The IBMB is led by Prof. Dr. B. Elger, who holds a full-professorship position at the University of Basel in the Faculties of Science and Medicine. Prof. Elger has extensive experience in the supervision of research projects in biomedical ethics and has successfully obtained several research grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation. She is responsible for guiding, supervising, and managing the Institute.

Also responsible for student supervision and research is the PhD coordinator, Dr. T. Wangmo, who completed her PhD from the University of Kentucky (USA). She is experienced in empirical research methods and her research interests lie within the scope of justice and human rights. Before coming to Basel, she completed a year of post-doctoral work in Kentucky.

In addition, there are currently three senior post-docs and five junior post-docs from different disciplines who contribute towards co-supervising PhD students and help with student’s research projects. At present we have between 1:1 and 1:2 post-doc to PhD student ratio. With additional PhD students expected, we aim to have a balanced and manageable ratio of 1:2.

The supervision takes place in collaboration with colleagues from the Faculties of Science, Medicine, Theology, Law and the Philosophical-Historical Faculty (see Governance)

In collaboration with the Faculties of Science, Medicine, Theology, Law and the Philosophical-Historical Faculty (see Governance) the IBMB offers an interdisciplinary PhD program in Bioethics, Health Policy and Legal Medicine. The PhD Program incorporates two different doctoral degrees: PhD in Biomedical Ethics is associated with the Faculty of Medicine, and the PhD in Bioethics with the Faculty of Science. The doctoral education at the University of Basel is accredited by the Swiss Bologna education system. The reasons for the development of this PhD Program at the University of Basel were threefold:

(1) Address a gap in high level education in biomedical ethics, in collaboration with the only other national PhD program in biomedical ethics at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich.

(2) Add in particular a focus on ethics in the life sciences, responding not only to the national and international need for advanced education in bioethics but also to students’ demand, thereby attracting excellent international candidates.

(3) Establish Switzerland as a site for internationally recognized research in ethical issues related to both medicine and the life sciences.

The establishment of a PhD in bioethics at the Faculty of Science is novel and unique, as no such collaboration exists in Switzerland. Our program collaborates also with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and examines ethical questions related to public health interventions and to clinical trials related to the treatment of neglected diseases.

For the different sections of the PhD program, the relevant faculty PhD regulations of the University of Basel apply, e.g. those of the Faculties of Science and Medicine. The admission requirements for prospective PhD students are explained below.

The Application Process. All applications will be reviewed by the admission committee at the IBMB and the Governance Board and will be accepted via email before the designated deadline. The following documents compose a complete application:

(1) Curriculum Vitae;

(2) Copies of academic degrees;

(3) Statement of purpose and interests;

(4) Two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to the admissions committee (or the provision of names of two referees to be contacted by phone or by email); and

(5) Proof of English proficiency. The admission committee will review all applications and short-listed candidates will be invited for an in-person interview in Basel.

Interview. Invited candidates will be interviewed by the admissions committee and the interview will take place in English. The interview process is designed to help the admissions committee make a better evaluation of applicant’s suitability, motivation, and commitment to completing the doctoral program. In cases where the applicant is unable to travel to Switzerland, the interview will take place via teleconference.

Admission. The decision about acceptance will be based on both the written application and the interview.  All applicants will be informed of the committee’s decisions in writing.

The PhD Program sets high standards for supervision. In line with the PhD regulation (Doktoratsordnungen) of the respective faculties at the University of Basel, the Program has fully implemented the following: every student must have a supervising PhD committee, including a main supervisor from the fields of (bio) ethics, health policy or legal medicine. Progress reports must be established and close supervision is provided to ensure high quality and timely process of the PhD theses.

Faculty of Medicine:  http://medizin.unibas.ch/lehre/promotionen/phd-dr-sc-med.html

Faculty of Science:  http://philnat.unibas.ch/dokumente/promotion-phd/

PhD theses are co-supervised by an interdisciplinary committee of experts. Scholars with expertise in normative ethics will always be included in the committees. Projects with a life science perspective will typically include a scientist from the relevant sub-discipline. The rich scientific environment in the Basel and Zürich (two Universities and the ETH), including science faculties with a range of interested colleagues, facilitates the identification of appropriate expert co-supervisors. The primary supervisor and other committee members work closely with their students by helping them to continuously refine their research projects and encourage their students to publish their study results quickly in peer-reviewed journals with a high IF.

The PhD Program has established a network of national and international colleagues from different disciplines who are interested in the PhD program and available to co-supervise students. These colleagues, represented on the PhD committees, are invited and have been present during student’s final PhD defense. In addition to targeted supervision provided for their PhD research work, students are also provided the opportunity to participate in grant writing and participate in peer-reviewing articles for journals. They are encouraged and supervised to present their findings at several national and international conferences and to network with leading scholars in the field through the many established collaborations of the Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB).

Following its high success in obtaining grants, the IBMB has expanded and is moving to a new location in 2013 (from Missionsstrasse 24 and 64 to Bernoullistrasse, directly opposite the University Library and close to the main University lecture halls in the Kollegienhaus). Our resources include individual work stations for each student and post-docs as well as a room to host small networking events and meetings. The IBMB also owns a growing library with books on topics related to Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, Research Methods, Statistics, and Philosophy. The Institute is well integrated into the structure of the University of Basel as a result of being part of two faculties and has built collaborations with several departments and institutes including environmental sciences, public health, psychology, informatics, and law.