Scholarships in Switzerland for International Students: What Is Really Available for 2027/28

A fully funded bachelor's degree in Switzerland is rare for international students: cantonal grants are meant for Swiss residents, and private schools offer discounts rather than full funding. Real money appears at master's and doctoral level. For master's students there are competitive university programmes: ESOP at ETH Zürich, the EPFL Master Excellence Fellowships, the University of Lausanne Master's Scholarship, and awards at the University of Geneva and the Geneva Graduate Institute. For applicants who already hold a master's degree there are the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships at $2,940 (CHF 2,450) a month; Russian citizens apply via the embassy in Moscow by 30 October 2026, and Kazakh citizens via the embassy in Astana by 27 November 2026.

Why Swiss funding is mostly for master's and doctoral students

Three features of the Swiss system explain why the search for a free bachelor's usually leads nowhere.

• Cantonal grants are social support for residents. The University of St. Gallen states that Swiss citizens who meet the conditions have a legal right to cantonal grants, so an international student should not count on this channel.
• Tuition at public universities is already modest. In 2026/27 a semester at the University of Geneva costs an international student $520 (CHF 435), and at ETH Zürich or EPFL $2,620 (CHF 2,190). The big cost is living: the University of Lausanne, citing the authorities, puts it at about $2,400 (CHF 2,000) a month. Swiss awards therefore tend to pay a living allowance rather than just cover fees.
• You still need funds with a scholarship. The canton checks how you will support yourself before issuing a permit. The award letter goes into the visa file, but whether it is enough without your own money is for the cantonal migration office to decide.

Fees and city budgets are in the cost of studying in Switzerland. University and city profiles are on the Switzerland country page, and our overview of scholarships abroad helps compare Switzerland with other countries.

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027/28

This is the main federal programme, awarded by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS, or ESKAS). For 2027/28 it is open to applicants from 183 countries and targets early-career researchers who already have a master's degree. It does not fund master's studies, except arts scholarships for 26 countries, and neither Russia nor Kazakhstan is among them.

Requirements for both types:

• a master's degree or equivalent completed by 31 July 2027 (30 June 2027 for ETH Zürich);
• born after 31 December 1991;
• a letter of support from an academic supervisor in Switzerland, with the supervisor's short CV;
• a research proposal on the ESKAS form (up to five pages including a lay summary), a CV, a motivation letter of up to two pages, and two professors' references submitted through the application system;
• copies of degrees and transcripts with certified translations if they are not in English, French, Italian or German.

What the scholarship provides: $2,940 (CHF 2,450) a month for one person's living costs, compulsory health insurance premiums for holders from outside the EU and EFTA, a one-off $720 (CHF 600) towards a rental deposit, a Half-Fare travelcard, and a return flight allowance set by country of origin. What it does not cover: tuition and semester fees (at some institutions $720–2,400, or CHF 600–2,000, per semester), conferences and family costs. ETH Zürich, EPFL and the University of Zurich expect the supervisor to add funding of their own.

Applications are excluded if they are incomplete, if you file several at once, if you have lived in Switzerland for more than 13 months before the scholarship starts, if you have held this scholarship before, or if it would be a fourth attempt after three refusals. The commission announces decisions by the end of May at the latest, and scholarships start on 1 September 2027.

Applying is free and goes through the Swiss representation in your country. ESKAS and SERI warn about fraudsters who send emails in the scholarship's name and ask for money for "visa" or "insurance" costs.

Deadlines for Russia and neighbouring countries

All these countries can apply for the research fellowship and the PhD scholarship. The hardest part is finding a supervisor: SERI warns that it can take weeks or months, so start writing to professors about six months before the deadline.

University master's scholarships

The programmes below publish their conditions on official university pages. In nearly every case you apply for the scholarship together with the master's application, and in the earliest admission round. How these deadlines fit with degree and language requirements is covered in master's degrees in Switzerland.

