Grants for incoming students and researchers
A number of grant programmes can facilitate the stay of incoming students and scientists to the University of Basel:
ESKAS
Through the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), the Swiss Government provides university scholarships to foreign postgraduate students (at least Bachelor degree). Yearly an approximate number of 220 scholarships for one to two years duration are granted under this programme, including the University of Basel.
Scholarships should enable foreign students to advance their academic career and to conduct research in fields in which the Swiss universities are particularly active.
Priority countries to be granted a Swiss federal grant are Brazil, Chile, China, India, Ivory Coast, Russia, South Africa and Tanzania. In addition the scholarships are conceded to European students and applicants from Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea and the USA, among others.
A detailed programme description can be found on the SER website.
Please address questions on application for the University of Basel to the Mobility Office.
Swiss Foundation for Excellence and Talent in Biomedical Research
The Swiss Foundation for Excellence and Talent in Biomedical Research supports highly qualified young research talents from all over the world, who wish to organize lecture tours at Swiss universities or research institutes.
The foundation was established in 2008 in Basel with the goal of supporting excellent biomedical research as well as increasing the attractiveness of Switzerland as research location for this field. Postdoc researchers who want to maintain close contact to research institutes in Switzerland are therefore supported by lecture tour stipends.
The granting of stipends takes place four times a year. Deadline for application is January 31, April 30, July 31 and October 31.
Please note that the knowledge of one of Switzerland’s official languages (German, French, Italian or Rumantsch) is prerequisite for participation. For further information on the program as well as application regulations may be found on the foundation website.
Sciex-NMS
With the Sciex-NMSch Scientific Exchange Programme Switzerland supports the training of researchers from the eight new EU member states. The programme, which contributes to the reduction of disparities within the enlarged EU, is implemented by the Rectors Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS) in collaboration with the University of Fribourg, based on a mandate by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Research fellowships of between six and 24 months will be available as of September 2009. The programme aims at facilitating research stays in Swiss research teams to doctoral (PhD) and PostDoc candidates from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The Sciex-NMSch programme is open to all scientific disciplines. Prospective candidates prepare their application jointly with Swiss partner researchers. For further information on deadlines for the first call for tenders or contact information, please refer to the attached press release [PDF/339 KB] or visit the Sciex website.
ThinkSwiss – Brainstorm the Future
ThinkSwiss is a programme supporting American students who wish to study in Switzerland. The program is being run by the Swiss representations in the USA (click here for representations in Washington and Boston) under the auspices of the Swiss State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER), the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and Presence Switzerland.
ThinkSwiss yearly offers 15 Swiss Research Scholarships to highly motivated and qualified U.S. undergraduate and graduate students. The scholarships allow students of all disciplines to do research at a public Swiss university or research institute for 2 to 3 months.
In addition ThinkSwiss provides grants to participate in life sciences / nursing summer schools of selected Swiss universities. The University of Basel Nursing Summer School (INS) can be accessed through these grants (for current dates please visit the section Summer Schools in Basel).
Details on application can be retrieved from the ThinkSwiss website.
U.S. Fulbright - Swiss Scholarship Program
The U.S. Fulbright - Swiss Scholarship Program is designed to foster mutual understanding between Switzerland and the United States. For many years now the programme has provided scholarships for Swiss students to study in the United States and for U.S. students to study in Switzerland.
An average of 15 grants can be awarded each academic year, thanks to government support and generous private sector donations.
The University of Basel has hosted Fulbright fellows in the departments of Geography, Economics, Chemical Engineering, Psychology, Philosophy and Pedagogy.
Additional information on the programme can be obtained from the American Embassy of Bern. To apply, U.S. students should visit the website of the Institute of International Education.
Werner Siemens Fellowship Programme
The Werner Siemens Foundation awards stipends in the area of Life Sciences for the University of Basel International PhD Program – Opportunities for Excellence. With this fellowship programme, highly talented graduate students receive the opportunity to work within an international and highly competitive environment under the auspices of world class researchers.
The fellowship further facilitates the attendance of scientific meetings and courses during the PhD programme.
For more information and application documents please visit the University of Basel Biozentrum website or contact Angie Klarer.