Application from FH/PH Candidates

GHS Bridge Commission

The GHS Bridge Commission (BC) evaluates applications from doctoral candidates holding a master’s degree from a University of Applied Sciences (FH) or a University of Teacher Education (PH). According to the GHS regulations (PR Art. 8.3), candidates with a master’s degree from an FH or PH must complete an additional 30-60 ECTS on top of the 18 ECTS required by the PhD program. The Bridge Commission determines these additional requirements and recommends courses that would be beneficial for the candidate. All proposals are approved by the dean of the relevant faculty.

Commission Members:

  • Prof. Achim Elfering (chair)
  • Prof. Heiner Baur
  • Prof. Stephan Reichenbach
  • Dr. Tullia Padovani

 

Application Requirements

Applicants from an FH or PH must meet the following requirements:

  1. The project topic must be health-related.
  2. Supervision at the University of Bern or joint supervision at the University of Bern and the FH/PH. The thesis advisor must be affiliated with the University of Bern. More information can be found here.
  3. FH or PH master’s degree of at least 90 ECTS with a minimum grade of 5.
  4. Fulfillment of dditional required ECTS during the regular PhD period.
  5. Approval of the dean of the faculty involved.

Important Notes:

The list of recognized FH/PH programs approved by the GHS can be found here. Only master’s degrees from universities on this list will be considered; foreign FH/PH master’s degrees are not recognized.

Requests to include additional master-level studies not on the list can be submitted by contacting the GHS Coordinator.

 

How the Bridge Commission Evaluates Applications

The Bridge Commission follows a structured evaluation process:

  1. Preliminary Curriculum Vitae (CV) Analysis: Before the standard GHS interview for official enrollment, the Bridge Commission reviews the candidate’s CV and academic profile to assess prior research experience and publications. The candidate does not participate in this initial evaluation.
  2. Verification that all application requirements are met.
  3. Determination of the number of additional ECTS (30–60) required by the PhD program. 
  4. Recognition of prior academic and practical experience, including:

     

    • Previous research experience (certified, see example here)
    • Publications (first authorship or co-authorship)
    • Conference participation (posters, talks, abstracts)
  5. Identification of possible educational gaps and recommendation of courses that would be beneficial for the candidate.

In addition to the Bridge Commission’s evaluation of the candidate’s application, the candidate participates in the standard GHS interview, during which the PhD project is assessed and a decision on acceptance to the GHS is made.

In the case of acceptance or conditional acceptance, the PhD candidate includes all courses required by the PhD program, including the additional ECTS as determined by the Bridge Commission, in the Doctoral Agreement for approval from the candidate’s supervision team. The courses should first be discussed and agreed upon with the thesis advisor, then discussed with the mentor for approval.

Finally, the GHS submits the final ECTS and course plan for the dean’s acceptance.