In collaboration with the Swiss art universities, SARN publishes an overview of current offerings in third cycle education in the arts in Switzerland. Since Swiss art universities do not have the right to award doctoral titles, PhD programs in the arts are completed in cooperation with a degree-awarding partner university. The requirements for the thesis, the final examination and the title depend on the policy of the partner university.
Basel Academy of Art and Design
MAKE/SENSE International Graduate School of Art and Design (IGSAD)
Structured, low-residency, self-financed PhD program; dual supervision with the partner institution University of Linz, Austria
Bern Academy of the Arts
Studies in the Arts (SINTA)
Structured, three-to-five-year PhD program with some options for paid positions; dual supervision with the partner institution University of Bern
Independent PhDs
Unstructured, independent PhD's can be applied for on an individual basis with a number of national and international partner institutions
PreDoc: Research in the Arts
One-year Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in preparation for a PhD in the arts
Geneva University of Art and Design
Collaboration between HEAD – Genève and the Doctoral Program in Architecture and City Sciences (EDAR EPFL)
Structured, four-year PhD with employment contract; dual supervision with the partner institution Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
PhD Forum
Pre-doctoral training program in art and design with individual mentorship
Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art
Eco-Social Innovation by Design
Structured, usually self-financed PhD with full- and part-time options; joint supervision with the partner institution National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India
Independent PhDs
Independent, semi-structured PhD's can be applied for on an individual basis with a number of partner institutions in the HSLU network and beyond; supervision by the partner university
Preparatory Courses
The School of Design, Film and Art offers two preparatory courses for people interested in pursuing a practice-based doctorate in the disciplines of Film, Design or Fine Arts
Zurich University of the Arts
Epistemologies of Aesthetic Practices
Structured, 4-year, self-financed PhD with the partner institutions ETH Zurich and University of Zurich
Transdisciplinary Artistic PhD
Structured, 4-year PhD; dual supervision with the partner institution Linz University of Arts
Independent PhDs
Independent PhDs are available in all disciplines at the ZHdK and in the field of cutural analysis in the arts