Your Ph.D. studies at SPC-EPFL
During your Ph.D. Studies, you are:
- A student: The rules of the EPFL Doctoral School impose that the Ph.D. students pass exams for a total of 12 ECTS credits (i.e., typically 3 courses of one semester each), of which 4 (i.e., one course) need to be passed the first year. You make the choice of the courses to follow, together with your supervisor.
- A teacher: As part of your duties, you need to contribute to the teaching of undergraduate or graduate courses at EPFL, up to 20% of your time, in various forms, e.g. as an assistant / tutor of a group of students, or as course web master, or helping the supervision of undergraduate and Master student laboratory projects.
- A researcher: The most significant part of your time and effort will be spent on the research leading to your Thesis. You will be treated as a young professional, with competitive salary, and world-class means and state-of-the-art infrastructure to conduct your research. You will travel to conferences, workshops and to places to collaborate when need be, depending on your thesis topic.
Social activities
Social and sport activities are also an important part of your life as a graduate student at SPC. We believe that the creativity is actually boosted by the pleasant working conditions at SPC. Having a group with a critical mass of fellow students is crucial also for this.