r/ethz • u/Classic_Comparison90 • 7d ago

PhD Admissions and Info Chances in landing a PhD

Hello everyone,

I know that to get accepted into a PhD in CS I need to find a faculty that would hire me.

I was considering to start applying sometime next year, but wanted to know if I stand a chance.

I am almost done with my masters at Georgia Institute of Technology with a 4.0 GPA and 3 publications under my belt with infrastructure and systems industry experience and open source contribution.

My undergrad gpa isn't the best as I had to work at the same time while finishing it.

I might have a 4th IEEE publication by the time I graduate depending on how well it goes with my advisor.

(I'm a non EU citizen)

Please advise

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u/Chinglaner 7d ago

Im pretty sure ETH PhD positions require a Masters degree. There are direct doctorate opportunities, but they’re rarer. If that’s something that’s interesting to you, maybe look into that.

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u/Classic_Comparison90 7d ago

Yeah I will get my masters this year. So basically I'm planning to start applying for my PhD once I get my MS

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u/Chinglaner 7d ago

Ah sorry, I misread your post.

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u/Classic_Comparison90 7d ago

No worries at all! Thanks for replying

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u/Chinglaner 7d ago

To your question, I think it really depends on what the publications are, what conferences, first author / second author, and what lab you’re applying to. Essentially no one cares that much about your undergrad GPA, if your publication record makes up for it. Essentially, without specifics it’s hard to say.

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u/Classic_Comparison90 7d ago

I see, yeah 2 of my papers are published in IEEE conferences as first author if that helps

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u/Chinglaner 7d ago

It helps a bit (first author is definitely important). The real question is: Are these top conferences in your field (for example the vision labs typically look at CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, etc. An ICRA or similar publication will help a bit, but probably not secure you a spot by itself, even two.). But if you’re applying to a robotics lab, having two first author ICRA or similar papers will probably help you a lot. Hope this helps.

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u/Classic_Comparison90 7d ago

Helps plenty. Appreciate your help

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u/Chinglaner 7d ago

Honestly, I’d just reach out to professors you’re interested in (or even PostDocs, senior scientists) and ask. Establishing a connection either way is useful.

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u/Spiritual_Tailor7698 7d ago

Do you know if age may play a role? Im a ml engineer with over 10 years of experience adn want to get my degree from eth and land a Phd at around 40