Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are awarded by the Swiss Confederation to encourage international exchange and research cooperation between Switzerland and other countries. Recipients are selected by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS aka ESKAS).

The programme is mainly intended for talented early career researchers (ECRs) from abroad who have completed their Master’s degree, and it is open to applicants from 183 countries. Research scholarships are for postgraduate researchers in any discipline to pursue research at Swiss cantonal universities, universities of applied sciences, ETH Zurich (ETHZ), EPFL, or ETH Domain research institutes (PSI, WSL, Empa, Eawag). Art scholarships are for students seeking an initial Master’s in an artistic field in Switzerland, with availability limited to a smaller set of countries.

FCS assesses scholarship applications submitted to Swiss diplomatic representations using three criteria: candidate profile; quality of the research project or artistic work; and synergies and potential for future research cooperation.

The FCS announces its decisions by the end of May at the latest for the following academic year. The page states the scholarship funding as CHF 2450.-- per month and includes a maximum age limit of 35. No further conditions about how long support lasts or any obligation afterwards are stated.

• Intended for talented early career researchers (ECRs) from abroad who have completed their Master’s degree.
• Open to applicants from 183 countries.
• Maximum age: 35.
• Research scholarships: open to postgraduate researchers in any discipline.
• Research scholarships: the scholarship application must be backed by an academic supervisor in Switzerland willing to direct and guide the proposed research.
• Art scholarships: open to students wishing to pursue an initial Master’s degree in an artistic field in Switzerland.
• Art scholarships: available to students from a limited number of countries.

• Funding: CHF 2450.-- per month.

1. Prepare a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship application (the page provides preparation information through a link under “Interested?”).
2. Submit the application to Swiss diplomatic representations.
3. After submission, the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS aka ESKAS) evaluates applications using the stated criteria.
4. FCS announces scholarship decisions by the end of May at the latest for the following academic year.

• Academic supervisor support in Switzerland (research scholarships require the scholarship application to be backed by an academic supervisor willing to direct and guide the proposed research).