Scholarships

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars and Artists

Through the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), the Swiss Confederation awards various post-graduate scholarships to foreign scholars of all disciplines and to some foreign artists:

  • University research fellowships for scholars, doctorates and post-doctorates at Swiss universities, federal institutes of technology and universities of applied sciences (no scholarships for bachelor or masters studies)
  • Arts scholarships for advanced-level artists at Swiss conservatories and universities of the arts (only for a limited number of countries)

Scholarships for Swiss students

The scholarship office of the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities swissuniversities administers the foreign governmental scholarships of about 40 countries on behalf of the Swiss Confederation. The scholarships are offered to Swiss students, researchers and artists to study for a period of time abroad. For more details:

Rectors’ Conference of Swiss Universities swissuniversities

Which scholarships can I apply for?

The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars and Artists are no longer available for Swedish citizens.

The current offer is only valid for students from a limited number of countries and the applications are managed directly by the Swiss Embassies in those countries. Please visit the homepage of the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS) for more information. (Link below.)

The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation also issues a warning against fake Swiss Federal Government Scholarships advertised by e-mail. The FCS never advertises its scholarships by e-mail and recommends to never answer these e-mails and above all not to send any money.

If you are a Swiss citizen, you may be able to obtain financial support through your municipality of origin (Heimatort).

Beware fake scholarship offers in the name of the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships (phishing)

The Swiss authorities are issuing this warning about fake scholarships advertised by email. The Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS) does not advertise scholarships by email; as a rule, scholarships are directly managed by the Swiss representation in the country concerned. The Swiss authorities recommend not responding to such emails and, above all, not transferring any money.