Study Plan for the doctoral program at the Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern" ("Studienplan").These documents are published on the website of the GHS (see Regulations).
See also the requirements of the doctoral training here and PhD program here.
Which Rules Apply to My PhD Program?
All doctoral candidates who were admitted to the GHS after 01.05.2023 will do their PhD under the new regulations.
The most important steps are:
Doctoral Agreement
About 4 weeks after official admission to the GHS, the GHS requires a document called a “Doctoral Agreement." In this document, the thesis committee and the candidate create an agreement that consists of a long-term plan of courses, objectives and framework conditions meant as an individual training program for the candidates during the whole PhD (OLD regulations Studienplan, Art. 3.3 and Art. 4.3, and NEW regulations Promotionsreglement, Art. 10, and NEW regulations Studienplan, Art. 8).
→ Please submit the Doctoral Agreement to the GHS Coordinator, Dr. Tullia Padovani Schipper (Tullia Padovani), with the GHS Office info.ghs@unibe.ch in cc.
1st Year Examination
At the beginning of the second year of the PhD, there will be the 1st year examination in form of a two-hour written examination on the questions and methodology of the research project (Studienplan old regulations, Art. 5.2, and Studienplan new regulations, Art. 10).
→ The 1st year examination record has to be sent to the GHS Coordinator with the GHS Office in cc.
2nd Year Examination
About one year after the 1st year examination there will be the 2nd year examination. This exam consists of a 30-minute public scientific presentation in the presence of the thesis committee and in the form of a colloquium, followed by a discussion of the research work completed up to that point. The presentation and discussion should include an should include an outlook on the final phase of the project. The examiners decide on the grade immediately after the examination (Studienplan old regulations, Art. 5.3, and Studienplan new regulations, Art. 11).
→ Please send the 2nd year examination record to the GHS Coordinator with the GHS Office in cc.
For additional information, look here: Exams old regulations and Exams new regulations.
Progress Report
Candidates keep a record of all PhD activities performed during the entire year (course attendance, exams, meetings with the co-referee, publications, etc.). This document is called the Progress Report (old regulations) or Progress Report (new regulations).
Every year, candidates receive a reminder from the GHS to submit the Progress Report. You can find additional information here.
Supervision
You can find the general supervision rules for the old regulations here and the new regulations here. For an overview of the supervision team's tasks, please refer to the table at the bottom.