ETH Zürich: Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP)

ESOP covers both study and living costs: $14,380 (CHF 12,000) per semester, rising to $16,170 (CHF 13,500) from autumn 2027, plus a tuition waiver for the regular length of the programme (three or four semesters). ETH expects to award around 60 scholarships for 2027/28. Conditions:

• a bachelor's result in the top 10% of your cohort (grade A, based on self-assessment);
• apply only in the first application window, 1–30 November 2026;
• add a self-written pre-proposal for the master's thesis to your admission documents; if the programme does not ask for references, name two professors;
• a phone or video interview may follow in February, and decisions come at the end of March.

Students already enrolled in an ETH master's or holding a master's degree are not eligible. See also our ETH Zürich profile.

EPFL: Master Excellence Fellowships

EPFL pays $11,980 (CHF 10,000) per semester for a maximum of four semesters and reserves a room in a student residence for external candidates. Fellows pay tuition and rent themselves. To apply, tick the fellowship box in the master's application: external candidates need no extra documents, but the application must be paid and validated by 15 December, with reference letters uploaded within a week of the deadline.

Beyond grades, EPFL looks at research, publications, patents, start-ups and civic engagement. Renewal for the second year requires at least 50 ECTS credits and an average of 5.0 out of 6. The fellowship is paid into a Swiss bank or postal account opened after arrival. EPFL's committee announces its decisions in late March. See our EPFL profile.

University of Lausanne: Master's Scholarship

Around ten scholarships a year go to graduates of foreign universities with outstanding results. The award is $1,920 (CHF 1,600) a month for the minimum length of the programme: under the scholarship's general conditions that means 12 payments in the first year ($23,000, or CHF 19,200) and 10 payments from September to June in the second ($19,170, or CHF 16,000); holders are exempt from course fees and pay only the $96 (CHF 80) semester fee. The university provides scholars with a room through the FMEL student housing foundation, with rent paid by the student.

• The 2027/28 deadline is 1 November 2026, and there is a $240 (CHF 200) administrative fee.
• You need C1 in the language of the programme, French or English.
• Medicine and several other programmes are excluded; the list is on the scholarship page.
• Decisions arrive in early April and cannot be appealed.

The university is frank that the award does not cover everything, since the authorities consider about $2,400 (CHF 2,000) a month necessary in Lausanne. For applicants from visa-requiring countries it also notes that age and an existing master's degree can make the visa harder to obtain. See our University of Lausanne profile.

University of Geneva: Excellence Master Fellowships

The Faculty of Science pays $11,980–17,970 (CHF 10,000–15,000) a year with no teaching duties. The award is made for one year and extended for the full programme if the first semester goes well. It is open to top students of their cohort from any university who meet the requirements of the chosen master's. Applications open in early January; in the 2026 cycle the deadline was 28 February, so check the faculty page for the 2027 date. See our University of Geneva profile.

Geneva Graduate Institute

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) charges non-residents $9,580 (CHF 8,000) a year for its master's programmes. Financial aid takes the form of a full or partial scholarship of up to $23,960 (CHF 20,000) over two years, or a fee reduction. The institute asks students not to contact scholarship donors directly; it submits all applications itself.

St. Gallen: who HSG scholarships are for

The HSG Best Talents programme for master's students is open only to EU/EFTA nationals and Swiss C permit holders, so Russian and Kazakh citizens cannot use it. Individual master's programmes may offer other awards. More in our University of St. Gallen profile.

Bachelor's degrees: what you can realistically expect

• The University of St. Gallen awards a scholarship equal to six semesters of bachelor's tuition, but only to students with outstanding results in the first (Assessment) year, and only by invitation.
• Private hospitality schools give partial discounts. Les Roches offers new students merit awards of 10, 15 or 20% off first-semester tuition, not automatically renewed, plus 5–10% awards for alumni children, siblings and families working in hospitality; awards cannot be combined.

