Doctorate in medical science "MD-PhD"
Procedure to be followed
Finding a host group
- Check out the web pages of the Faculty of medicine related to faculty departments and fundamental, clinical and dental research;
- Contact the group leader or the head of department whose research thematic one is interested in and check whether it is possible to undertake a research project within their group.
Submitting an application file
The candidate who has found a host group and a thesis supervisor may then submit an application file to the scientific committee of the doctorate in medical science "MD-PhD". The committee will rule upon admission to the doctorate. The application file must contain:
- a motivation letter with career plan (max 2 pages)
- a CV + list of publications
- a copy of the diploma of medicine
- UE/AELE diploma : attestation of the Federal Commission MEBEKO assessing the equivalence with the Swiss diploma *
- the title and description of the research project
- a certificate written by the chosen thesis supervisor guaranteeing salary cover and research costs
Non UE/AELE diploma:
- a motivation letter with career plan (max 2 pages)
- a summary of the research project (max. 3 pages)
- a CV + list of publications
- a copy of the final examination of medicine
- the full list of exams you passed during your MD program
- the marks received
- the number of teaching hours per each topic
- A dated and signed letter (handwritten signature) indicating "I note that obtaining the MD-PhD title, which is an academic title only, will not give me official recognition of my foreign diploma and will not allow me to practice as an intern in a service of the University Hospitals of Geneva or any other Swiss medical institution or in liberal practice in Switzerland. For obtaining a federal diploma I will refer to the requirements applied by the MEBEKO Medical Professions Commission."
- a certificate of registration in the MEBEKO medical professions register
- a letter from the thesis director indicating:
- that he accepts the candidate under his direction for the MD-PhD thesis
- the title of the thesis
- the composition of the thesis committee
- that a salary is guaranteed for the duration of the thesis
Registration within programme
When the candidate has been accepted within the doctorate in medical science programme:
- He/she will receive a certificate from the scientific committee and will proceed to registering with the students' secretariat of the Faculty of medicine.
- A thesis committee is constituted on the proposal of the thesis supervisor and must be approved by the scientific committee.
End of thesis
When the thesis is coming to a close:
- The thesis committee assesses the personal work of the doctorate student within the framework of the research project, on the basis of the report provided by the thesis supervisor.
- If this personal work is considered satisfactory, the doctorate student submits a thesis manuscript project to the thesis committee.
- Two months at the earliest after submission of this project, an oral examination is conducted by the thesis committee.
- If this examination is successful, the thesis supervisor submits the thesis manuscript to the scientific committee together with a report and a proposal as to the composition of the thesis jury.
- The thesis jury receives the manuscript and provides a report.
- If the report is satisfactory, a date for the defence of the thesis can be agreed upon between the scientific committee and the thesis jury.
- Once the modifications requested by the jury have been brought to the manuscript, the candidate can undergo the public defence of thesis.
Awarding the diploma
- Once all these conditions have been fulfilled, the scientific committee rules on the attribution of the diploma.
- The title of the diploma is: "Doctorate in medical science of the Faculty of medicine ("MD-PhD").