You are a master's graduate, or close to it, and the worry is paying for a doctorate abroad. A publicly funded door in Europe is open to Filipinos now.
The Swiss Confederation awards the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship to encourage exchange and research cooperation; the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS) selects the recipients, and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) runs the programme. As SERI's country list stood on 19 October 2026, the Philippines is on it for the 2027–28 academic year, and Filipino applications close on 27 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Swiss time, not Manila time.
The Two Types Open to Filipinos
For the Philippines, the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship offers two types this round. A PhD scholarship lets you pursue a doctorate at a university or research institute in Switzerland for 12 months, renewable twice up to 36 months if you progress. A research fellowship is for a PhD student outside Switzerland, to spend 6 to 12 months on part of the doctorate in Switzerland, with no extension. Both start on 1 September 2027.
The art scholarship goes only to selected countries, not the Philippines, and postdoctoral scholarships are no longer awarded from the 2027/28 academic year.
Who Can Apply from the Philippines
For either research scholarship, this round's criteria are:
- a master's degree or equivalent completed by 31 July 2027 (30 June 2027 for ETH Zurich);
- a date of birth after 31 December 1991;
- a detailed research plan with a timeline of key milestones;
- a letter of support from an academic supervisor in Switzerland, with that supervisor's short CV;
- if living in Switzerland, entry on or after 1 August 2026.
Past recipients are excluded. With only a bachelor's, neither type is open to you yet. The federal government offers no alternative funding, the programme's FAQ says; other governments run their own, such as France's Eiffel programme for master's and PhD study and Türkiye's own programme.
Your Academic Supervisor
No application is considered without a supervisor in Switzerland, and finding one is your job alone: according to the FAQ, neither the ESKAS secretariat nor the universities can help, so pay no one who offers to. Suitable supervisors are professors and laboratory group leaders; for a PhD scholarship, someone authorised to supervise doctoral theses. The search can take weeks or months.
Write to professors in your field with a short CV, motivation letter, recommendation letters and a two-to-three-page plan. The award and admission to a doctoral programme are separate procedures: an individual doctorate needs no admission letter at application, but a doctoral school does.
Which Swiss Universities Are Eligible
SERI lists where these awards can be held: any cantonal university, the universities of applied sciences, the two federal institutes of technology (ETH Zurich and EPFL) and the four research institutes of the ETH Domain. At a university of applied sciences, a doctorate needs a second supervisor authorised to confer doctorates at a traditional university.
What It Funds, and What It Does Not
According to the programme's pages on 19 October 2026:
- Monthly: CHF 2,450 for one person's basic living costs. It is not a salary.
- Health insurance: the FCS pays compulsory premiums for non-EU/EFTA holders, Filipinos included.
- Setting up: a one-time CHF 600 rental-deposit grant and a Half-Fare Travelcard.
- Going home: a return flight allowance set by country of origin.
The federal scholarship does not cover tuition or semester fees (some institutions charge roughly CHF 600 to CHF 2,000 a semester), conferences or fieldwork. Permits for accompanying family face a restrictive policy. Some universities, such as EPFL, ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, require top-up funding from the supervisor.
How to Apply Before 27 November 2026
Applications go online, through GO ESKAS, never by email or paper. The Philippine call opened on 20 August 2026.
- Register in GO ESKAS and upload your documents, including your CV, motivation letter, research proposal on the FCS form, the supervisor's letter and CV, your home supervisor's CV for a fellowship, transcripts (with certified translations if not in English, French, Italian or German) and your passport.
- Name two professors by email; the system asks them for recommendation letters.
One host institution and one proposal per application, at most three tries per type. The list's Philippine contact is the Embassy of Switzerland in Manila, man.scholarship@eda.admin.ch. The FCS decides by the end of May at the latest, on three criteria: your profile, your project and its potential for future research cooperation.
In the calls we follow, the form is the last step; the first is a conversation with a professor whose work your plan fits. In the programme's words, the award supports "the next generation of researchers and professors in the country of origin". That is the ladder: a funded doctorate or research year, then the researcher who teaches at home and keeps the collaboration alive.
Before You Write to a Professor
- Confirm your master's will be completed by 31 July 2027 (ETH Zurich: 30 June).
- Draft your project plan with milestones.
- Shortlist professors whose work matches yours.
- Prepare a short CV and motivation letter, with your career plans.
- Mark 27 November 2026, Swiss time.
The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most
Is it free to apply for the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship? Yes. SERI says the application is free of charge; the FCS's advice on fake offers asking for "visa and social insurance costs" is never to send money.
What if I miss the 27 November deadline? The next Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship call, for the 2028–2029 academic year, will be advertised online from August 2027, according to SERI.
Sources
Programme page — State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation: https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/en/swiss-government-excellence-scholarships
At a glance — SERI: https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/en/swiss-government-excellence-scholarships-at-a-glance
FAQ — SERI: https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/en/faq-swiss-government-excellence-scholarships
Country list — State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation: https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/dam/en/sd-web/yBYiu8PC4jzg/2026-09-01_A_Z_List_of_countries_and_territories_complete.pdf