Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027/28: PhD, Research & Postdoctoral Guide

The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are Switzerland’s flagship government awards for foreign researchers and artists, offered each year by the Swiss Confederation and awarded by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students — the FCS, also known by its German abbreviation ESKAS. For the 2027–2028 academic year the programme is open to applicants from 183 countries, according to the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) on its official Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships page. It is, however, a scholarship with a very specific shape, and misunderstanding that shape is the most common reason strong students waste an application cycle: this scheme is mainly for talented early-career researchers who have already completed a Master’s degree and want to do research, a PhD, or — in a limited number of countries — an initial Master’s in an artistic field, in Switzerland. It does not fund taught Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in ordinary academic subjects.

Read that again if you were hoping to fund a taught Master’s in business, computer science or public health with this award: with the sole exception of art scholarships, there is no such route. What the scheme offers instead is one of Europe’s most respected research pathways — a monthly payment of CHF 2,450, a place inside a Swiss university, federal institute of technology or ETH Domain research institute, and a supervisor relationship that can anchor an international research career. This guide explains the 2027–2028 types exactly as SERI publishes them, deals honestly with the postdoctoral question (earlier cycles offered postdoctoral scholarships; the published 2027–2028 overview does not list them — see the dedicated section below), and walks you through eligibility, benefits, costs the scholarship does not cover, the application via the GO ESKAS portal, country-specific deadlines, and the three criteria the FCS actually judges. Nothing here promises selection: awards are competitive, country by country, and decisions rest entirely with the FCS.

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships at a Glance

The Scholarship Types, Explained Honestly

Research scholarships (12 months)

Research scholarships are for postgraduate researchers in any discipline who wish to pursue a defined research project at a Swiss cantonal university, a university of applied sciences, one of the two federal institutes of technology (ETH Zurich or EPFL), or one of the four ETH Domain research institutes — PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag. The defining prerequisite, stated by SERI in exactly these terms, is that your application must be backed by an academic supervisor in Switzerland who is willing to direct and guide your proposed research. This category fits doctoral candidates enrolled at a home university who want a funded research stay in Switzerland, and post-Master’s researchers preparing or complementing a doctorate. The maximum duration is 12 months, and field research outside Switzerland is not permitted during a research fellowship.

PhD scholarships (up to 36 months)

PhD scholarships support candidates who will undertake their doctorate at a Swiss institution, again with a Master’s degree and a Swiss supervisor as the main requirements, for a maximum of 36 months in the published overview. A PhD scholarship is the closest this scheme comes to a fully structured doctoral funding route, but note what it is not: it is a monthly living payment of CHF 2,450, not a salaried doctoral position. In Switzerland many PhD candidates are employed as salaried assistants on professorial or grant funding; an FCS PhD scholar is funded differently, and some universities require the supervisor to arrange additional funding — SERI notes, for example, that some institutions such as EPFL, ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich require additional funding from the academic supervisor, and that the FCS must be notified of any other financial support. Discuss this openly with a prospective supervisor before you apply, not after you arrive.

Art scholarships (up to 21 months)

Art scholarships are the one taught-degree route in the scheme: they support students wishing to obtain their first Master’s degree in an artistic field at a Swiss conservatory or art school. They require a Bachelor’s degree and admission, or at least proof of application, to the institution, and they are available only to applicants from a limited number of countries — 26 in the 2027–2028 overview. If you are an artist from a non-listed country, this route is closed to you in this cycle, whatever your portfolio.

Postdoctoral scholarships: what happened to them?

Older guides — and earlier official cycles — describe postdoctoral scholarships of 12 months at CHF 3,500 per month, and that figure still circulates widely; the University of Zurich’s scholarship FAQ, for instance, still lists CHF 1,920 per month for PhD and research scholarships and CHF 3,500 for postdoctoral scholarships, which reflects an earlier cycle’s rates. For 2027–2028, however, the official SERI scholarship types overview and the official at-a-glance page list research, PhD and art scholarships at CHF 2,450 per month, and do not list a postdoctoral type. The honest conclusion is that applicants should not plan a 2027–2028 application around a postdoctoral award unless their own country sheet — the country-specific PDF lists SERI publishes — explicitly offers one. If you are a postdoc, check your country list first; if no postdoctoral type appears there, look at salaried postdoctoral positions and other funders instead, and use our scholarships directory and rankings research to map alternatives. This guide keeps “postdoctoral” in its scope because so many readers arrive searching for it — but the verified 2027–2028 position is the one just stated, and any website promising you a Swiss Government postdoctoral scholarship at a specific monthly rate for 2027–2028 without pointing to your country sheet should be treated with caution.

