ETH Direct Doctorate and EPFL PhD Statements

ETH Direct Doctorate and EPFL PhD Statements

ETH Zurich's Direct Doctorate is applied for through the master's portal, in the international window that closes on Monday 30 November 2026 at 11:59 a.m. CET. In physics, mathematics, electrical engineering and chemistry it also needs a professor's written funding commitment. EPFL's computer science doctoral school (EDIC) wants a one- or two-page statement of purpose by 1 December 2026, 23:59 CET, and no advisor.

These are three different routes, and each one asks for a different document. The ETH pages call it a motivation letter or statement of purpose; EPFL's doctoral school calls it a "statement of objectives", and EDIC calls it a statement of purpose. Our view: at ETH, outside computer science, the professor's promise decides the Direct Doctorate before your letter is read, so get that promise first. At EPFL EDIC, a committee decides, so the statement does the work. One statement cannot serve both. When your draft is ready, a PhD statement of purpose review reads it for research direction and fit.

Every ETH and EPFL page quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026. Several EPFL deadline pages print day and month without a year, so recheck each programme page before you submit.

On this page: three routes · ETH by department · EPFL EDIC · export control · which statement · questions

Three routes, three documents

Germany's Max Planck schools use a similar matching letter; see the IMPRS motivation letter guide.

ETH's application dates page says the November window is "mandatory for" students who "wish to apply for the Excellence & Opportunity Scholarship Programme (ESOP) or a Direct doctorate programme (DD)". It adds: "Late or incomplete applications cannot be processed." Note the time. 11:59 a.m. is a minute before noon, not midnight.

The regular doctorate is a different process. ETH's Ordinance on the Doctorate, Art. 8, says the admissions procedure "can be initiated if one of the below criteria applies: a. One of the persons mentioned in Art. 5 has agreed in writing to supervise the doctoral thesis. b. A request for admission to a doctoral programme has been submitted." ETH's finding a doctoral position page is blunter: "Each potential doctoral thesis supervisor recruits their doctoral students themselves." The Rector's implementation provisions add that for a «direct doctorate» "the admissions procedure is handled by the respective Master's degree programme." That is why the Direct Doctorate is applied for like a master's.

We found no central ETH page that lists a motivation letter or proposal for the regular doctorate. The position sets the documents. For an advertised post, your letter is a cover letter for that post. Our cover letter for a PhD position sample covers that document.

ETH Direct Doctorate by department

ETH sets the rules on each programme page, not centrally. Two models appear on the pages we checked.

Computer science: a statement of purpose, read on its own. The Computer Science MSc page says:

"Your statement of purpose (motivation letter) should concisely explain your motivation and suitability to do doctoral studies in computer science at ETH Zurich. It should describe any past research and teaching experience, identify general areas of research and reflect on two preferred research groups' work you are interested in to complete the doctoral programme as well as future career plans. No word limit."

The department's Direct Doctorate page says the programme "now receives more than 100 applications every year". It also says: "It is, therefore, possible not to be admitted to the Direct Doctorate Programme, but for the Master's Programme in Computer Science. However, the application cannot be considered for ESOP simultaneously." So ticking the Direct Doctorate box costs you an ESOP scholarship read for that application.

Physics, mathematics and electrical engineering: the funding letter first. The Physics, Mathematics and Electrical Engineering pages carry the same text:

"For a successful application, a confirmation of the future supervisor (ETH professor) is required. This letter has to state that they will provide the funding for the merit-based scholarship during your MSc studies and the salary for the subsequent doctoral studies. Motivation letter: please state in your motivation letter your suitability for the planned research."

Chemistry: the same idea, different words. The Chemistry page asks for "A written confirmation of a an ETH Zurich professor for the financing of the Master's degree programme and subsequent doctoral studies in his or her research group" [sic] and a "Motivation letter (letter of intent for the direct doctorate)".

