About the Programme
The Doctoral programme in Landscape and Urban Studies at the Department of Architecture’s Institute of Landscape and Urban Studies addresses contemporary issues of urban and environmental transformation. Research spans the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, territorial planning and social sciences. Focusing on the production of landscape, territory and human settlements through a range of different scales, from the local to the global, this may include studies in landscape and designed ecologies, design strategies, energy and food production, material stocks and flows, health and socio-economic development. The doctoral programme seeks to promote a critical discourse, qualitatively and quantitatively addressing pressing environmental and social challenges, and aspires to cultivate independent, inventive, and proactive research that engages with processes of environmental change within their broader cultural, economic, political, social, historical and theoretical context.
Participating Chairs
- Chair of History and Theory of Urban Design, Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete
- Chair of Landscape Architecture, Prof. Teresa Galí-Izard
- Chair of Landscape Architecture, Prof. Christophe Girot
- Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, Prof. Hubert Klumpner
- Chair of Architecture and Urban Transformation, Prof. Freek Persyn
- Chair of Sociology, Prof. Dr. Christian Schmid
- Chair of Architecture and Territorial Planning, Prof. Milica Topalovic
- Chair of Landscape Architecture, Prof. Günther Vogt
While an overall alignment with the respective chairs’ research agendas and expertise is desirable, the program is open to candidates who apply with their own research topic. Please do not contact professors directly. Applications have to be addressed at the whole participating faculty and are solely evaluated regarding content.
Qualifications, Employment, and other Criteria
Candidates must hold a Master’s degree acquired at university level (equivalent to the FHEQ-Level 7) in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, urban planning or related fields at the date of the submission deadline.
The program provides funding for three years, successful applicants will be employed 100%, and will receive a doctoral student contract at ETH Zurich with monthly salaries according to the ‘standard rate’. For a detailed calculation of salaries please refer here.
Residency in Zurich during the scholarship is required and adequate proficiency in English is mandatory (spoken and written).
Application Process
The programme exclusively accepts application documents submitted through the ETH online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.
- March 1, 2020: Submission deadline (23:59 CET).
- End of March 2020: Notification to shortlisted candidates.
- End of April, 2020: Interviews with shortlisted candidates.
- Beginning of May, 2020: Notification to successful applicants.
- October 1, 2020: Start of programme.
Application Documents
- Letter of motivation (1 page).
- Outline of the future research project (max. 4 pages, + max. 3 illustrations + bibliography).
- Curriculum vitae (including publications, portfolio, work samples, max. 10 pages).
- Writing sample in English (1 text, max. 15 pages).
- 2-3 letters of recommendation independently submitted to landscape.urbanstudies@arch.ethz.ch by either the referees or the candidates concurrently with the application deadline.
Please note that applications missing one of the above listed elements, and/or exceeding the given page numbers, will not be considered.
Further Information
For further questions please contact Matthew Skjonsberg, coordinator of the Doctoral Programme in Landscape and Urban Studies. Be aware that requests sent to any other email will not be considered.