Each year the Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence Scholarships to promote international exchange and research cooperation between Switzerland and over 180 other countries. Recipients are selected by the awarding body, the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS).

The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are aimed at young researchers from abroad who have completed a master’s degree or Ph.D. and at foreign artists holding a bachelor’s degree.

The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships covers a monthly payment, exemption of tuition fees, health insurance, airfare, housing allowance, etc., as applicable. Please refer to the country-specific fact sheets for exact scholarship benefits.

Please refer to the country-specific fact sheets for general and specific eligibility criteria for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships.

The FCS assesses scholarship applications according to three criteria:

a) Candidate profile
b) Quality of the research project or artistic work
c) Synergies and potential for future research cooperation