Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027/28

A research award, not a generic Master's grant

Each year the Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence Scholarships to support exchange and research cooperation with 183 countries. The awarding body is the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students — FCS in English, ESKAS in German. The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SBFI) publishes the call.

The programme is aimed at talented early-career researchers who already hold a Master's. The main tracks are a research fellowship (usually a one-year research stay) and a PhD scholarship. A smaller Art Master's track exists for a first artistic Master's — and only for a limited list of countries. From the 2027/28 academic year, postdoctoral scholarships are discontinued.

This is not a portal you fill in over a weekend. Almost every research or PhD file needs a Swiss academic supervisor who will write a letter of support. FCS is explicit: finding that professor is your job, the search can take weeks or months, and a PhD admission at a Swiss university is a separate procedure from the ESKAS application.

The monthly amount is CHF 2,450 for one person's living expenses. SBFI states plainly that it is not a salary and must not be treated as one. Zurich and Geneva are among the most expensive cities in Europe. Read the funding page before you budget a family move that this award does not support.

The step most people get backwards

Applicants treat GO ESKAS like a general scholarship form and look for a professor after they upload a PDF. FCS will not consider a research or PhD file without a Swiss supervisor and that supervisor's letter.

Start with the person, then the portal.

1. 1
   Confirm your country, scholarship type and close date

   The official SBFI page lists which types your country may request and when its window closes.

2. 2
   Find a Swiss supervisor

   A professor or lab leader who will supervise the project. See how to find one.

3. 3
   Get the letter of support

   On institutional letterhead, plus the supervisor's short CV.

4. 4
   Register in GO ESKAS

   Grants Online is the only route. Submit through that system only.

Three things listing sites get wrong

There is no global deadline

The cycle opened on 20 August 2026. Each country has its own close date. SBFI’s country list puts them between 6 October and 30 November 2026, at 11:59 pm Swiss time. Pakistan closes on 31 October, India on 10 November, Nigeria on 27 November. Check yours on the A–Z list.

Postdocs are gone

On 19 November 2025 the Federal Council raised the monthly amount to CHF 2,450 from 1 January 2026 (it had been CHF 1,920 since 2006). To hold costs, postdoctoral awards end from 2027/28 and the number of scholarships drops to about 200–250 a year, new and ongoing combined, from up to 350 before. A leftover blog post about Swiss postdocs is out of date.

The application is free

SBFI warns against fake emails and social posts that ask for visa or insurance money. FCS will not ask you to pay to apply. Never transfer money to someone using this scholarship's name.

Official facts for 2027–28

Official pages: programme, at a glance, FAQ. Questions to FCS: sgs@sbfi.admin.ch.

What this handbook covers

Eleven pages, including a combined planning checklist. Start with eligibility and the supervisor search. Do not assume your country is still open because the cycle started on 20 August 2026.

Start with the hard filters

Age, degree date, time already spent in Switzerland, and whether a supervisor will sign. If those fail, GO ESKAS will not save the file.

Check eligibility →