Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships
About this opportunity
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).
What it's all about
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 Overview
(max. age: 35 / funding: CHF 2450.--/month)
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Research |
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PhD |
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Art |
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What are Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships?
Research scholarships
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.
Art scholarships
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.
Applying for a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship
Information on application deadlines and scholarship available by country of origin will be published here in August 2026.
Interested?
Applications are open starting August 20, 2026. Here you will find useful information on how to prepare your scholarship application.
After applying
Selection
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
Awards
By the end of May at the latest, the FCS will announce its decisions regarding the scholarship awards for the following academic year.
Outlook
Scholarships for the 2028–2029 academic year will be advertised online from August 2027.
Applicable legislation (in German)
- Bundesgesetz über Stipendien an ausländische Studierende und Kunstschaffende in der Schweiz
- Verordnung über Stipendien für ausländische Studierende und Kunstschaffende in der Schweiz
- Verordnung des WBF über die Vergabe von Stipendien an ausländische Studierende und Kunstschaffende in der Schweiz
- Verordnung über die Informationssysteme im Berufsbildungs- und im Hochschulbereich (IBH-V)
