Courses for PhD Students
The curriculum contains a minimum of 18 ECTS. Choose courses from the following domains:
- Methods and Science
- Academic Writing
- Research Data Management
- Science Communication
- Scientific Integrity
- Other Transferable Skills
All students enrolled in the GSMHS or started their PhD before 1 August 2025 at the Faculty of Medicine or SwissTPH can take part in our courses.
Methods and Science
| Reseach Methodology | level | Workload | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| An introduction to systematic reviewing: From Literature Search to Meta-Analysis | basic | 1+1 ECTS | fall |
| Advanced Trial Designs for Clinical Researchers | advanced | 15 h* | spring |
| Basics of Health Economic Evaluation | basic | 8 h* | spring |
| Designing Clinical Research for Beginning Investigators | basic | 2 ECTS | fall |
| Designing of Questionnaires and Implementation of Surveys | basic | 8 h* | spring |
| Essentials of Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) | basic | 15 h* | spring |
| Methods of Health Policy and Health Systems Research | basic | 8 h* | spring |
| Observational Studies & Analysis of Observational Databases | basic | 15 h* | spring |
| Real World Data – Principles and Methodologies | advanced | 15 h* | spring |
| Seminar Series: Latest Breakthroughs in Biomedical Engineering Research | advanced | 1 ECTS | fall & spring |
| STatistics | Level | Workload | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Statistics using R: Analysing Medical Data | advanced | 1 ECTS | fall & spring |
| Reading and Writing Statistics in Clinical Publications | basic | 2 ECTS | spring |
| Seminar series: Statistics in Clinical Research | basic | 15 h* | fall |
These courses do not directly award ECTS. They can be combined to reach a workload of 25-30 hours, to receive 1 ECTS. To add them to your academic record, create a Learning Contract (LC) in MOnA (choosing your supervisor as the assessor and pass/fail as assessment) before the start of the course.
Academic Writing
| Course | ECTS | Format | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer School: Scientific Writing and Publishing | 1 | on-site | Spring 2027 |
| Academic Writing in Medical and Health Sciences | 1 + 3* | on-site | Fall (phase I) |
| Meet to Write | 1* | online | Continuous |
| Writing a Research Paper in 12 Weeks or Less | 4 | online | Fall & Spring |
| Writing a Thesis Proposal in Medical and Health Sciences | 1 | on-site | Fall & Spring |
| Academic Writing Workshops (University Library of Bern) | 2-4 h* | online | Fall & Spring |
| Improving Your Scientific Writing with AI Tools | 3 h* | on-site | Fall |
*See course page for details
Research Data Management
| Course | ECTS | Format | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Data Management in Medical and Health Sciences | 1 | on-site | Fall |
Science Communication
| Course | ECTS | Format | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer School: Science Communication | 1 | on-site | Spring 2028 |
Scientific Integrity
| Course | ECTS | Format | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture with practical courses: Good Scientific Conduct in Health Sciences | 1 | on-site | Spring |
| Summer School: Good Scientific Practice | 1 | on-site | Spring 2029 |
| Workshop: Research Integrity 2.0 | 0 | online | Continuous |
Other Transferable Skills
| Course | ECTS | Format | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
Career Workshop: Career Planning for Doctoral Candidates in Medical and Health Sciences | 1 | online | Fall |
| PhD Success Lab™: A 12-Week Digital Mentoring Programme for Your PhD | 3 | online | Fall |
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