Our recommendation: in physics, mathematics, EE and chemistry, do not tick the Direct Doctorate box unless a professor has already agreed to write that confirmation. Without it, the page says the application cannot succeed. Apply for the MSc instead, and keep the ESOP option open. Mathematics also asks every master's applicant to "State and explain your choice of potential courses, areas of specialisation and supervisors for project work", so naming a supervisor there is part of the normal letter. Our ETH Zurich motivation letter guide covers that one-page master's letter.

The countercase: in computer science the page asks for no professor's confirmation. Two named research groups and an honest account of your research do the work. There, the statement itself is the case.

EPFL EDIC: one or two pages by 1 December

EPFL runs PhD admission through doctoral programmes. The EDIC how-to-apply page gives the prompt:

"Prepare a concise one or two-page essay that describes your primary areas of interest, the faculty you would like to work with, your related research experience and your objectives in pursuing a PhD with EDIC. When describing your interests, you should explain why you think they are important areas of study and why you are particularly well-suited to pursue them."

The rules around it, from the same page:

• No advisor needed. "Admissions decisions in the EDIC program are made by a centralized committee. This means that you do not need to contact faculty or find an advisor in order to apply." It still says "we strongly recommend that you go through the webpages of the EDIC affiliated labs" and "You will need to include this information in the application form as well as your statement of purpose."
• Two rounds. "Applications must be submitted prior to December 1 (23:59 CET)". The second round, deadline 15 April, considers "a relatively much smaller number of candidates". The EDIC applicants page lists "December 1, 2026" and "April 15, 2027".
• Three letters. "Character references do not carry much weight."
• No edits after submission. "you cannot update your application after you have submitted it."
• Report your grades as printed. Give the cumulative GPA "exactly in the format provided by your school on your transcripts, without attempting to rescale it". A CGPA out of 10 stays out of 10.
• What admission means. "In 2027, 55 fellowships are available." Applications the committee accepts without a fellowship "are made available to the EDIC affiliated labs for direct hiring."

Other EPFL doctoral programmes set their own dates. The deadlines overview lists, without years, EDEE (electrical engineering) on 1 December and 15 April, EDMA (mathematics) on 15 September, 1 December and 15 April, and EDBB (biotechnology and bioengineering) on 1 November and 31 March, "Followed by Skype interviews and hiring days."

The general EPFL doctoral application page names the document a "statement of objectives" and asks for "the contact details of three referees". It states no length on the pages we checked. If you apply to two programmes, "you will have to supply one complete application to each program." Its FAQ adds that applicants with "a 4-year or 5-year Bachelor's degree" should "explain the specifics of their education in the Statement of Objectives letter." For a four-year Indian BTech, that is a required paragraph, not an option.

Constructed EDIC statement opening, weak and revised

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): Kiran Desai, a four-year BTech graduate who did one research internship on graph neural networks.

Weak: Since childhood I have been fascinated by computers. EPFL is one of the best universities in the world, and I would be honoured to pursue a PhD in its prestigious EDIC programme, where I hope to work with world-class faculty on machine learning.

Revised: I want to work on why graph neural networks fail on graphs larger than the ones they were trained on. In a six-month internship at an invented lab, I built the evaluation pipeline that showed our model's accuracy fell sharply on graphs ten times the training size. I traced part of the drop to the pooling step, but not all of it. That unexplained part is the question I want to pursue in EDIC. The labs of Prof. A. Example and Prof. B. Sample, whose published work studies generalisation in learned models, are the two I would most like to join. My degree is a four-year BTech, so I describe below which courses covered the theory a master's would normally add.

The weak version answers none of the four things the prompt names. The revised one names an interest and why it matters, the research experience, two faculty and the objective, in the order EDIC lists them. The last sentence handles the four-year-degree point the EPFL FAQ asks for. Lab names here are placeholders. Name real EDIC labs only after reading their pages.

