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Documents for ETH Zurich ESOP and Master’s Admission

Upload the full Master’s dossier plus a pre-proposal you wrote yourself. If the programme does not ask for references, name two professors who will upload letters after a system email.

ScholarshipUnion Editorial 2 min read Updated Oct 6, 2026

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ESOP adds a pre-proposal on top of the Master’s admission file. Planning tool, not an official ETH decision. Confirm programme-specific extras on ethz.ch.

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Official transcripts from every university attended (ETH rules: no self-made PDFs, no portal screenshots)
Degree certificate or enrolment confirmation
Chronological CV with a phone number that works in February
Language certificate or a published exemption
Motivation letter — the ESOP version explains why you deserve the excellence award
Pre-proposal for the Master’s thesis (the ESOP extra)
Two professor referees if the programme does not already require references
Passport / ID, matriculation certificate, signed declaration of consent
ETH consecutive only: transcript of records (a MyStudies printout is enough, per the official FAQ)

The ESOP extra: pre-proposal

Walkthrough →

In addition to the documents for Master’s admission you must upload a pre-proposal for your Master’s thesis. Official guidelines: guidelines_preproposal.pdf. It must be developed by you and use established scientific citation practice. Plagiarism, or negligent or intentional misinformation, leads to exclusion from admission or — if found later — revocation of admission and of any scholarship.

References

If your study programme does not ask for references, you must name two reference persons (professors) for ESOP. They upload a letter after an email from the system. ETH’s programme-specific documents page puts it simply: ESOP applications always require two letters of recommendation. Per the official FAQ, letters must be uploaded by the professors themselves; non-professors are acceptable only if you work in industry (then one professor plus one employer). Follow the Admissions Office instructions for letter format.

Motivation letter

The official FAQ distinguishes the ESOP motivation letter from the programme letter: you explain in more detail why you deserve an Excellence scholarship and say more about your extra-curricular achievements. The motivation letter and pre-proposal may be in German or English.

Admission documents ETH will reject

From the general documents page:

Self-made transcripts
Screenshots of student portals
Third-party notarisations in place of a university original
Transcripts without a security feature

Documents not in German, French, Italian or English need an official translation and the original. Language certificates that miss the deadline cause a formal rejection — they cannot be added later.

Language rules: Language requirements. TOEFL institution code 9038; GRE General (if a programme asks for it) 3331.