Introduction

Are you an international graduate student and looking to study in Switzerland for higher studies, and looking for scholarship to cover the cost of your studies! A great opportunity is opened up as the Government of Switzerland announced Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship for the academic year of 2024-2025. Applicants from all over the world are encouraged to join Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships. These scholarships gives opportunity to talented students to pursue Research fellowship, PhD, Postdoc and Research programs at any given university in Switzerland in one of It’s official languages ( German, French or Italian).

State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation is the organizer of Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, students will get free education, free accommodation, living expenses will be cut off, mess, medical insurance, and many other such benefits will be provided to the successful candidates. One of the best parts about these scholarships is that applicants can apply for the additional fund’s applications so that they can travel from one country to another during their exchange program in Switzerland. Age of Applicant must be below 35.

Applicants are nominated by the academic supervisors(professors), candidates have to contact the supervisor related to their field of research and should enquire about the any additional requirements. Attach necessary documents like short CV, letter of motivation, 2-3 convincing letters of reference, research plan (2-3 A4 pages) in your enquiries. The Swiss Government aims to promote different cultures all around the world by providing the opportunity for international students to study in more than 25+ institutes in Switzerland. We are going to give details about it in this article. European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus Scholarships is open now for international students.

Details:

Award Country	Switzerland
Scholarship Program	Swiss Government Exchange Scholarship Program
Eligible Program	Ph.D., Research, and Post Doctorate
Financial Coverage	Funded
Number of Scholarships	500
Age	Below 35 years

About Scholarships:

The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship Program was established in 1991 by Switzerland’s Federal Council. Swiss Confederation award these scholarship each year which aims to promote research cooperation and international exchange between Switzerland and over 180 other countries. The short-listed applications will be assessed by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), which takes the final decision.

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Types of Scholarship

Two types of scholarships are offered by the Switzerland Government,

1) Research Scholarship

These scholarships are masters degree holder and looking for postgraduate research to study in Swiss cantonal Universities, Universities of applied science and two federal universities of technology. Research scholarships will only be considered by the nomination of an academic mentor.

2) Art Scholarship

This type of scholarship is for students who want to pursue master degree in Switzerland. Students from only limited number of countries are offered Art Scholarship.

Eligible countries

Applicants from more than 180 countries are eligible to apply for Swiss Government Scholarship,

Countries

Asia

Africa

Australia and Oceania

Europe

North America

South America

Eligible Swiss Universities

Students can study in any of following universities and institutes.

Government Universities

• University of Basel
• University of Bern
• University of Fribourg
• University of Geneva
• University of Lausanne
• University of Lucerne
• University of Neuchâtel
• University of St. Gallen
• University of Zurich
• Università della Svizzera italiana

USA Government offering 4000+ Fulbright Scholarship for international students

Federal Technology Institutes

• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ)
• Research Institutes of the ETH Domain (PSI; WSL; EMPA; EAWAG)
• Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID)

Applied Sciences Universities

• University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland
• Bern University of Applied Sciences
• University of Applied Sciences Northwest Switzerland
• University of applied Sciences Eastern Switzerland
• University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons
• Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
• University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland
• The Zürcher Fachhochschule

Deadline:

The deadline for the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships is varied from country to country mostly from September to December each year.

Also check this opportunity in Italy University of Bologna Scholarships in Italy

Fellowship opportunities for international students in Switzerland, Fully Funded Visiting Fellow Program at Lucerne University

Scholarship Amount & Coverage:

Scholarship gives following coverage and stiped to the successful candidates.

• Medical Insurance
• Living Expense
• Partial Tuition fee Coverage
• Accommodation Allowance
• Airfare Ticket
• Research Funds
• 3500$ per month Stipend
• Return allowance for up to 6 month stay in Switzerland after the completion of the research.
• Field work allowance for PHD students

Scholarship Amount

For Research Fellowships amount is 1920 Swiss Franc per month.

For PHD Scholarship amount is 1920 Swiss Franc per month.

For Arts Scholarship amount is 1920 Swiss Franc per month.

For Postdoctoral Scholarship amount is 3500 Swiss Franc per month.

International students looking for PhD scholarships are advised to consider apply for Biozentrum PhD Fellowships at University of Basel

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicants must meet the following criteria for eligibility in Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships.

• Applicants must have an excellent academic background
• Applicants must display excellencies in professional and socially competent environments in a detailed CV.
• Applicants must be a citizen of an English-speaking country
• Applicants must have done only one undergraduate degree
• Applicants should not be getting any other scholarships
• Applicants must have language skills in English or French or Italian languages
• Applicants must have good personnel skills

Duration of Scholarship

Duration of Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship is as follow,

Research Fellowships duration is 12 months without any scholarship extension.

PHD Scholarship Duration is 12 months with extension possible up to 36 months (3 years).

Postdoctoral Scholarship Duration is 12 months without any scholarship extension.

Arts Scholarship Duration is 12 months with extension possible up to 21 months.

International students can also apply for UNIL Masters Scholarship at University of Lausanne

Required Documents:

For Swiss Government Excellence scholarships you must need atleast following documents in the application. Documents for Research fellowship, PhD, Postdoctoral and Arts Scholarship maybe different,

• A copy of the letter from an academic host professor (including her/his short CV) at the chosen Swiss university confirming why she/he is willing to support and supervise the research.
• Signed application form with photo
• References from authentic authority
• Academic Transcripts and Certificates
• Motivation Letter (2 pages)
• Any other supporting documents
• Detailed CV (Europass template)
• The certificate which shows Language proficiencies
• Medical Certificate
• All the documents must be in English, French, Italian or German language. Document in any other language must translate to English attested by University or Government officer.

How to Apply:

Applicants are advised to apply online for the Swiss Scholarships and the application procedure will be done in the following way:

• The scholarship program will be released in early August on the official website
• Submit Two Sets of documents one with original signed and attested documents and 2nd copy of signed documents.
• You have to find academic supervisor from faculity member of universities and institutes in Switzerland.

• In the September of the year applications will be call for the proposals
• Last date of the Submission of application wil be in between Sep to December
• Selection of the applicants will be done by the end of the May by the Federal Commission for Scholarships For Foreign Students.
• In the next September commencement of the scholarships will be done at the Swiss Academic Host institutes.
• Minimum length of your application should be less than 15 pages and it should be appropriate in Bibliography and appendices.