Academic Career Development

The Faculty of Law’s academic career development encompasses all levels of the educational pyramid, from student assistants to assistant professorships, with academic career development being promoted in both research and teaching.

It takes place primarily in the subject groups and at the professorial chairs.

The subject groups make every effort to provide junior researchers with a permanent contact person to assist them with career planning, obtaining funding, involvement in teaching, publications and conference participation.  The institutionalized doctoral colloquia and the promotion of international networking are a further important element.

Junior researchers also receive support in the various faculty research centers and the cross-faculty UZH Graduate Campus platform.

The Vice Dean and the Management Office of the Vice Dean provide advice on financing an academic career (see also "Funding for PhD and Postdoc" (PDF, 999 KB)) and regularly inform about various relevant opportunities that come to their attention (Call for Papers, grants, etc.).

The "Welcome Info for Junior Researchers at the Faculty of Law" offers many useful hints and tips for those who are newly starting their doctoral studies.

Among the strategic goals of the Faculty of Law 2030 is particularly the promotion of researchers in the postdoc area. To optimally prepare our senior assistants and postdocs for an academic career, a range of training and consultation offerings is currently being developed. Additionally, the Vice Dean's office provides services to support third-party funded research. Upon request, the Management Office of the Vice Dean is happy to provide an overview of the current offerings related to third-party funding applications for postdocs. In this context, the office of the Vice Dean drafted a guide for writting letters of recommendation (PDF, 101 KB), which can be handed out to the supervisors of PhD-students and postdocs.

The Vice Dean's office also serves as a point of contact for conflicts. The Vice Dean F&NF is available as a contact person between early career researchers and supervisors if conflicts cannot be resolved bilaterally. The following page provides information on all consultation services at UZH: "Conflict! What to do?"

The following funding is available to junior researchers at the Faculty of Law. The Management Office of the Vice Dean will be happy to provide information in this regard.

• Awarding of mobility contributions, e.g. within the framework of the LERU PhD exchange program (Fact sheet in German and English)
• Grants for translations and proofreading of PhD theses, habilitations, essays, third-party funding submissions, etc., if the authors are not writing the texts in their native language (Application form).
• Reimbursement of expenses  related to participation in conferences, congresses and academic training. Starting from 2024, Early Postdocs, Assistants, PhD candidates, and staff in Research & Teaching Support will have access to a Conference Fund. The conditions for contributions are based on Information Sheet on the Conference Fund (PDF, 146 KB)
  :  Who is eligible, what can and how must be settled. Application form Conference Fund, (PDF, 222 KB)Expense Claims Form (XLSX, 69 KB). Before submitting an application, please consultExpense Claim Instruction (PDF, 765 KB).
• Contributions for the printing of outstanding PhD theses, financed by the Otto Schnabel Fund, if the doctoral candidate cannot bear the publication costs him/herself.
• Support of events and initiatives of junior researchers