PhD Program 2025 at the Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE)

The Graduate School of Business and Economics selects and promotes highly talented graduate students in the area of Business and/or Economics. We invite applications from students with an excellent Masters degree in Business, Economics or other related social sciences with formal training in both theory and empirical methods.

The PhD program includes advanced courses that provide the necessary theoretical knowledge and research methods to conduct independent research and successfully write a doctoral thesis. Participants of our PhD program can also attend the Swiss Program for Beginning Doctoral Students in Economics at the Study Center Gerzensee or the PhD program of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI).

The PhD program includes a competitive funding package covering the costs of living in Basel over four years.

Deadline: January 31, 2025

Your privacy is important to us.

When you apply through our system, you have to provide personal information in the course of the evaluation process. Have a look at our data privacy policy to find out how we handle and protect your data.

By submitting the data in this form, you are consenting to this policy.

Please note:

You can save your application and resume editing/uploading documents at any time until the application deadline. After the initial save, you will receive account details to log into this portal to do so. You do not need to submit your application, after the deadline, your application is automatically submitted and becomes inaccessible.

Your application can only be taken into consideration if by the application deadline the following applies:

  • The application form is filled in completely
  • Electronic copies of the following documents have been uploaded as pdf files*
    • CV
    • Bachelor’s degree diploma
    • Bachelor’s degree mark sheet
    • Master’s degree diploma**
    • Master’s degree mark sheet
    • Scientific writing sample
  • A minimum of 2 references letters have been received***. The reference letters must be requested through this portal by providing information of at least 2 referees (usually faculty members). We discourage reference letters from colleagues or postdocs.

*Until the application deadline, you can add/update files when editing your application, but you are responsible to ensure that the correct files are available to the evaluators.

** If you have not received your master's diploma yet, your master’s degree mark sheet is sufficient. Please add an explanation to the relevant section.

*** After the initial saving of your application, you will be able to request reference letters directly through the application platform. Only reference letters can come in until the reference letter deadline (5 days after the application deadline).

Personal Details

First name*:
Last name*:
Date of birth*:
Place of birth*:
Nationality*:

Contact address

Street*:
ZIP*:
City*:
Country of residence*:
Phone*:
Email*:
Email (enter again)*:

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Please upload a copy of your CV here. Important: Only pdf format is accepted!.

CV File:

Education

Degrees obtained

Fill information for at least one degree. If you are still working towards the degree, please indicate the expected date.
Please make sure you upload a copy of diplomas, grades and mark sheets as PDF files below.

Please convert your grade into the Swiss grading system (1-6, 6 being the best grade), according to the instructions of the University of Basel. If you have no grade (yet), you may indicate this by entering 0.

Mandatory degree documents

Upload a copy of diploma, grades and mark sheets as PDF files here. We expect you to provide all of these documents. If you can't provide one of these documents by the application deadline, please explain why this is the case below.

Diploma/Master Certificate:
Bachelor Certificate:
Master mark sheet:
Bachelor mark sheet:
Explanation for missing documents (if applicable):
Scientific writing samples

Please upload a PDF with samples of your scientific writing such as a Master’s thesis, term paper, bachelor’s thesis, or journal article.

Scientific Writing Sample File:
Additional degree documents

You can provide additional degree documents (certificates, etc.) here:

English skills or GRE

If you have a GRE or English certificate, please upload PDF copies of them here.

A recent GRE test is considered in the decision process and must be provided for participation in the Swiss Program for Beginning Doctoral Students in Economics at the Study Center Gerzensee or the PhD program of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI).

If you have a GRE certificate or TOEFL, please upload it.

English skills:
English proficiency:
Certificates

If you have a GRE or English certificate, please upload PDF copies of them here.

General research interest

Describe your general research interests. What are the research questions that you are most passionate about? What brought you to research? Why did you want to become a researcher?

Research interest:

Past research experience

Please give the title and a short description of any research project carried out during your studies (diploma thesis, honours project, master's thesis, etc.). State the rationale and goals of the research, and indicate your own contributions to the results. List publications, if any:

Research experience:

Academic awards, Prizes and papers

Have you received any academic awards or prizes, or have you published papers about your research? If so, please list them here.

Awards / Prizes / Papers:

Research Interest

If you already have a preference, please indicate up to three potential supervisors, in order of priority. Please have a look at the research profiles of our faculty members.

Interest in partner programs

Are you interested in participating in either the Swiss Program for Beginning Doctoral Students in Economics at the Study Center Gerzensee or the PhD program of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI)? If so, please indicate your preference.

Partner program:

Additional information

You can provide additional information as PDF documents.

Comments

Additional information relevant to your application:

Where did you hear about this program?

Source*:
Other:

Confirmation

I hereby confirm that I have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of this call. I understand that in order to qualify for evaluation, my complete application including attachments has to be received by the application deadline. The required letters of reference likewise have to be requested electronically by the application deadline and must be received at the very latest by the reference letter deadline, as described in the notes at the top of this form.

I hereby confirm that I have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of this call*:
I understand that by the call's deadline I must have uploaded all required files and subsequently opened/checked these uploaded files to make sure they were transferred correctly and are the right file in the right version*:
I understand that for my application to qualify for evaluation, 2 letters of reference must be requested and received on time (see explanations above).*:

Please note:

To be considered for this position, you need to provide the names of 2 references, such as former mentors or supervisors.

We will request that they upload a reference letter on your behalf. You will be asked to provide your references’ contact information after you save this form.

This form can be edited and saved again until the deadline.

This form can be edited and saved again until the deadline. After the deadline your application is automatically submitted and becomes inaccessible.

* Fields must be filled out for initial submission