Top 10 Fully Funded Scholarships in Switzerland 2027

Switzerland has the world’s best-funded research ecosystem and some of Europe’s lowest public-university tuition fees — and also one of its highest costs of living. That combination shapes everything about Swiss scholarships, and it is why this guide labels coverage with unusual care. Read this first, because most “fully funded Switzerland” lists will not tell you: the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are for research and the arts, not for ordinary bachelor’s or master’s degrees. They fund PhD students, research fellows and art master’s students at CHF 2,450 per month — and they do not pay your tuition or semester fees, which you must budget separately (Swiss semester fees are comparatively modest, commonly in the CHF 600–2,000 per semester range depending on the university, but they are yours to pay unless your host waives them). For a taught master’s, the one genuinely full-cost university award is ETH Zurich’s Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme (ESOP), which pays CHF 13,500 per semester from autumn 2027 plus a full tuition waiver. EPFL’s and Geneva’s excellence awards are generous but partial, and the single largest funding route for PhDs in Switzerland is not a scholarship at all — it is paid doctoral employment, explained honestly at entry 10.

Verified changes for the 2027 cycle matter here. Per the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI/SBFI), the Federal Council raised the Swiss Government Excellence monthly amount to CHF 2,450 from 1 January 2026 (older pages quoting CHF 1,920 are outdated), and — critically — postdoctoral scholarships will no longer be awarded from the 2027/28 academic year. If you already hold a PhD and were planning on the Swiss postdoc route, that door has closed; the research fellowship (for researchers who have a master’s and are pursuing doctoral-level research) is the remaining federal track. Applications for 2027–2028 opened on 20 August 2026, with deadlines set country by country. This guide ranks the 10 routes that matter, with each entry’s real coverage type stated up front. Explore Swiss institutions in the university directory, check where they sit in the world rankings, and browse the full scholarship directory alongside this list.

At a Glance: The 10 Scholarships Compared

The Ranked List: 10 Scholarships and Funding Routes in Detail

1. Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship – PhD Scholarship

Coverage: CHF 2,450 per month for up to 36 months, plus the federal package elements published for the cycle — mandatory Swiss health insurance premiums for non-EU/EFTA holders, a one-time CHF 300 housing deposit allowance, a half-fare public transport card, and a return flight allowance for non-EU/EFTA scholars at the end of the scholarship. Not covered: tuition/semester fees, conference and fieldwork costs, and family support — there are no family allowances. Eligibility: Early-career researchers from the 183 participating countries who hold a master’s degree, are aged at most 35 under the programme’s rules (born after the cut-off date published for the cycle), and — decisively — have a Swiss academic supervisor who has agreed in writing to supervise the PhD. Without a supervisor’s support letter and short CV, the application cannot succeed. Deadline: Country-specific deadlines in autumn 2026 for a 1 September 2027 start; applications opened 20 August 2026 and are submitted through the official online process described on the SBFI pages for your country. Start supervisor outreach months early — professors cannot sponsor a proposal they have had no time to read.

2. Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship – Research Fellowship

Coverage: CHF 2,450 per month for 12 months (not extendable into a full degree), with the same insurance, housing-deposit, travel-card and (for non-EU/EFTA) return-flight elements as the PhD track. Eligibility: Postgraduate researchers holding a master’s degree who wish to conduct a defined research stay at a Swiss cantonal university, a university of applied sciences, ETH Zurich or EPFL, or one of the ETH Domain research institutes (PSI, WSL, Empa, Eawag), backed by a Swiss academic supervisor. This is now also the closest federal route for early-career researchers affected by the discontinuation of postdoctoral scholarships from 2027/28 — note carefully that it is designed for researchers pursuing doctoral-level research, and eligibility wording in the official call governs borderline cases. Deadline: Country-specific, autumn 2026. The fellowship suits PhD candidates enrolled abroad who need a Swiss research year, or master’s graduates building toward a Swiss PhD with a specific group.

3. Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship – Art Scholarship

Coverage: CHF 2,450 per month for up to 21 months for an initial master’s degree in an artistic field, with the same ancillary elements as the research tracks. Eligibility: Art students from a limited list of countries (26 countries in the official 2027–2028 overview) holding a bachelor’s degree, applying to a Swiss conservatory or university of the arts, with a portfolio that carries the application. This is the only Swiss Government Excellence track that funds a taught master’s degree — and only in the arts. If a website tells you the Swiss government will fund your regular MSc, MBA or bachelor’s in full, it is describing a programme that does not exist. Deadline: Country-specific, autumn 2026; admission (or proof of application) to the art institution is part of the file.

4. ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme (ESOP)

Coverage: Switzerland’s flagship full master’s package: a scholarship covering living and study expenses of CHF 12,000 per semester, rising to CHF 13,500 per semester from autumn semester 2027 (HS27), plus a full tuition fee waiver, for the regular duration of the master’s (three or four semesters), with mentoring through the ETH Foundation. Approximately 60 ESOP scholarships are assigned for 2027/28, per ETH. Eligibility: Outstanding applicants to regular ETH master’s programmes — ETH describes the academic bar as a very good bachelor’s result, typically the top 10% of your programme. Applicants already enrolled in an ETH master’s or already holding a master’s degree are not eligible; MAS programmes are excluded. You must apply within the first application window and submit a self-developed pre-proposal for your master’s thesis, with two professor references where your programme does not already require them. Deadline: 1–30 November 2026 via eApply for autumn 2027 entry; ESOP decisions are communicated at the end of March. ETH’s own page is the authority — see ETH Zurich’s ESOP page. Compare ETH and other Swiss universities in the rankings directory.

5. EPFL Master Excellence Fellowship

Coverage — labelled honestly: CHF 10,000 per semester for up to four semesters (three for 90-credit programmes), plus reservation of a student room for external candidates and a certificate of excellence. EPFL states explicitly that fellowship holders remain responsible for their own expenses — tuition and rent are payable from the fellowship and your other resources; in Lausanne’s housing market this is a major contribution, not a full-cost package. Eligibility: Anyone applying to an eligible EPFL master’s programme with an outstanding academic record; candidates who already hold a master’s degree or are already enrolled in an EPFL master’s are ineligible, and the fellowship cannot be combined with another substantial scholarship. Continuation into the second year requires excellent performance (an average of at least 5.0/6 and at least 50 credits in the first year, per EPFL’s published conditions). Deadline: You tick the fellowship box inside the master’s application; EPFL’s application rounds have closed on 15 December and 31 March in recent cycles — fellowship applicants should use the first round, and must confirm the current cycle’s dates on EPFL’s official fellowship page.

6. University of Geneva – Excellence Master Fellowship (Faculty of Science)

Coverage: CHF 10,000 to CHF 15,000 per year for one year, renewable for the regular duration of the master’s (up to three or four semesters) subject to successful completion of the first semester, per the Faculty of Science’s published terms. It is a partial award against Geneva living costs — significant help, not full funding. Eligibility: Outstanding bachelor’s graduates (in the top ranks of their cohort) applying to a master’s in the Faculty of Science at the University of Geneva, regardless of nationality or home university; the faculty targets students who meet the demands of its research-oriented programmes. Deadline: The faculty’s fellowship application deadline has fallen in February in recent cycles (28 February in the last published call we verified against) — because the exact date is set per call, check the Faculty of Science excellence page before planning around it. Geneva’s science master’s are taught in English or French/English mixes depending on the programme; language fit is part of eligibility in practice.

7. University of Lausanne (UNIL) Master’s Grants

Coverage: CHF 1,600 per month for 10 months per year, for the minimum statutory duration of the chosen master’s (for example 2 years for a 120-credit programme, or 1.5 years for 90 credits), per UNIL’s published grant terms. Partial funding — Lausanne is cheaper than Zurich or Geneva, but CHF 1,600/month still requires supplementary resources or permitted work planning. Eligibility: Graduates of foreign universities with excellent results (UNIL references equivalence to a Swiss bachelor’s and a strong grade profile) applying to an eligible UNIL master’s; certain programmes (including medicine and some others listed by UNIL) are excluded. A fixed number of grants (around ten in recent calls) is awarded. Deadline: 1 November for programmes starting the following autumn (and the February deadline for spring-entry programmes where offered, per UNIL’s calendar) — this is one of Switzerland’s earliest master’s funding deadlines, and it catches applicants out every year.

8. Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID) Scholarships

Coverage: The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies awards a large annual scholarship budget across many awards: need- and merit-based support ranges from partial tuition assistance to, for a limited number of recipients, full scholarships combining tuition coverage with living-cost support (the Institute publishes an annual cost of attendance and awards are set against it). Because the range is wide, your individual offer letter — not any blog’s headline — defines your package. Eligibility: Admitted master’s and PhD students in international relations, international law, economics, history, anthropology/sociology and development studies; financial-need documentation is required for need-based awards, and some scholarships are tied to region or programme. Deadline: Scholarship consideration runs with admission; the main admission round has closed in mid-January in recent cycles, with later rounds offering reduced scholarship availability — apply in the first round if funding matters. For internationally focused social scientists, IHEID is routinely the most realistic Geneva funding target.

9. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters with Swiss Participation

Coverage: Where an Erasmus Mundus scholarship is awarded, it covers participation costs plus a monthly allowance (€1,400 per month for up to 24 months in the current programme generation) across a joint master’s in at least two countries. The Swiss caveat, stated plainly: Switzerland is not an EU member and its participation in Erasmus+ programme structures is limited and consortium-specific; some joint masters include Swiss universities as partners or host mobility periods in Switzerland, and others do not. Eligibility and deadline: Set by each consortium, with windows mainly October–January. Verify any claimed Swiss study period in the official Erasmus Mundus catalogue entry for that programme before counting it as a Switzerland route — and read our Erasmus Mundus guide for the search method. For many master’s applicants this, plus ESOP, is the only full-cost taught-degree route touching Switzerland.

10. Funded Doctoral Positions — The Employment Route

Coverage: Not a scholarship — a salary. Most PhD candidates at ETH Zurich, EPFL and Swiss cantonal universities are employed as doctoral assistants or researchers on group or project funding, earning a salary set by institutional scales (ETH and EPFL publish standard doctoral salary bands; exact figures depend on institution, canton and employment percentage) while paying the comparatively low doctoral tuition/semester fees. In total value over a 3–4 year doctorate, a salaried position exceeds every scholarship on this list. Eligibility: A strong master’s degree and a fit with an advertised vacancy or a research group you approach directly; there is no central application portal and no single deadline — groups recruit when grants start. How to pursue it: Monitor ETH, EPFL and university job portals, and write targeted, specific approaches to professors whose recent papers your work genuinely builds on. Presenting this route inside a scholarship list is deliberate: students who only search “Switzerland PhD scholarship” miss the mechanism that actually funds most Swiss doctorates.

Eligibility: The Patterns Across All 10 Routes

Three patterns dominate. First, level: federal money (Government Excellence) starts at master’s-graduate level for research and at bachelor’s-graduate level only for art master’s; taught master’s money is university money (ESOP, EPFL, Geneva, UNIL, IHEID); bachelor’s funding for non-Swiss students is effectively nonexistent at federal level. Second, the supervisor rule: Swiss research funding is supervisor-led — both Government Excellence research tracks and the employment route require a named Swiss professor or group behind you, which makes early, specific academic outreach the highest-value action you can take. Third, age and freshness: Government Excellence research tracks cap age at 35 and require your master’s to be recent under the call’s rules, while ESOP excludes anyone who already holds a master’s. Check your profile against these three filters before spending money on translations or tests, and use the StudyGraduate tools to track the parallel deadlines.

How to Apply Step by Step (Swiss Government Excellence Route)

1. Confirm your country and track. On the SBFI/SERI pages, check that your country of origin is listed for 2027–2028 and which tracks (PhD, research fellowship, art) are open to it — country lists differ by track.
2. Find and secure a supervisor (research tracks). Identify professors whose work matches your proposal, write a focused approach with your CV and a one-page research idea, and secure a written letter of support plus the supervisor’s short CV.
3. Write the research proposal. Follow the official template and page limit exactly (proposals have a strict maximum length in the federal process); originality, method and feasibility are scored explicitly.
4. Assemble the file. Full CV, motivation letter (maximum two pages in the federal format), proposal, supervisor letter and CV, two referees, degree certificates and transcripts, the medical “fit” form, and passport copy — with certified translations where required.
5. Submit through the official channel for your country by your country-specific deadline in autumn 2026. There is no global single deadline; missing yours by a day ends the application.
6. For ESOP instead: apply for the ETH master’s in eApply between 1 and 30 November 2026, upload the thesis pre-proposal, name your two referees, and wait for the end-of-March decision.
7. Budget the gaps in writing. Whichever route you win, list tuition/semester fees, insurance excesses, rent deposits and family costs the award does not cover, and confirm your residence-permit funds evidence with the cantonal migration office rules.

Required Documents

• Full academic CV
• Motivation letter (federal format: max. 2 pages)
• Research proposal (federal format, strict page limit) or, for ESOP, the master’s thesis pre-proposal
• Swiss supervisor’s letter of support and short CV (research tracks)
• Two academic references / referee contacts
• Degree certificates and transcripts, with certified translations where required
• Medical certificate form required by the federal process
• Copy of passport; residence permit copy if already in Switzerland
• For art scholarships: portfolio and admission or proof of application to the art institution
• For university master’s awards: admission application documents, including English (and where relevant French/German) proficiency evidence

Deadlines and Timeline for the 2027 Cycle

One structural warning: the 2027–2028 federal cycle is the first with no postdoctoral scholarships. If older guides (or your own earlier plans) assume a Swiss federal postdoc, rebuild that plan around the research fellowship’s eligibility, a salaried postdoc vacancy, or another country’s scheme — and compare options in our study abroad hub and the Sweden fully funded list.