In practice, families pay for a Swiss bachelor's. How to choose a private school and what its fees include is covered in hospitality management in Switzerland; the route into public universities is in bachelor's degrees in Switzerland.

Doctorates: scholarship or salary

At doctoral level funding usually comes from the institution or the supervisor rather than a foundation. The Geneva Graduate Institute, for example, generally attaches a four-year package to its PhD offers: $23,960 (CHF 20,000) a year, paid as $2,400 (CHF 2,000) a month from September to June, with tuition of $3,590 (CHF 3,000) in year one and $1,200 (CHF 1,000) in later years. Where no funded position is available, the Swiss Government Excellence PhD scholarship remains an option.

Loans for international students

Swiss banks do not offer student loans; the University of St. Gallen attributes this to Swiss consumer credit law. The EducaSwiss foundation lends to students in Switzerland, and according to the Geneva Graduate Institute international students can apply. Loans are repaid after graduation, so they work best for the final semesters rather than the whole degree.

Points for Russian and Kazakh citizens

• The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships are open to both countries; apply through the embassy for your place of residence by its deadline.
• ETH Zürich screens master's and doctoral applications from countries under EU and US sanctions for export control. For ESOP applicants this means a dual-use technical programme may need extra checks and the decision may take longer.
• EPFL pays its fellowship only into a Swiss account. Until a Russian national or resident holds a residence permit, the Swiss sanctions ordinance restricts bank payment services for them; the restriction lifts once a B permit is issued. You will need your own money for the first weeks. The details are in our guide to studying in Switzerland as a Russian citizen.
• University programmes have no separate quotas for Russia or Kazakhstan: applicants compete with all international candidates.

Application calendar for 2027/28

How to build a strong application

1. Check the formal thresholds: top 10% of your cohort for ESOP, C1 in the programme language for Lausanne, and age and degree dates for the government scholarship.
2. Start with the academic content. The ETH thesis pre-proposal and the ESKAS research plan cannot be written over a weekend: you need a topic, reading and a realistic timeline.
3. Line up referees early and tell them the dates: EPFL letters are due within a week of the application deadline, and ESKAS references are uploaded through the system.
4. Apply to several programmes. Awards are scarce: around 60 ESOP scholarships across all of ETH, and about ten a year in Lausanne.
5. Keep a reserve. Even full funding does not cover the rental deposit, the weeks before the first payment, or insurance where the student pays it.

Common mistakes and myths

• "ESKAS funds master's degrees." It does not: Russian and Kazakh citizens can apply only for research and PhD funding after a master's.
• "The ESOP deadline is 15 December." That date is out of date: ETH applications for 2027/28 run from 1 to 30 November 2026.
• "The EPFL fellowship pays tuition." It pays a fixed sum, and fellows cover tuition and rent themselves.
• "A canton will fund an international student." Cantonal grants are aimed mainly at Swiss citizens.
• "The government scholarship application costs money." It is free; emails asking you to pay a "processing fee" are a scam.

FAQ

Sources

• SERI: Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027–2028, conditions and benefits, countries and deadlines (PDF, 01.09.2026)
• Swiss embassy in Russia: scholarships
• ETH Zürich: ESOP and export-control screening in admissions
• EPFL: Master Excellence Fellowships and application and conditions
• University of Lausanne: Master's Scholarship and general conditions (PDF)
• University of Geneva: Excellence Master Fellowships
• Geneva Graduate Institute: fees and financial aid
• University of St. Gallen: funds and excellence scholarships
• Les Roches: scholarships and financial aid
• swissuniversities: tuition fees 2026/27
• Ordinance SR 946.231.176.72, version of 21.09.2026

Sources checked on 1 October 2026. Dollar amounts use the ECB reference rate of 30.09.2026 (€1 = $1.1355 = CHF 0.9478, so CHF 1 ≈ $1.198), rounded to the nearest $10.

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