What CHF 2,450 a Month Actually Covers
Living expenses for one person. Not a salary, not a family grant, and not a promise that Zurich rent will feel light.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
3 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
CHF 2,450 is living money, not a salary
For research fellowships, PhD scholarships, and art scholarships, SBFI publishes CHF 2,450 per month to cover basic living expenses for one person. The same page says the scholarship is not a salary and must not be treated as regular pay, financially or legally. You cannot use it as a top-up on a full-time job.
That rate applies from 1 January 2026. Before that, the monthly amount had stayed at CHF 1,920 since 2006; the Federal Council raised it on 19 November 2025 and paid for the increase by funding fewer scholarships.
That number is the same in Zurich, Geneva, Bern, and Lugano. The cost of living is not. Zurich and Geneva regularly sit at the top of European city-cost rankings. A single room in a shared flat in those cities can absorb a large share of CHF 2,450 before you buy food, pay a phone, or put money aside for a deposit. Smaller university towns are usually easier; they are still Switzerland.
Figures for rent on this page are illustrative, not SBFI official rates. Check current listings in the host city. Do not treat a “fully funded” label on an aggregator as a promise that the stipend will feel generous.
Living-stipend planning estimate
Slide the months to see CHF 2,450 × months. This is a planning estimate, not an official SBFI decision and not a salary, tuition grant, or family budget.
- Research stay: 6–12 months. No extension.
- Art Master's: 12 months, extendable to 21 depending on the programme and ECTS.
- PhD: 12 months, renewable twice up to 36 if first-year progress is acceptable.
The official published rate is CHF 2,450/month living costs for one person. Not a salary. Not tuition. Zurich and Geneva cost more than this figure often feels like. This calculator does not add unpublished allowances.
What FCS adds on top
FCS covers compulsory health-insurance premiums for holders from non-EU/EFTA countries. Holders from EU/EFTA countries pay those premiums themselves.
A one-time grant of CHF 600 toward the rental deposit (doubled from CHF 300 in 2026). Many Swiss landlords ask for more than that as a guarantee.
A public-transport Half-Fare card. Local travel is still not free.
A return-flight allowance, amount set by country of origin, usable up to two months after the scholarship ends and only to return home. EU/EFTA holders pay their own travel.
What you still pay
- Tuition and semester fees. The award does not cover them. Some hosts charge about CHF 600 to CHF 2,000 per semester, or reduced tuition. Some PhD fees are not waived.
- Conferences. International conference costs sit with you. There is no extra FCS pot.
- Field research. PhD holders may request up to six months of field research without extra money. Research fellowships may not do field research outside Switzerland.
- Family. The amount covers one person. No family allowances. Residence permits for partners or children are a migration decision, currently described by SBFI as restrictive. FCS and universities do not help with those permits.
Zurich and Geneva, honestly
If your host is ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, the University of Geneva, or IHEID, assume housing will be the hard part. Shared flats in those cities often list rooms in a range that can run from the high hundreds of francs into well over CHF 1,000 a month. A studio is usually more. Those are market observations, not official SBFI figures, and they move.
Some hosts (SBFI names EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the University of Zurich as examples) expect the academic supervisor to add funding. Any extra scholarship, teaching, or research-assistant pay must be reported to FCS. The Excellence award is not a licence to stack a full salary on top.
You must live in the city or canton of the host institution.
That rule kills the idea of commuting from a cheaper country next door while drawing the stipend.
Amounts and extras: at a glance. If a listing site quotes a different monthly figure, ignore it until SBFI changes the page.