Research Support

General Conditions
Doctoral candidates enrolled at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are eligible to apply, including those on academic leave during the publication phase.

Amounts under CHF 100 will not be disbursed. However, applicants may collect several smaller cost items and submit them in a single application, provided the combined total meets or exceeds this threshold. It is recommended that applications be submitted on an ongoing basis, as funding is subject to budget availability.

Application form “Research Support” (DOCX, 151 KB)

Deadlines 
The application period for 2025 ends on December 1st.
Late or incomplete applications will be rejected without review. There is no entitlement to subsidies. The Graduate School does not provide correspondence regarding the disbursement process. Payment is generally issued within two months of the application being received by the Graduate School. Please check further instructions below.

As a rule, subsidies are granted only for language courses taken at the UZH / ETH Language Center.
In exceptional cases, subsidies for courses at other institutions may also be requested — for example, if the Language Center does not offer courses in the relevant language or at the appropriate level. 

Application Language Courses

• Application form for language courses: Application form “Research Support” (DOCX, 151 KB) 
• Explanation: The application must explain why the language course is essential for the further development of the applicant’s doctoral project.
• Statement of Justification: If the course is taken outside the UZH / ETH Language Center, the application must also justify why the intended learning goal can only be achieved through the specific external course.
• Documentation: A receipt confirming the booking (can be issued before payment).

Subsidies may be granted for the purchase or paid use of software or licences that are directly related to the collection, analysis, and/or management of empirical data as part of the doctoral project. The purchase or rental of hardware is not eligible for funding.

Generally, data management-related expenses should be covered by the institute, department, project, or chair to which the doctoral candidate is affiliated. If this is not possible, and the purchase or use of the software or licence is essential for the applicant’s doctoral research, a funding request may be submitted to the Graduate School.

Application Data Management

• Application form for data management: Application form “Research Support” (DOCX, 151 KB) 
• Explanation: containing a clear explanation of why the purchase or use of the specific software or licence is essential for the development of the applicant’s doctoral project and statement that the costs for the software or licence cannot be covered by other sources, such as the institute or the chair.
• Documentation: A receipt confirming the purchase or use of the software or licence must be attached to the application. If the application refers to multiple software products or licences, all items must be individually listed on the receipt(s).
• Confirmation: Signature from the principal supervisor

Specialist literature includes scholarly materials or sources that must be purchased in physical or digital form. Interlibrary loan refers to a fee-based library service through which books or other media are ordered from libraries or archives outside of UZH.

Application Specialist Literature and Interlibrary Loan Fees

• Application form for specialist literature and Interlibrary loan fees Application form "Research Support" (DOCX, 151 KB) 
• Explanation: containing a clear explanation of why the material must necessarily be obtained by purchase or interlibrary loan, and why the acquisition of the specialist literature or the interlibrary loan is indispensable for the development of the applicant’s doctoral project. A receipt confirming the purchase or use of the interlibrary loan service must be attached to the application. If the application concerns multiple items or orders, all must be individually listed on the receipt(s).

Applications: At the earliest three month before the service and at the latest one month after the service. 
Doctoral students can apply for subsidies to cover the costs of copy editing and translation of texts that are not written in their native language and are central for the academic qualification.

Application Copy Editing and Translation

• Application form Copy Editing and Translation Application form (DOCX, 150 KB) 
• Deadline: Applications for copy editing and translation services may be submitted no earlier than three months before and no later than one month after the service is rendered. For accounting reasons, subsidies can only be granted for costs incurred within the current calendar year.
• Statement of Justification: The application must clearly explain why the requested service is essential for the applicant’s doctoral thesis or scholarly article.
• Documentation: Receipt(s) or quote(s) in accordance must be attached to the application, showing proof of payment or a binding order and a detailed breakdown of costs.
  Important: The receipt or quote must demonstrate that the provider of the subsidised service is able to meet statutory tax and social security contribution obligations (e.g. by including a valid UID number for Switzerland and the EU, or a TIN for the USA).