Eligibility: The Rules That Decide Everything Early

A completed Master’s degree. The scheme is aimed at early-career researchers who have already completed a Master’s degree. For art scholarships, a Bachelor’s degree plus admission (or proof of application) to a Swiss art institution is the corresponding requirement. There is no route in for Bachelor’s graduates in academic subjects.

Age limit. The official types overview states a maximum age of 35 for the 2027–2028 scholarships. In recent cycles this has been expressed as a birth-date cut-off (for example, born after 31 December 1990 in the 2026–2027 cycle guidance published by host universities), and the operative cut-off for your cycle is the one on your country documentation — check it before investing weeks in a proposal, because the FCS applies age rules strictly.

A Swiss academic supervisor (research and PhD). This is the single most decisive requirement. Your application must be backed by a professor in Switzerland willing to supervise and guide your project, and host universities state plainly that finding that supervisor is your own responsibility — their administrative offices cannot do it for you. In practice, securing a supervisor means identifying professors whose research genuinely matches your proposal, writing a short, specific, professional approach with your CV and a one-page project sketch, and allowing months — not days — for replies, calls and revision. An application without credible supervisor backing does not survive, however elegant the proposal.

Country of origin and country-specific conditions. The programme is open to applicants from 183 countries for research and PhD scholarships, but the types available, the deadlines and some conditions are set per country of origin. SERI publishes A–Z and regional country lists with the scholarship types and deadlines for each country. Your nationality’s sheet — not a general blog post — is the authoritative statement of what you may apply for and by when.

Residence and conduct obligations. Holders must reside in Switzerland, in the city or canton of their host institution, follow FCS instructions, comply with the laws applicable to foreign nationals and observe their host institution’s regulations. The scholarship covers one person’s living expenses; no family allowances are paid, and SERI warns that residence permits for accompanying family members are decided by federal and cantonal migration authorities under a currently restrictive policy, with no support from the FCS or host institutions in that regard. Finally, the scholarship is not a salary, it cannot be used to supplement full-time employment, and any other support — other scholarships, teaching or research assistant income, supervisor top-ups — must be notified to the FCS.

Benefits and Coverage — and the Costs It Does Not Cover

The core benefit, per the official Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships at a glance page, is CHF 2,450 per month for research fellowships, PhD scholarships and art scholarships, intended to cover the basic living expenses of one person. SERI states explicitly that this is not a salary. Around that core, the published additional benefits are: compulsory health insurance premiums paid by the FCS for scholarship holders from non-EU/EFTA countries (EU/EFTA holders pay their own); a one-time grant of CHF 600 toward a rental deposit — note that older pages quote CHF 300, which the current at-a-glance supersedes; a Half-Fare Travelcard for Swiss public transport; organised excursions and activities for federal scholarship holders; and, for holders from non-EU/EFTA countries, a return flight allowance, set by country of origin, usable up to two months after the scholarship ends and exclusively for returning home.

Equally important is the official list of what you pay yourself. The Federal Excellence Scholarship does not cover tuition or semester fees: depending on the institution you may owe roughly CHF 600 to CHF 2,000 per semester in semester or reduced tuition fees, and in some cases PhD fees are not waived — budget for them. No funding is provided for fieldwork or for participation in conferences; conference costs are yours, and although PhD holders may request up to six months of field research, it comes without additional funding and all associated costs are the holder’s. EU/EFTA holders pay their own travel. None of this makes the award poor value — CHF 2,450 a month in Switzerland is a workable, if careful, living budget for one person outside the most expensive rental markets — but applicants who arrive believing every cost is covered will struggle. Model your city-specific budget before you apply, using our student tools alongside your host university’s own cost-of-living pages, and explore host institutions through our universities directory — profiles such as ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are typical FCS host environments.

Host Institutions and Fields

Research and PhD scholarships can be held at any Swiss cantonal university — Basel, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen, Zurich and the Università della Svizzera italiana are all listed by SERI — at ETH Zurich and EPFL, at the ETH Domain institutes PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag, at the Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID), and at the universities of applied sciences and teacher-education institutions SERI lists. Art scholarships are held at Swiss conservatories and art schools. Any discipline is eligible for research scholarships, which makes the supervisor match, not the field, the real filter: a strong project in a field where a Swiss professor actively wants to host you beats a fashionable topic with no host. When you compare this route with other European government schemes — for example the Master’s-plus-internship model in our Invest Your Talent in Italy guide — notice the philosophical difference: Switzerland funds a researcher joining a Swiss research group; Italy funds a student joining a course and a company. Choose the scheme whose shape matches your stage.

