PhD Scholarships

Each year the Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence Scholarships to promote 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).

The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are aimed at young researchers from abroad who have completed a master’s degree or PhD and at foreign artists holding a bachelor’s degree

Objectives: To enable selected applicants to undertake a PhD at one of the 10 Swiss cantonal universities, the two Swiss federal institutes of technology or the Graduate Institute.

Validity: The scholarship is only valid for full-time PhD studies in Switzerland. It is not valid for mixed PhD programmes (part time in Switzerland and part time in another country). “Cotutelle de these”: PhD students with an ongoing or planned doctoral project that is carried out within the framework of a formalized agreement between two universities (“cotutelle de thèse” cooperation between a Swiss and a foreign university) and under the joint direction of two supervisors are eligible for a 12 month research fellowship only.

Duration: 3 years maximum (starting in September)

Application procedure