Swiss Confederation invites applications for the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships open to Foreign Scholars and Artists for the 2020/21 academic year.

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.

Bear in mind that professors at Swiss academic institutions receive numerous email requests to act as research supervisors for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship holders. Your careful preparation and your targeted approach once you have completed your enquiries will raise your chances of attracting a professor’s interest and possibly of receiving a positive answer. The following information may be useful before you decide how to approach a potential academic supervisor.

As an applicant you are responsible for finding a suitable research supervisor (professor). Neither the secretariat of the Federal Commission for Scholarships nor the international office at the universities can help you find an academic supervisor for your application for a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship.

Worth of Award

• The scholarship amounts to a monthly payment of CHF 1,920.
• For non-EU and non-EFTA grantees only: the FCS pays mandatory Swiss health insurance.
• There are no family allowances.
• Scholarship holders from non-EU and non-EFTA countries receive a flight allowance (lump sum) for a ticket back to their country of origin (provided at the end of the scholarship).
• Special CHF 300 housing allowance (paid once at the beginning of the scholarship).
• One-year half-fare public transportation card.
• Support services and various trips, dinners and sightseeing tours organised for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship holders.

Eligibility

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

How to Apply

• Apply online via their website, click the link below.
• Applications are subject to preliminary selection by the relevant national authorities and/or the Swiss diplomatic representation. The short-listed applications are then assessed by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), which takes the final decision.

Deadline: Check the application deadline and the different types of scholarship on offer. These vary according to country. You will also find details of what to do next and where to get more information.

Click here for more details and to apply