Top 10 Scholarships in Switzerland for International Students

Education is a powerful tool in today’s world and without it; one cannot really make progress in life. The importance of getting a higher level of education cannot be overemphasized. With the importance of education, there are still some challenges which people face in getting educated and a paramount problem is the financial aspect. To get educated, you will have to spend money or get financial aid to support your study decision and among such opportunity is the scholarship aid.

A Scholarship is a type of financial aid which is awarded to students for higher learning. These scholarships are of two distinct types that is; it can be awarded to students based on their financial needs or on academic merit. Some certain higher institutions of learning, Nonprofit organizations or government bodies provides scholarships for students who are from that particular country and students from other countries too and the scholarship can be a fully funded or half paid scholarships. When a scholarship is not fully funded, it means that there are certain things which the scholarship does not cover, the award may just be for tuition fees only or living expenses and all of which depends on the specific guidelines of the institution awarding such scholarships.

The Top 10 Scholarships in Switzerland for International Students

Switzerland is one of the topmost countries in Europe, the country is known for its lustrous environment, its education is also of a high standard and that is why the Swiss MBAs and PhD programs are well sought after around the world. In Switzerland, most of the scholarships awarded are for international postgraduate students and these scholarships are awarded to students based on the partnership contract with some countries and the Swiss government. In this article, we endeavor to outline top 10 scholarships offered in Switzerland for international students.

1. Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

The Swiss government scholarship is very prominent and covers most of the study expenses of awarded students. Every academic year, the Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence based Scholarships for international postgraduate students to further their studies in any chosen field. This awarding of scholarships to international students is aimed at strengthening and promoting the relationship between Switzerland and 180 other countries of the world. This scholarship is awarded strictly based on merit only for qualified international students.

Scholarship value: The scholarship offers tuition fees, health insurance, airfare, and housing allowance for international students who are moving to Switzerland to study.

Eligibility: The scholarship is made available to students who hold at least a Master’s degree and want to pursue a research study or further their education at the doctoral or post-doctoral level. 

2. Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (EPFL) Excellence Fellowships

This scholarship is awarded to international students who want to complete their masters’ education in Switzerland. International students from all over the world are eligible to apply but only the best students are awarded.

Scholarship value: The scholarship award includes a monetary value of up to CHF 16,000 which is given per academic year and also accommodation is given to the qualified students.

Eligibility: students applying to an EPFL Master’s Program in any university in Switzerland.

3. University of Geneva Excellence Masters Fellowships

The Faculty of Science of the University of Geneva in partnership with multiple sponsors now award scholarships known as the Excellence Fellowship Program to qualified and highly motivated international students who want to complete their masters’ study in science related disciplines offered by the University of Geneva.

Scholarship value: The Excellence Fellowship consists of a grant up to CHF 10,000 to CHF 15,000 per academic year.

Eligibility: qualified candidates who intend to pursue a Master of Science degree in the University of Geneva.

4. IMD MBA Scholarships

These scholarships offered by this program are all awarded to students on merit and financial need-based MBA scholarships. The IMD MBA Scholarships are awarded to international students and this program includes one fully funded scholarship and four 80% funded scholarships. IMD offers a number of scholarship programs for international students from different countries and backgrounds. One such scholarship is the Nestle MBA Scholarships for Women which were initiated by a group of IMD MBA participants who wanted to encourage women to take a Master’s in Business Administration.

Scholarship value: monetary value of up to CHF 25,000

Eligibility: the scholarship is focused on women from different developing countries around the world.

5. ETH Excellence Scholarships

ETH Zurich is accepting students from both national and international countries who are interested in pursuing a master’s degree at ETH. The scholarship is targeted at supporting excellent students who wish to pursue a Master’s degree at ETH are eligible to apply for their two scholarship programs: the Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Program (ESOP).

Scholarship value: it is a fully-funded scholarship, covering both tuition and living expenses.

Eligibility: Candidates with outstanding academic merit from around the world are qualified to apply.

