Who Can Apply for Swiss Excellence 2027/28
Age, degree date, time already in Switzerland, and a supervisor who will sign. Postdoctoral awards are gone from this cycle.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
4 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
Quick eligibility checker
Answer seven questions. Yes means you pass that published cutoff. This is a planning tool, not an official SBFI decision.
1. Will your Master's (or, for art, your Bachelor's) be completed by 31 July 2027 (30 June 2027 if your host is ETH Zurich)?
2. Were you born after 31 December 1991?
3. Research or PhD: will a Swiss supervisor write you a letter of support? (Art Master's applicants who are not doing research can answer Yes.)
4. Will you have spent 13 months or less in Switzerland before 1 September 2027?
5. Have you never received this FCS/ESKAS scholarship before?
6. Is this your first, second or third attempt for this type (not a fourth)?
7. Are you applying for a research stay, a PhD or an Art Master's — not a postdoc?
You pass the seven planning checks. Next: confirm your country type and window on SBFI, then start the GO ESKAS file.
One or more published exclusions may apply (including postdocs, which are discontinued for 2027/28). Read the details below and confirm on SBFI.
FCS screens nationality, country type, completeness, and your file. Confirm the current wording on the Confederation site.
The 2027–28 baseline
FCS screens on nationality (your country must be on the 183-country list with a type you can actually request), academic level, age, a Swiss supervisor for research and PhD tracks, and how long you have already been in Switzerland. These are cutoffs, not suggestions.
Your country page on SBFI also decides whether you may request a research stay, a PhD, and/or an Art Master's. Art awards are not worldwide. If the official country list does not show an art scholarship for your origin, that track is closed to you.
- Master's completed by 31 July 2027. Research and PhD tracks need a Master's or equivalent by that date. ETH Zurich uses 30 June 2027. Art applicants need a Bachelor or equivalent by 31 July 2027 and must not already hold a Master's when the award starts.
- Born after 31 December 1991. SBFI states the maximum age as 35 for this cycle. If your birthday is on or before 31 December 1991, you are outside the published window.
- Swiss supervisor letter for research and PhD. A professor or laboratory group leader in Switzerland must endorse the project. For a PhD, that person must be authorised to supervise doctoral theses. Files without a supervisor are not considered — including graduate-school cases.
- If you are already in Switzerland. Your date of entry must not be earlier than 1 August 2026. Submit a copy of the registration confirmation or residence permit. Priority still goes to people who have not already studied or researched in Switzerland.
Three tracks, three different jobs
A full-time research stay of at most 12 months (minimum 6). No extension. Aimed at early-career researchers, including young medical doctors, who are pursuing a PhD in a country other than Switzerland. Start: 1 September 2027.
Full-time doctorate in Switzerland. 12 months, renewable twice up to 36 months if academic progress in the first year is acceptable. A supervisor letter is required. An admission letter is required for doctoral schools; an individual doctorate does not need admission at application time.
First Master's only, at a Swiss art school or conservatory, and only for selected countries. 12 months, extendable to 21 months depending on the programme and ECTS. You need admission, a conditional admission, or proof that the admission window has not opened yet.
Hard exclusions
FCS publishes these as exclusion criteria. One of them is enough to stop the file.
- Incomplete application or formal errors
- Multiple simultaneous applications (several hosts or types)
- Already in Switzerland more than 13 months before the September start
- Already received a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship
- Fourth attempt after three unsuccessful applications for the same type
- No Swiss supervisor named, or no letter of support
- More than one research project proposal
- Doctoral-school PhD without the school's admission letter
Cotutelle doctorates (a formal agreement between a Swiss and a foreign university) are only eligible for a 12-month research fellowship, not the renewable PhD scholarship.
What is no longer available
Postdoctoral scholarships are not awarded from 2027/28. The Federal Council changed the ordinance on 19 November 2025, raised the monthly contribution to CHF 2,450 from 1 January 2026, and cut the number of awards to keep the budget unchanged — to roughly 200–250 scholarships a year (new and ongoing), from up to 350 before. The same Federal Council decision (in German) lets PhD scholarships run up to four years from 1 January 2028. The 2027–28 at-a-glance page still states a maximum of 36 months, so plan on 36.
This cycle will not fund it. FCS does not offer an alternative federal grant; SBFI points people to Study in Switzerland for other options.
Confirm the current wording on the at-a-glance page and the official FAQ.