How to Apply, Step by Step

1. Check your country sheet first. Open SERI’s list of countries and territories and confirm which scholarship types are offered for your country of origin and what your deadline is. If your type is not offered for your country, stop there.
2. Confirm basic eligibility: completed Master’s degree (or Bachelor’s plus art admission for art scholarships), age within the published maximum, and no disqualifying prior award of the same type.
3. Find and secure your Swiss supervisor (research and PhD). Identify professors by publication record, approach them professionally with your CV and a concise project outline, and obtain their backing for your application, including the support documentation the FCS requires from them. Start this months before your deadline — it is the longest pole in the process.
4. Write the research proposal. Build a focused, feasible project that fits the host group’s work, with a clear question, method, timetable within the scholarship’s maximum duration, and an explicit account of the cooperation value between your home context and the Swiss group.
5. Register in GO ESKAS. Applications for 2027–2028 are submitted only via the GO ESKAS online system, accessible from 20 August 2026 through the official SERI pages. SERI is explicit: do not send your application by email or in paper form.
6. Complete and submit before your country deadline. Deadlines differ by country and fall in autumn 2026 for most applicants; your country sheet’s date and time govern, not any general date in an article.
7. Assessment and decision. Applications are submitted to Swiss diplomatic representations, the FCS assesses them, and decisions are announced by the end of May at the latest for the following academic year.
8. If awarded: complete your host institution’s own admission/registration steps (the scholarship and university admission are separate processes), arrange residence-permit and insurance formalities, and plan housing early — the CHF 600 deposit grant helps, but Swiss university-city housing is competitive.

A warning SERI itself issues deserves repeating in full: beware fake scholarship offers using the Swiss Government’s name, typically by email or social media, which try to extract money transfers under pretexts such as visa or social insurance costs. The FCS recommends never responding to such messages and never sending money: applying for a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship is free of charge. If anyone asks you to pay to apply, you are not dealing with the FCS.

Required Documents

Exact document requirements are set in the GO ESKAS application for your country and scholarship type, but across cycles the dossier consistently centres on: a full academic CV; a motivation letter; a research proposal (for art scholarships, a portfolio and artistic documentation instead); the Swiss supervisor’s letter of support together with the supervisor’s short CV, for research and PhD applications; two academic references or referee contacts; degree certificates and transcripts, with certified translations where required; a copy of your passport; and the medical certificate form used by the programme. For art scholarships you additionally need confirmation of admission, or proof of application, from the Swiss art institution. Because the portal and country sheets define the operative list for 2027–2028, assemble these core items early but verify formats, page limits and any country-specific forms inside GO ESKAS before you submit — a document that exists but ignores the prescribed template weakens an otherwise strong file.

Deadlines and Timeline

Selection Criteria and How to Improve Your Chances

The FCS assesses applications against three published criteria: the candidate’s profile; the quality of the research project or artistic work; and the synergies and potential for future research cooperation. Every part of your strategy should map onto one of those three. Candidate profile means a coherent trajectory — degrees, results, any publications or research experience, and references that show you can execute at the level you propose. Quality of project means a question worth answering, a method you can actually carry out in 12 or 36 months inside that host group, and a proposal written tightly enough that a busy evaluator finishes it convinced. Synergies means the application must show why this project belongs in Switzerland, with this supervisor, and what cooperation between the Swiss group and your home institution or country it can seed afterwards — exchange and future collaboration are the programme’s stated purpose, not a decorative extra.

The highest-leverage actions are therefore: choose a supervisor whose live research programme your project genuinely extends, and let that fit show in the proposal’s references and work plan; write the proposal for a non-specialist expert reader, with the research question on the first page; obtain references from people who know your research work specifically, not only your coursework; and start early enough that your supervisor has actually read and reacted to your draft — a support letter that echoes your proposal’s specifics is visibly different from a generic one. Use our application guides and test preparation resources if your host institution requires language evidence for its own admission, separate from the FCS process.

