Doctoral theses

I. General

In order to ensure individual and intensive supervision of the doctoral thesis, the chair holder only accepts a selected number of external doctoral students in addition to the assistants of the chair. Requests for general doctoral supervision by Prof. Picht should be sent by e-mail to the chair's address (lst.picht@ius.uzh.ch).

The written request for supervision should be accompanied by the following in particular:

1. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
2. Academic certificates (Bachelor's / Master's / Licentiate)
3. writing samples (relevant scientific publications or master's theses)
4. project outline (approx. 2 A4 pages) of the preferred topic and two alternative topics
5. Graduates of foreign law faculties are encouraged to submit proof of eligibility for doctoral studies at their home university as well as a letter of recommendation from a professor there.

After reviewing the documents, Prof. Picht will arrange an appointment with the doctoral candidate to discuss the dissertation project in more detail in a personal meeting. Based on the application documents and the initial interview, Prof. Picht will make a provisional decision on the supervision of the dissertation.

After the topic has been determined, a comprehensive research proposal of 10–15 written pages in A4 format (plus an outline and bibliography) must be submitted. Unless otherwise agreed with the chairholder, the research proposal must be submitted no later than 4 months after the initial meeting. Based on the fully formulated plan, Prof. Picht will definitively decide whether to supervise the dissertation project.

II. Requirements in terms of content

Prof. Picht supervises dissertations in the thematic focus areas of the chair (Swiss and European antitrust, unfair competition, intellectual property and conflict of laws, in particular international inheritance and corporate law). It is the responsibility of the doctoral candidate to clarify in advance any possible thematic collisions with dissertation projects that are already pending, by consulting the Documentation Center for Swiss Legal Dissertations in Fribourg. Such clarifications are strongly advised.

III. Administrative Information

In addition, the general provisions and information of the Faculty of Law regarding doctoral studies must be observed:

Promotion Regulations of the Faculty of Law (PVO)