Swiss Excellence Scholarship

Each year, the Swiss Confederation gives out Government Excellence Scholarships to help international students and researchers work together with Swiss institutions and over 180 other countries.These scholarships are given by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students, also known as ESKAS. The scholarship offered by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), part of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), is the federal government's expert agency for national and international education, research, and innovation policies. Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are mainly for talented early-career researchers from other countries who have already finished their Master's degree. Right now, the program is open for people from 183 countries. Exclusion criteria General rules that apply to all scholarship applicants (research and art) If the application is missing information or has errors. If the same person applies to multiple universities or scholarships at the same time. If the applicant has lived, studied, or worked in Switzerland more than 13 months before the scholarship starts. If the applicant has already received a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship. If it's the fourth application after three unsuccessful tries. Be careful that fake offers are used by scammers to get people to send money. The Swiss Federal Commission for Scholarships (FCS) advises not to reply to these emails and especially not to send any money.Also, the application for a Swiss Government Scholarship is free of charge. Research scholarships These are for postgraduate researchers in any field who want to do research at a Swiss university, university of applied sciences, one of the two federal institutes of technology (ETHZ or EPFL), or one of the four research institutes in the ETH Domain (PSI, WSL, Empa, Eawag). You need a Swiss academic supervisor who agrees to guide your research. Research fellowship PhD scholarship Art scholarships These are for students who want to start a Master's degree in an art field in Switzerland. This scholarship is only available to students from a limited number of countries. Applications will open on August 20, 2026. You can find helpful information on how to prepare your application here. Candidate profile Quality of the research project or artistic work. Potential for future cooperation. Research scholarships: Academic supervision required All scholarship applications (research fellowships and PhD scholarships) need an academic supervisor at a Swiss university. Each applicant must find a supervisor in Switzerland who agrees to support their research and write a letter of recommendation.Applications without a supervisor are not considered.This also applies to doctoral programs. It's the applicant's responsibility to find a suitable academic supervisor. Suitable supervisors: professors and lab group leaders. For PhD scholarships, the supervisor must be authorized to supervise doctoral theses. At universities of applied sciences, a doctorate requires two supervisors. One of them must be authorized to award doctorates at a traditional university. Before contacting a potential supervisor Check the academic relevance: Make sure the supervisor's research aligns with your field. Self-assessment: Ensure your skills and qualifications meet the requirements for the collaboration. Thorough research: Be specific. For example, check the degree requirements for your scholarship before contacting anyone. Note: Finding a supervisor can take weeks or even months because professors often get many requests. Keep in mind: Applying for a PhD scholarship, including the supervisor’s letter of recommendation, and applying to a doctoral program are separate processes. Letter of support from an academic supervisor at a Swiss higher education institution.

Study in Switzerland

Short CV (up to 2 pages) from the academic supervisor. For research fellowships: short CV from the supervisor at the home university. For PhD scholarships at graduate schools only: confirmation of admission to the graduate school (see FAQ for more details). Email addresses of two different professors in the relevant field must be provided during the online application. These professors will be contacted through the system and asked to upload a recommendation letter (FCS/ESKAS form). Copies of certificates and transcripts from previous universities (if not in English, French, Italian, or German, with certified translations). For India: self-certification is accepted. Copy of passport (dual citizen: provide copies of both passports). Copy of residence permit or registration confirmation if already living in Switzerland. Scholarships: Amount and additional benefits Research fellowships, PhD scholarships, and art scholarships: CHF 2,450 per month to cover basic living expenses for one person. Please note: This is not a salary. No funding is provided for fieldwork or attending conferences. Additional benefits: Health insurance: FCS covers the cost of compulsory health insurance for scholarship holders from non-EU/EFTA countries. Those from EU/EFTA countries must cover these costs themselves. One-time grant of CHF 600 for rental deposit. Half-Fare Travelcard for public transport In addition, the organization arranges trips and activities for students who receive federal scholarships. Return flight allowance: Students from countries outside the EU and EFTA get a return flight allowance. The amount depends on their home country.This money can only be used for going back home, and it must be used within two months after the scholarship ends. Costs that the scholarship holder must pay: Tuition fees: The Federal Excellence Scholarship does not pay for tuition or semester fees. Some universities, colleges, or technical institutes may ask scholarship holders to pay semester fees (around CHF 600 to CHF 2,000 per semester) or lower tuition costs.In some cases, PhD fees aren't fully covered. Scholarship holders must pay these costs themselves. Conferences: The costs of attending international conferences are the responsibility of the scholarship holder, Field research: PhD students may request to do fieldwork for up to six months without extra funding. All related expenses are paid by the student. Travel expenses: Scholarship holders from EU and EFTA countries have to pay their own travel costs. Scholarship holder requirements: Place of residence: The scholarship requires the holder to live in Switzerland. They must reside in the city or region where their Swiss university is located.They must follow the instructions from the Federal Commission for Scholarships (FCS), follow the rules for foreign residents, and follow their host institution's policies. Family and children: The scholarship only covers living costs for one person.No extra payments are made for family members.Decisions about allowing family members to live in Switzerland are made by federal and local immigration offices.Currently, these decisions are very strict.Neither FCS nor Swiss universities provide any help with this.Additional scholarships or income: Some universities, like EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the University of Zurich, may require extra funding from the academic supervisor.FCS must be told if the student receives other financial support, like from other scholarships or from teaching or research assistant jobs.The scholarship cannot be used to cover full-time employment. Field research: Fieldwork outside of Switzerland is not allowed during the research period. Additional rules for research scholarships (Research Fellowship, PhD): There is no academic supervisor in Switzerland listed. There is no letter of support from a Swiss academic supervisor. The application includes more than one research project. For PhD scholarships at graduate schools: There is no official confirmation of admission from a recognized graduate school. 

Note: Applicants for individual PhDs do not need an admission letter at the time of application (see FAQ for more information). PhD students working on a doctoral project that is a collaboration between two universities (a "cotutelle de thèse") are only eligible for a one-year research fellowship.The project is supervised by two supervisors. Important: Before starting the online application, make sure to check the available scholarship types and deadlines for your home country. 

What is covered: Includes a monthly living allowance, mandatory Swiss health insurance, a one-time rent allowance, and a flight ticket. Note that tuition fees are usually not covered. 

Requirements: You need a research proposal, academic excellence (equivalent to a 3.5 CGPA), and an official support letter from a Swiss academic supervisor. Eligibility and Deadlines Most institutional scholarships and government grants require you to get university admission before applying for funding. Academic years generally start in September, with scholarship application deadlines usually between October and December of the previous year. Explore detailed program criteria, faculty contacts, and application periods on the Study in Switzerland platform. Applying for a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship Details about application deadlines and available scholarships by country will be posted here in August 2026. How to apply: Deadlines and country eligibility vary; check the official Swiss Federal Commission for Scholarships website for exact dates. After applying Selection. Applications are sent to Swiss diplomatic offices. Scholarship applications only through the link (available from 20 August 2026). Do not send emails or paper documents. 

Links:- Information about application deadlines and scholarship opportunities by country of origin will be posted in August 2026. State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) ESKAS Email: sgs@sbfi.admin.ch 

🌸𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓮 𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 🌸 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕: 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈. 𝑨𝒍𝒔𝒐, 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚. Please follow our Facebook page. https://www.pakbaninternational.blogspot.com (Author)