How to Improve Your Chances

Win the supervisor before the form. For Government Excellence and doctoral posts alike, the decisive asset is a Swiss professor who knows your work and has agreed to host you. Approach with a specific, referenced fit — never a mass email. Make the proposal scoreable. The Federal Commission scores candidate profile, project quality and future cooperation potential between Switzerland and your home country; write explicitly to all three. For ESOP, the pre-proposal is the audition. It must be self-developed, properly cited and feasible as a master’s thesis — plagiarism or inflated claims lead to exclusion and, if discovered later, revocation. Apply to the November cluster together. UNIL (1 November) and ESOP (30 November) deadlines sit weeks apart; a candidate strong enough for one is usually competitive for the other. Show the funding maths. Committees favour applicants who demonstrably understand what the award does not cover and how the rest is financed.

Common Mistakes

• Applying for a Government Excellence “master’s scholarship” that does not exist. Outside the arts track, federal scholarships require a completed master’s degree.
• Budgeting as if tuition were covered. Government Excellence does not pay tuition/semester fees; confirm your host’s fees and any waiver policy early.
• Planning on the discontinued postdoc track. Postdoctoral scholarships are not awarded from 2027/28.
• Quoting CHF 1,920. The monthly federal amount rose to CHF 2,450 from January 2026 — outdated figures in either direction damage your budget plan.
• No supervisor, no chance. Research-track applications without a Swiss supervisor’s support are rejected.
• Missing that deadlines are country-specific. There is no single global closing date for the federal scholarships.
• Ignoring living costs. Zurich and Geneva are among Europe’s most expensive student cities; even full awards need disciplined budgeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships fully funded?

They fund living costs generously (CHF 2,450/month from January 2026, plus insurance for non-EU/EFTA holders, a CHF 300 housing-deposit allowance, a half-fare travel card and, for non-EU/EFTA scholars, a return flight allowance) but they do not cover tuition/semester fees, conference or fieldwork costs, or family members. And they are for research and arts — not for general bachelor’s or master’s degrees.

Can I do a regular master’s degree on a Swiss government scholarship?

Only in the arts: the Art Scholarship funds an initial master’s in artistic fields for students from a limited list of countries (26 in the 2027–2028 overview). For other master’s degrees, target ESOP (ETH), EPFL, Geneva, UNIL or IHEID awards.

How much is ETH ESOP worth in 2027?

CHF 13,500 per semester from autumn 2027 (HS27), up from CHF 12,000, plus a full tuition waiver for the regular master’s duration. About 60 awards are assigned for 2027/28 and decisions arrive at the end of March.

Is the EPFL Excellence Fellowship fully funded?

No. It pays CHF 10,000 per semester (up to four semesters) and reserves a student room, but EPFL states that holders pay their own tuition, rent and living expenses. It is a major contribution, not full funding.

What happened to Swiss postdoctoral scholarships?

The Federal Council’s November 2025 ordinance change raised monthly amounts to CHF 2,450 while discontinuing postdoctoral scholarships from the 2027/28 academic year. Salaried postdoc vacancies at Swiss institutions remain the main postdoc route.

Do I need German or French to study in Switzerland?

Many master’s and most doctoral positions operate in English, especially at ETH, EPFL and in the sciences; some programmes (notably at Geneva and Lausanne) teach in French or bilingually. Your programme’s language requirements govern — check them before applying, not after admission.

How do most PhD students in Switzerland actually fund themselves?

Through employment: doctoral assistant/researcher contracts with their university, institute or project. That is why entry 10 of this guide — job portals and direct approaches to research groups — is statistically the biggest funding route of all.

When do Government Excellence applications close for 2027?

Applications opened 20 August 2026 and deadlines are set per country of origin, falling in autumn 2026. Find your country’s exact date on the SBFI country pages; there is no single worldwide deadline.

Sources & Verification

Verified in October 2026 against: SERI/SBFI official Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027–2028 pages (CHF 2,450/month, max age 35, track durations — research 12 months, PhD 36 months, art 21 months — 183 countries, applications from 20 August 2026) and the SBFI FAQ (Federal Council decision of 19 November 2025; postdoctoral scholarships discontinued from 2027/28); ETH Zurich official ESOP page (CHF 12,000 per semester, CHF 13,500 from HS27, tuition waiver, 1–30 November window, ~60 awards, end-of-March decisions); EPFL official Master Excellence Fellowships page (CHF 10,000 per semester, housing reservation, holders pay own expenses); University of Geneva Faculty of Science excellence fellowship information; UNIL Master’s Grants pages (CHF 1,600/month for 10 months); Graduate Institute Geneva scholarship information; and the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus information. Key official pages: Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (SBFI) and ETH Zurich ESOP.

Disclaimer: Scholarship amounts, deadlines, eligible countries and coverage change yearly. Always confirm deadlines and amounts on the official website before applying. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency, and cannot guarantee selection, admission, employment or a residence permit.