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Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students · Switzerland

Level
PhD or doctoral research
Where
Switzerland
Money
A monthly living grant
Fields
Law, Medicine, Engineering

In short

The Swiss Confederation’s research scholarship, run by the Federal Commission for Scholarships. It is for a PhD or a research stay, not for a coursework master’s. The 2027–28 round is open. Your deadline is the one Switzerland has printed for Sierra Leone.

A law doctorate, a medical research project, or an engineering PhD can all be proposed, if a Swiss professor agrees to host it. There is no list of “priority jobs”. The supervisor is the real gate.

Who can apply

  • You are a Sierra Leone citizen, and Sierra Leone’s factsheet for this year offers the scholarship type you want. Art scholarships are not offered to every country.
  • You hold a master’s, or you will hold it by the date that factsheet states.
  • You are within the age rule. The overview says 35. The factsheet can be stricter. Read it.
  • A professor at a Swiss university has agreed, in writing, to supervise you.

Papers they ask for

  • The online application. The portal opened on 20 August 2026.
  • A research proposal, your master’s certificate, and the supervisor’s letter.
  • The extra documents named on the Sierra Leone factsheet, not the ones named for another country.

What it pays

  • CHF 2,450 a month for basic living costs
  • Health insurance for a scholar from outside the EU and EFTA, on the terms of that year’s note
  • The research stay the scholarship type allows. It is not a taught master’s scholarship for most countries

How to apply

  1. Open the country list on the Swiss government page and download the Sierra Leone sheet. Write down the scholarship types and the deadline.
  2. Write to one or two professors whose work matches yours. A mass email does not get answered.
  3. Apply online only after the supervisor has said yes.
  4. Submit before the Sierra Leone deadline. The commission, not the embassy clerk, selects.

Read this before you file

  • Field research outside Switzerland is not allowed during a research fellowship.
  • CHF 2,450 a month is the published living grant. Swiss rent can consume most of it. Know the city before you accept.
  • A deadline you saw on a Facebook post for another country is not yours.

Checked against the provider’s page on 11 October 2026. If this note and that page disagree, the provider is right. Lanbuk does not award this scholarship.