Scholarships to Study in Switzerland

Scholarships to study in Switzerland - Amidst the wonder of chocolates, cheese and the serenity of the Swiss Alps, Switzerland has, even more to offer for prospective students. Apart from being a tourist hub and a chocolate wonderland, Switzerland is also home to some of the best universities in the world. Not only are these universities decked with top-notch facilities and commendable faculty and programs, but Switzerland is also one of the best countries in the world for an affordable and equally high-quality education. Despite the tuition not being as high as that of other top universities around the world, Swiss universities offer a number of scholarships to study in Switzerland as well in order to allow students to gain education without the haunting presence of student loans lingering over their shoulders. 

According to QS, nine Swiss universities are on the list of the best universities in the world with three of them landing in the top 100! ETH Zurich is the leading Swiss university with a QS rank of 7 and a subject rank of 1 for earth and marine sciences. 

Top Universities to Study in Switzerland

Education in Switzerland is exceptionally renowned in certain areas like medicine, engineering, and technology. Doctoral programs in physics and astronomy are also highly sought after due to the advanced pedagogy as well as abundance of postgraduate-level scholarship to study in Switzerland. Some of the top universities in Switzerland in specific domains of study have been given in the table below.

Subject-wise Swiss University Ranking

Scholarships to study in Switzerland

With the tuition expenses rather easy on the pocket at most Swiss universities, the various Switzerland scholarships for international students further help pay for not only the tuition but also for the cost of living in Switzerland. This, therefore, increases the return of investment for tertiary education in the country and allows students to focus on their program of study as well as enjoy a high quality of student life. There are not many undergraduate scholarships in Switzerland however, as a majority of university-specific scholarships are available for postgraduate students. Two notable Switzerland scholarships for international students which are applicable at most universities are:

• ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships: Asia-Pacific 2019

The ThinkSwiss Asia-Pacific scholarship program is managed by Swissnex India along with the Embassies of Switzerland in Singapore and Australia. The purpose of this Swiss government scholarship program is to create research opportunities for students at Indian, Singaporean and Australian universities in Switzerland. This program is one of the few undergraduate scholarships in Switzerland and is also open to masters students from all domains of study.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible for this Switzerland scholarship for international students, the student must satisfy the following:

• The student must be enrolled in an Indian, Singaporean or Australian university.

• The student an undergraduate or master’s student in his or her second year of education at the time of research stay in Switzerland.

• The student is required to procure an acceptance from a Swiss university and/or professor regarding confirmation of research/study.

Scholarship Amount: CHF 1,600 per month for the duration of the research stay i.e. two to three months.

Application deadline: December 15, 2018.

• Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2019-2020

The Swiss Government Excellence scholarships are awarded to students according to their country of origin. For Indian applicants, there are three different postgraduate-level research funding options available, which include:

• Research fellowships

• PostDoc scholarships

• Ph.D scholarships

Eligibility: The eligibility requirement varies for the individual type of the Swiss Government Excellence scholarships to which the student is applying to. For most scholarships, the general requirements include:

• The student must not have resided/stayed in Switzerland for more than a year prior to application.

• The student must have completed his or her requisite program of study in the year preceding application.

• The student must not have received any other Swiss government scholarship or funding.

Scholarship amount: The award amount for these Swiss government scholarships are released after selection of the annual scholars.

Application deadline: November 12, 2018.

• Prima Grants 

The Prima grants are a Swiss government scholarship offered by the Swiss National Science Foundation for exceptional female researchers who have displayed a high potential towards acquiring a professorship. These grants allow successful candidates to lead their own research project with their own team at any of the enlisted Swiss research institutions.

Eligibility: The eligibility requirements vary slightly for researchers and clinical scientists. The primary requirement is that the candidate must have either a Ph.D or a medical exam or equivalent in addition to a minimum of two years of research experience. 

• Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions

The MSCA scholarships are available for a variety of countries including Switzerland. These scholarships allow young researchers to pursue their work regardless of their age and nationality in a number of different research locations. There are five different types of scholarships to study in Switzerland, also referred to as ‘actions’:

• Individual Fellowship (IF)

• Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Scheme (RISE)

• Researcher’s Night (NIGHT)

• Innovation Traning Networks (ITN)

• Co-funding of existing or new Ph.D and postdoc fellowship programs (COFUND)

Eligibility: There are no specific eligibility requirements save that the candidate must be involved in a research-oriented program, either academic or otherwise. These requirements vary with the type of scholarship or ‘action’.

Application deadline: The application deadlines are presented according to different ‘open calls’ for applications which are regularly released on the official MSCA web portal. 

University-Specific Scholarships to study in Switzerland

Most of the Switzerland scholarships for international students are awarded by individual universities and departments for meritorious students carrying out research or postgraduate project-work. There are generally very few undergraduate scholarships in Switzerland awarded by individual university departments apart from the Swiss government scholarships. Some notable university-specific scholarships for postgraduate students to study in Switzerland are given below. The submission deadlines are for the year preceding the concerned scholarship award.

University Scholarships to Study in Switzerland