During his graduate studies Wüthrich started out working with electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the subject of his Ph.D. thesis was "the catalytic activity of copper compounds in autoxidation reactions".
Selama studi sarjananya Wüthrich mulai berkarya di bidang spektroskopi resonansi paramagnetik elektron dan masalah tesis Ph.D-nya ialah "aktivitas katalisis senyawa tembaga dalam reaksi autoksidasi".