Common Mistakes

• Applying for a taught Master’s in an academic subject. Except for art scholarships in listed countries, this scheme does not fund taught degrees. If you need a taught Master’s, consider schemes built for that, such as the one in our Brunei Darussalam Government Scholarship guide for eligible levels, rather than forcing this application.
• No supervisor, or a supervisor found at the last minute. Supervisor backing is a prerequisite, and professors need time; a deadline-week cold email rarely produces a credible support letter.
• Using an old cycle’s amounts and rules. CHF 1,920 and CHF 300 housing figures belong to earlier cycles; the 2027–2028 at-a-glance states CHF 2,450 and a CHF 600 deposit grant — and postdoctoral awards are not listed for 2027–2028.
• Assuming tuition is covered. It is not; semester fees of roughly CHF 600–2,000 can remain payable, and conferences and fieldwork are unfunded.
• Missing your country deadline by following a general article’s date. Deadlines are per country of origin; only your country sheet is authoritative.
• Sending the application by email or paper, or paying anyone who offers to submit it for you. GO ESKAS only, and applying is free — paid “Swiss scholarship” offers are a known phishing pattern SERI warns against.
• Planning for dependants on the scholarship. The amount covers one person, no family allowance exists, and family residence permits follow a restrictive policy.
• Hiding other funding. Other scholarships, assistant income or supervisor top-ups must be notified to the FCS; undisclosed double funding risks the award.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship fund a taught Master’s degree?

No, except in the arts. The only Master’s route is the art scholarship, for an initial Master’s in an artistic field at a Swiss conservatory or art school, open only to listed countries. For all other fields you must already hold a Master’s degree and apply for research or a PhD.

How much does the scholarship pay in 2027–2028?

CHF 2,450 per month for research, PhD and art scholarships, according to SERI’s official at-a-glance page, plus — for non-EU/EFTA holders — FCS-paid compulsory health insurance premiums and a return flight allowance, a one-time CHF 600 rental deposit grant, and a Half-Fare Travelcard. It is a living-cost payment, not a salary.

Are postdoctoral scholarships available for 2027–2028?

The published 2027–2028 overview does not list a postdoctoral type; earlier cycles offered 12-month postdoctoral scholarships (previously CHF 3,500 per month). Check your country sheet: if it does not list a postdoctoral award, do not build plans on one for this cycle.

Do I need a Swiss supervisor before applying?

Yes, for research and PhD scholarships: SERI states the application must be backed by an academic supervisor in Switzerland willing to direct and guide your research. Finding that supervisor is your responsibility, and you should begin months before your country deadline.

When is the deadline?

There is no single deadline. Applications opened on 20 August 2026 via GO ESKAS, and each country of origin has its own deadline, published in SERI’s country lists, mostly in autumn 2026. Your country sheet’s date is the one that applies to you.

Does the scholarship pay my tuition or semester fees?

No. SERI states the scholarship does not cover tuition or semester fees; depending on the institution, roughly CHF 600–2,000 per semester may remain payable, and conference and fieldwork costs are also the holder’s.

Can I bring my spouse or children?

The scholarship amount covers one person only and no family allowances are paid. Residence permits for accompanying persons are decided by migration authorities under a restrictive policy, and neither the FCS nor host institutions provide support with this — plan accordingly and honestly.

Is there an application fee, and how do I spot a scam?

Applying is free. SERI warns against fake Swiss Government scholarship offers, usually by email or social media, that request money for visas or insurance. Never send money; apply only through the official SERI pages and GO ESKAS.

Sources and Verification

This article is based on SERI’s official pages for the 2027–2028 cycle: the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships overview on sbfi.admin.ch (183 countries, scholarship types, maximum age 35, durations, 20 August 2026 opening, decisions by end of May, the three FCS assessment criteria and the phishing warning) and the official “Scholarships at a Glance” page (CHF 2,450 per month, CHF 600 rental deposit grant, health insurance position, return flight allowance, and the costs holders must pay themselves, including semester fees of about CHF 600–2,000). Earlier-cycle figures quoted for contrast (CHF 1,920, CHF 3,500 postdoctoral, CHF 300 housing) are identified in the text as superseded and are included only so readers are not misled by older pages. Country-specific types and deadlines are defined in SERI’s country lists and override general guidance. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency, and cannot promise selection, admission, a supervisor’s support or a residence permit.

Disclaimer: Scholarship details change yearly. Confirm amounts, types and your country deadline on sbfi.admin.ch and in GO ESKAS before applying.