Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars and Artists 2024-2025 will start accepting online applications from all international students.
The deadline for submission varies according to country (autumn 2023) - please check here for details.
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).
The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are aimed at young researchers from abroad who have completed a master’s degree or PhD and at foreign artists holding a bachelor’s degree.
Swiss Excellence Scholarships Coverage:
Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2024-2025 are fully-funded and cover full tuition fees, monthly stipend payments, room, health insurance, and other student expenses.
Swiss Excellence Scholarships Categories:
The research scholarship is available to post-graduate researchers in any discipline (who hold a master’s degree as a minimum) who are planning to come to Switzerland to pursue research or further studies at the doctoral or post-doctoral level. Research scholarships are awarded for research or study at all Swiss cantonal universities, universities of applied sciences, and the two federal institutes of technology. Only candidates nominated by an academic mentor at one of these higher education institutions will be considered.
Art scholarships are open to art students wishing to pursue an initial master’s degree in Switzerland.
Art scholarships are awarded for study at any Swiss conservatory or university of the arts. This Swiss scholarship is available to students from a limited number of countries only.
Swiss Government Scholarship Selection Criteria:
The FCS assesses scholarship applications according to three criteria:
a) Quality of the research project or artistic work
b) Assessment of Candidate profile
c) Synergies and potential for future research cooperation
Eligibility Standards for Swiss Excellence Scholarship:
- Applicants must be in command of the necessary language skills required for the research/studies.
- 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 research. Without such support, the application will be rejected.
- Applicants who have been in Switzerland for more than one year at the beginning of the scholarship in September are not eligible.
- Applicants who have already benefited from a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship are not eligible to apply for a second scholarship.
- Applicants must have a research proposal including a timeframe. This is the centerpiece of the application.
- The applicant must devote all required attention to it.
- Scholarship holders are expected to move to Switzerland during their grant period.
How to apply
Select your country of origin according to your passport (PDF, 135 kB, 14.08.2023)
For more information and questions, please contact the address provided in the list of contacts (PDF, 136 kB, 02.08.2023).
Download the Application Package (ZIP, 3 MB, 18.07.2023)
Read the Application Guidelines (PDF, 753 kB, 19.07.2023) and follow the instructions. Prepare your application and submit two complete copies to the relevant office in your country of origin according to the list of contacts (PDF, 136 kB, 02.08.2023) by the deadline.
Selection
Applications are subject to preliminary selection by the relevant national authorities and/or the Swiss diplomatic representation. The short-listed applications are then assessed by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), which takes the final decision.
The FCS assesses scholarship applications according to three criteria:
- Candidate profile
- Quality of the research project or artistic work
- Synergies and potential for future research cooperation
The FCS is composed of professors from Swiss public universities. Scholarship awards are decided on the basis of academic and scientific excellence.
Application procedure
| Release of programme for 180+ Countries | |
| Go to: www.sbfi.admin.ch/scholarships_eng | early August |
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| Call for Applications | |
| Download application documents, questions? see list of contacts | this September |
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| Prepare application | |
| Forms, research proposal, support letters, references | before the submission deadline |
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| Submission deadline at Swiss representation | |
| This date and the postal address varies from country to country | September - December |
| ▼ | |
| Selection | |
| By the Federal Commission for Scholarships FCS | by the end of May |
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| Start of scholarships | |
| At the Swiss academic host institution | next September |
Timeline
The FCS will select scholarship holders for the 2024-25 academic year by the end of May 2024. Scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year will be advertised online from August 2024.