Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027-2028 for Foreign Scholars & Artists

Deadline: Varies

Each year the Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence Scholarships to encourage 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 aka ESKAS).

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are mainly intended for talented early career researchers (ECRs) from abroad who have already completed their Master’s degree. The scholarship programme is currently open to applicants from 183 countries.

Scholarship Types

• Research: These scholarships are available to postgraduate researchers in any discipline wishing to pursue research at any Swiss cantonal university, university of applied sciences, either of Switzerland’s two federal institutes of technology (ETHZ or EPFL) or at one of the four research institutes within the ETH Domain (PSI, WSL, Empa, Eawag). Prerequisite: the scholarship application must be backed by an academic supervisor in Switzerland who is willing to direct and guide the applicant’s proposed research.
  • Open to PhD Students from 183 countries
  • Required: Master’s Degree and Supervisor
  • Duration: 12 months
• PhD:
  • Open to PhD Students from 183 countries
  • Required: Master’s Degree and Supervisor
  • Duration: 36 months
• Art: Art scholarships are open to students wishing to pursue an initial Master’s degree in an artistic field in Switzerland. This scholarship is available to students from a limited number of countries only.
  • Open to Art Students from 26 countries
  • Required: Bachelor’s Degree and Admission or proof of application
  • Duration: 21 months

Scholarship Benefits

Scholarships: Amount and additional benefits

• Research fellowships, PhD scholarships and art scholarships: CHF 2,450 per month to cover basic living expenses of one person.
  Please note: This scholarship is not a salary.
  No funding is provided for fieldwork and participation in conferences
• Additional benefits:
  • Health insurance: FCS covers the premiums for compulsory health insurance for scholarship holders from non-EU/EFTA countries. Scholarship holders 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 coordinating body organises excursions and activities for federal scholarship holders.
  • Return flight allowance:
    Scholarship holders from non-EU/EFTA countries receive a return flight allowance (amount determined by country of origin). This allowance may be used up to two months after expiry of the scholarship exclusively for the purpose of returning to the country of origin.
• Costs to be paid by scholarship holders:
  • Tuition fees:
    The Federal Excellence Scholarship does not cover tuition or semester fees. In some cases, universities, universities of applied sciences or federal institutes of technology require scholarship holders to pay semester fees (approx. CHF 600 to CHF 2,000 per semester) or reduced tuition fees. In some cases, PhD fees are not waived.
    Scholarship holders must cover these fees themselves.
  • Conferences:
    The costs of participating in international conferences are borne by the scholarship holders.
  • Field research:
    PhD scholarship holders may request to do field research for up to six months (without additional funding). All associated costs are borne by the scholarship holders.
  • Travel expenses:
    Scholarship holders from EU/EFTA countries must pay their own travel expenses.

Eligibility and Application

Information on application deadlines and scholarship available by country of origin.

Applications are submitted to Swiss diplomatic representations. 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

By the end of May at the latest, the FCS will announce its decisions regarding the scholarship awards for the following academic year.

Click here to find more details and apply.

For more information, visit Swiss Government Excellence.