Export control and embargo screening

EPFL's doctoral application page lists, among the committee's criteria, "factors related to compliance with export-control and embargo legislation." It says none of the criteria "taken alone could exclude an applicant." State your nationality and past institutions accurately and leave the screening to the university. Our guide to PhD application letters under sanctions rules covers what applicants from affected countries should and should not write.

Which Swiss doctoral statement do you write?

1. Computer science at ETH? Write the Direct Doctorate statement: research experience, two named groups, career plans. No word limit, but write it concisely, as the page asks. Submit by 30 November, 11:59 a.m. CET.
2. Physics, mathematics, EE or chemistry at ETH, with a professor's written funding promise? Upload that confirmation and add your suitability for the planned research to the one-page master's letter. Same deadline.
3. Same departments, no promise by mid-November? Apply for the MSc. Do not tick the Direct Doctorate box.
4. A regular ETH doctorate? Contact professors or answer an advertised position. Write the document that position names.
5. EPFL? Pick one doctoral programme, read its page, and write the statement it asks for. For EDIC, one or two pages covering interests, faculty, experience and objectives by 1 December, 23:59 CET.
6. Applying to both ETH and EPFL? Write two documents. ETH's computer science statement has no limit and centres on two ETH groups. EDIC's caps you at two pages and centres on EDIC labs.

Questions about ETH and EPFL doctoral statements

Do I need a professor before applying to the ETH Direct Doctorate?

In physics, mathematics, EE and chemistry, yes. Those pages require a written confirmation of funding from your future supervisor. In computer science, no. You name two preferred research groups in your statement instead.

Is there a word limit for the ETH computer science Direct Doctorate statement?

No. The page says "No word limit." It also says the statement "should concisely explain" your motivation and suitability.

Do I need to contact EPFL faculty before applying to EDIC?

No. EDIC says "you do not need to contact faculty or find an advisor in order to apply." You still name the faculty you would like to work with in the statement.

Can I apply to the ETH Direct Doctorate and ESOP together?

Not for computer science. The department says a Direct Doctorate application "cannot be considered for ESOP simultaneously." Both still use the November window. For the referees both schools ask for, see ETH and EPFL recommendation letters.

Get a free review of your statement of purpose

Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose against GradPilot's general PhD statement of purpose rubric. It reads your research direction, research experience, the questions you want to pursue and your fit with named faculty, which is what the EDIC prompt and ETH's computer science statement ask for. Writing for an advertised ETH position instead? Use the PhD position cover and motivation letter rubric. You can also start from the PhD SOP review page and choose the general PhD statement of purpose rubric there.

More European PhD application guides:

• PhD Research Proposal Guide: Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and ETH: when a doctoral application needs a proposal, and when it does not
• PhD Germany: Motivation Letter or Cover Letter: matching a letter to an advertised European PhD vacancy
• PhD essays hub: every PhD statement guide, by document

Sources

Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted.

• ETH Zurich, Application Dates Autumn Semester 2027 (autumn 2027 entry): November window, ESOP and DD rule, 11:59 a.m. CET close.
• ETH Zurich, Computer Science MSc application documents (no year stated): Direct Doctorate statement of purpose prompt.
• ETH Zurich Department of Computer Science, Direct Doctorate in Computer Science (no year stated): same application tool, ESOP rule, application volume.
• ETH Zurich, Physics, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering and Chemistry MSc application documents (no year stated): supervisor funding confirmation and Direct Doctorate letter rules.
• ETH Zurich, Ordinance on the Doctorate (version 1 January 2022) and Rector's implementation provisions: how the doctorate admission starts; Direct Doctorate handled by the master's programme.
• ETH Zurich, Finding a doctoral position (no year stated): supervisors recruit their own doctoral students.
• EPFL, EDIC how to apply and EDIC for applicants (2027 entry): prompt, deadlines, letters, GPA rule, fellowships.
• EPFL, PhD admission criteria and application, Applications FAQs and Application deadlines (no year stated): statement of objectives, referees, export-control criterion, programme deadlines.