6. University of Lausanne Master’s Grants for Foreign Students

The University of Lausanne in Switzerland offers scholarships to international students who wish to pursue a Master’s Degree at the University. 

Scholarship value: The award of the grant is up to CHF 1,600.

Eligibility: International students who have completed their undergraduate degrees.

7. The University Of Geneva

The Faculty Of Science, in collaboration with several sponsors, has established an Excellence Fellowship Program to support highly motivated candidates who intend to pursue a Master of Science in any of the disciplines covered by the Faculty.  Graduate Institute invests considerably in financial aid, aiming to attract talented scholars from around the world, regardless of origin and financial ability. They help their students that have financial need and award others on the basis of academic excellence.

Scholarship value: the financial aid offered to qualified students here is of two parts; a full scholarship of CHF 20,000 or a partial scholarship of CHF 10,000.

Eligibility: qualified international students in financial need.

8. University of Basel

Has its own fund to aid students with very limited resources and from low-income families. These are either partial scholarships awarded during the final degree phase (BA/MA) or Solidarity funds (Solifonds) awarded from the student body.

Scholarship value: The partial scholarship ranges from CHF 200 to 600 per person, per month. The Solifond is CHF 500 to 1000 per person, per semester.

Eligibility: Students with limited resources.

9. The University of St. Gallen

This university offers  two different scholarships to students and they are;

• Excellence Scholarships: They are granted to foreign students enrolled in Bachelor studies on the basis of merit. Every year, six scholarships are awarded to students in the Assessment Year, which will be paid out over a period of 3 years.

Scholarship value/inclusions: The scholarship amount is equivalent to the current tuition fees at the Bachelor’s Level. Since it runs to six semesters, a grantee receives an annual sum of CHF 6,252 (for all three years, which means the total sum of the scholarship is CHF 18,756).

Eligibility: International applicants with internationally recognized relevant educational qualifications and certificates that have passed the University of St. Gallen’s internal admission test.

• The Starr International Foundation Scholarship Fund: This scholarship is set aside for highly talented foreign-language students with a recognized foreign Bachelor’s degree who are completing a Master’s degree in one of the English-language programs the university provides.

Scholarship value/inclusions: Grants are given in the amount of CHF 15,000 per program every year.

10. Human Right Fellowship for Africa Descents

The United Nations Human Rights is offering a fellowship for postgraduate African students in the diaspora to study in Switzerland.

Eligibility: students from around the world are encouraged to apply

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Steps for Studying an Undergraduate Degree or Post Graduate Degree in Switzerland

To be admitted to any university in Switzerland, there are some basic requirements that need to be considered as a prospective student. If you are an international student, you need to go through the website of your school of choice to understand their specific requirements before registration begins. If you are applying to a public university in Switzerland, you need to check for your country’s specific requirements also because there are general requirements specific for each country in the public universities of Switzerland. Below are some necessary steps you can consider as you start your academic journey.

• Choose your university and program of choice: before starting any application process, it is important to choose the kind of university you want, either public or private institutions. After doing that the next step is to check out your preferred course of study and program.
• Check the admission requirements: after the first step of making a choice of institution, the next thing is to check the general admission requirements of your institution and then proceed to a specific course or program requirement as specified on the university website.
• Language requirements: good knowledge of the language of instruction is the prerequisite for successful studies. Check Step 3 below or the university profiles for more information on the language of instruction of the different universities.
• Contact the university: to get good information about the university you wish to attend it is wise to contact the university directly. This can be done either by sending an email or calling the number you may find on the university website. Doing this would give you first-hand insight into how the university operates.
• Apply for a visa: the last step of your admission journey is to apply for a student visa once the application is completed. You can contact your university to send a letter to your county’s embassy to hasten your visa application.

Switzerland is known to be one of the countries of the world with a sound educational sector because they invest so much in their country’s educational developments. The country is well developed and in fact, is very accommodating to foreigners and students who want to further their studies in Switzerland. If you are an international student who wants to study abroad, Switzerland is a good choice as they offer scholarships for international students to make their study years