Deadline: Varies from country to country. (September to December)
Swiss Government, through the Federal Commission, offers excellence scholarships for foreign scholars and artists in Switzerland. Scholarships are available for pursuing Ph.D., postdoctoral, research programs and fine arts at one of the public funded universities or recognized institution.
The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are aimed at young researchers from abroad who have completed a master’s degree or Ph.D. and at foreign artists holding a bachelor’s degree.
Each year the Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence Scholarships to promote international exchange and research cooperation between Switzerland and over 180 other countries. Recipients are selected by the awarding body, the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS).
Applicants from outside the home country will often need to meet specific English language/other language requirements in order to be able to study there.
Course Level: Scholarships are available for pursuing Ph.D., postdoctoral and research programs and fine arts scholarships are for the Master program (according to the ECTS credits).
Study Subject(s): Scholarships are offered in diverse fields to help students in upgrading their education.
Eligibility:
- Master’s degree or equivalent university degree recognised by the Swiss university. The applicant must have achieved this degree before the start of the scholarship next September. As a proof the degree has to be submitted to the Federal Commission for Scholarships before the start of the scholarship.
- Applicant’s date of birth after 31 December 1982.
- Applicants who have been in Switzerland for more than one year at the beginning of the scholarship in September are not eligible.
- Applicants must provide a letter from an academic host professor (including her/his short CV) at the chosen Swiss university confirming why she/he is willing to supervise and support the PhD thesis. Without such support, the application will be rejected.
- Applicants must have a research proposal including a timeframe. This is the centrepiece of the application. The applicant must devote all required attention to it.
- Applicants must be in command of the necessary language skills required for the PhD studies/ research.
- Applicants who have already benefited from a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship are not eligible to apply for a second scholarship.
- Scholarship holders are expected to move to Switzerland during their grant period.
Postdoctoral Criteria
- PhD degree
- No more than five years may have passed between the award of the Ph.D. and the application deadline.
- Applicants who are in Switzerland for more than one year at the beginning of the scholarship in September are not eligible.
- Applicants must provide a letter (or email) from a professor at the Swiss host institution stating that they are willing and entitled to supervise the postdoctoral research. Without such confirmation, the application will be rejected.
- Applicants must have a research proposal including a timeframe (this is the centrepiece of the application. The applicant must devote all required attention to it).
- Applicants must be in command of the necessary language skills required for the postdoctoral research.
- Applicants who have already benefited from a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship are not eligible to apply for a second scholarship.
Research Criteria
- Master’s degree or equivalent university degree recognised by the Swiss university. The applicant must have achieved this degree before the start of the scholarship next September. As a proof the degree has to be submitted to the Federal Commission for Scholarships before the start of the scholarship.
- Applicants must be born after 31 December 1982
- Applicants who have been in Switzerland for more than one year at the beginning of the scholarship in September are not eligible.
- Applicants must provide a letter from a professor at the Swiss host institution stating that she/he is willing to support and supervise the research. Without such support, the application will be rejected.
- Applicants must have a research proposal including a timeframe. This is the centrepiece of the application. The applicant must devote all required attention to it.
- Applicants must be in command of the necessary language skills required for the research/studies.
- Applicants who have already benefited from a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship are not eligible to apply for a second scholarship. Scholarship holders are expected to move to Switzerland during their grant period.
Fine Arts Criteria
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
- Applicants must be born after 31 December 1982.
- Applicants should start their scholarship no later than three years after graduating with their Bachelor’s degree.
- Applicants who have been in Switzerland for more than one year at the beginning of the scholarship in September are not eligible.
- Applicants must be in command of the necessary language skills required for the Master’s programme.
- Applicants who have already benefited from a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship are not eligible to apply for a second scholarship.
Scholarship holders are expected to move to Switzerland during their grant period.
Nationality: International applicants are eligible to apply.
