What is fixed — and what is not
For 2027–28, SBFI has published a national opening and a national start. It has not published one close date for the whole world. Anyone selling a single “Swiss Excellence deadline” is inventing it.
Today is 21 September 2026. The cycle has been open since 20 August 2026. That does not mean your country's GO ESKAS window is open. Some representations open later; some close earlier. Read the country line on SBFI, then the page of your Swiss embassy or the national agency that republishes it.
How to read a country window
SBFI publishes an A–Z list of countries and territories with scholarship types and deadlines, plus regional PDFs. Those lists are the source of truth. This handbook quotes only one national example we can stand behind: Poland, 15 September to 30 November 2026, as republished by NAWA. We will not invent a close date for any other country.
If you are not applying from Poland, do not copy that window. Open the official programme page and the at-a-glance country list, then confirm with the Swiss representation that will receive the file.
Supervisor search sits before the close date, not in the last week. Professors travel, sit on panels, and already get more ESKAS requests than they can support. FCS even tells Swiss professors to back only one or two candidates a year.
Degree-completion dates that act like deadlines
Even if your country's GO ESKAS window is still open, the degree must exist by a fixed date:
- Research and PhD: Master's or equivalent by 31 July 2027.
- Host at ETH Zurich: Master's by 30 June 2027.
- Art Master's: Bachelor or equivalent by 31 July 2027.
If you miss 2027–28
FCS will advertise 2028–29 from August 2027. You may apply up to three times for the same type. A fourth attempt is an exclusion. If you are already in Switzerland on a doctoral-school place without the scholarship, the “more than one year in Switzerland before September” rule still applies when you try the next cycle.