Requirements

Education (Required)

• A master's degree or equivalent, completed by 31 July 2027. For ETH Zurich, it must be completed by 30 June 2027.

Age (Required)

• You must be born after 31 December 1991.

Supervisor and Research Plan (Required)

• A letter of support from an academic supervisor in Switzerland, plus the supervisor's short CV. Applications without one are not considered.

• A detailed research plan with a timeline and key milestones, on the FCS/ESKAS form (up to 5 pages).

Nationality

• You must be from a country on the official 2027-28 list and apply through the Swiss embassy route for your country. Some countries have extra conditions in the list.

Research Fellowship (extra rule)

• For PhD students registered in a country other than Switzerland. The stay lasts 6 to 12 months.

You Cannot Apply If

• You already received a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship.

• You have been living, studying or working in Switzerland since more than 13 months before the scholarship starts.

• You send more than one application or more than one research proposal.

• This would be your fourth try after three unsuccessful applications.

Preferred

• Priority goes to people who have not studied or done research in Switzerland before.