Switzerland universities hold a prestigious place in the world. It has so many top-ranked universities that give students the chance to take their education and future careers further by providing them an innovative environment to express their selves while receiving a quality education thanks to their higher education system.
Compared to other countries that have world-renowned universities, Switzerland has exceptionally low-cost universities. None of them is free, but doesn’t mean students won’t have the ability to get a free Swiss education. A lot of Swiss universities offer scholarships that usually covers tuition fees and some of the additional annual expenses of studying and
living in Switzerland.
Swiss universities aren’t the only ones that offer scholarships, the government also offers its portion. These governmental scholarships are usually offered based on partnerships established with several countries to researchers and postgraduates.
The following is a list of 10 scholarships international students can apply to study for free in Switzerland:
1- Swiss Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Students:
Every year, the Swiss confederation offers Government excellence scholarships (financial aid for international post-graduate researches) in order to encourage international exchange and research cooperation between Switzerland and about 180 other countries.
To be eligible for these scholarships the applicants need to hold at least a master’s degree and want to pursue research or further studies at the doctoral or post-doctoral level in Switzerland.
This scholarship covers housing allowance, health insurance, a monthly living payment, tuition fees, and airfare.
2- ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarships:
ETH Zurich supports outstanding international students who finished their bachelor studies and want to pursue a master’s degree at ETH. All of these students can apply for their two scholarships: the excellence scholarship and the opportunity program (ESOP).
The Excellence scholarship funds the study and the living coasts of the students, while the Master scholarship program offers a partial scholarship and the offer of an assistantship
3- University of Lausanne Master’s Grants for Foreign Students:
This is a scholarship offered by Lausanne university to international students with undergraduates degrees who wish to pursue a Master’s degree at the university. The grant value is CHF1,600/ month.
4- Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Excellence Fellowships:
EPFL is one of the most famous science and technology institutions in Europe, it gives a limited number of fellowships, to students with outstanding academic results, at the master level. Some of these fellowships are financed by EPFL alone, others are financed through partnerships with other companies or foundations.
The fellowship is paid for only 4 semesters, it includes CHF 16’000 per academic year which means 8’000 per semester, it also includes a reservation in a student residence for a student room. The other expenses such as tuition fees and visas are on the fellowship holder.
5- Graduate Institute Geneva Scholarships:
Graduate institute invests plentifully in financial aids, in order to attract outstanding international scholars, neglectful of their origins and financial abilities. They support students with financial hardships and award others depending on their academic excellence. Financial aid may be a full scholarship (CHF 20,000), a partial scholarship (CHF 10,000), or a merit scholarship, it also may be associated with need-based tuition reduction or a paid position as a teaching assistant.
6- University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowship:
The Faculty of Science of the University of Geneva, established an Excellence Fellowship program, in collaboration with various sponsors, to support excellent students and highly motivated applicants who wish to pursue a master of science in any of the disciplines that exist within the faculty.
The fellowship value can go from CHF 10,000 to CHF 15,000 per year.
7- University of Zurich Scholarships for Ph.D. Students:
The University of Zurich (UZH) is one of the leading research universities in Europe, and the largest university in Switzerland, with over 26,000 students. They give scholarships for international Master graduates and awarded to candidates depending on their outstanding academic merit. The scholarship duration can be up to 4 years.
The UBS Centre (International Centre of Economics in Society) Scholarships are full scholarships that cover living expenses and all fees of about CHF 42,500 plus tuition fees.
8- Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Scholarships:
The Geneva academy gives full and partial scholarships for its Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law (M TJ) as well as LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights to international students based on academic merit, the candidate’s financial needs, and extra-curricular achievements.
Full scholarships cover tuition fees and living expenses in Geneva for 10 months, while partial scholarships cover only tuition fees (tuition fees are CHF18,000).
9- IMD MBA Scholarships:
IMD (Institute for Management Development) offers scholarships to foreign students with leadership skills, and who wants to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) Degree at the IMD. The scholarship value is CHF 30,000.
10- University of Bern:
The University of Bern gives scholarships for excellent foreign students though the Swiss Study Foundation, and supports female master and doctoral international students by offering them scholarships as well through the Spark of Hope Foundation.
