Foreign Government Awards Program - Switzerland

NOTE: this competition is closed. A new competition is expected to be announced in August 2010.

Award

• Award Types
• Award Value
• Duration
• Background

Student

• Eligibility
• Conditions
• Obligations

Application Process

• Instructions
• How to Apply
  • Step One: CBIE APPLICATION
  • Step Two: SWISS GOVERNMENT APPLICATION
• Deadline
• Notification
• Final Selection

Award

Award Types

Awards are for Masters, PhD and Post-doctoral level research in Switzerland. However, please note that priority will be given to PhD and Post-doctoral level applicants. It is not valid for on-the-job studies, part-time studies or correspondence courses. In principle, the recipients can study at any Swiss university or Federal Institute of Technology (list of Swiss Universities and Federal Institutes of Technology).

In the framework of a special allocation, scholarships for advanced arts students are offered to the best applicants who are already at an advanced stage of their training.

For fine arts and music, scholarship holders can attend the respective public schools and conservatories.

Award Value

• A monthly payment of:
  • CHF 1.920 for postgraduate students
  • CHF 1.920 for fine arts and music students
  • CHF 1.600 for the language course
• Medical coverage is usually provided through the Federal Commission for Scholarships given that all residents must be insured against sickness and accidents.

Duration

The duration of the scholarship is for the nine-month academic year.

Scholarships as a rule cannot be renewed.

Background

Through the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), the Swiss Government grants Canadian citizens university scholarships at Swiss universities and Federal Institutes of Technology. Scholarships are intended for those who, by staying in Switzerland, will be able to further their education and to undertake research work in the fields in which the Swiss universities are particularly active.

These scholarships are offered on the basis of reciprocity (fixed number of scholarships for each country) or within the frame of a scholarship pool (scholarships without fixed distribution by country).

Student

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be Canadian citizens.
• Hold an undergraduate and/or a graduate degree from a Canadian university.
• Be under 35 years of age when applying (1.1.1974 and younger).
• Have a sound working knowledge of German, French or Italian.
• Masters students already in Switzerland are not eligible.

Conditions

• Scholarship recipients are responsible for their travel arrangements to and from Switzerland.
• FCS basically assumes none of the study fees. At present, the universities and Federal Institutes of Technology do not require scholarship holders to pay general university semester fees but do often require payment of fees for postgraduate courses such as for the MBA. Fine arts schools not waive the fees, it is up to the scholarship holder to arrange payment.
• You are responsible for your application to a Swiss university or Federal Institute of Technology.
• For admission at Swiss universities, the scholarship holders need the originals of the certificates and diplomas.
• When accepting the scholarship, candidates may have to give their written agreement to return to their country after completion of studies in Switzerland.
• Scholarships of the FCS cannot be awarded concurrently with other scholarships. If a scholarship holder has another scholarship or other financial support (salary), they must turn down the FCS scholarship.

Obligations

• Scholarships holders must live in Switzerland at their study place. They must comply with FCS directives, regulations concerning the residence of foreigners in Switzerland and with university / art institution regulations.
• The FCS does not have the authority to decide on the possibility of bringing the family of the scholarship holder to Switzerland. This is left to the Federal Aliens Police, which at present deals with requests very restrictively. As a rule, family members cannot be brought into Switzerland in the first year of study.

Application Process

Instructions

Please read this section carefully before completing the online application. This information is provided by the FCS which makes the final selection from applicants nominated by the Canadian Scholarships Selection Committee.

• The candidates must have a good performance capacity and a clear study goal. With the application they must hand in comprehensive and precise details about the theme and the orientation of the planned work. It should not involve on-the-job studies, part-time studies or correspondence courses.

  In making their applications, the students should take into account the possibilities offered by Swiss universities. Information on the courses given at Swiss universities as well as schools for fine arts or music can be obtained on Internet (list of Swiss Universities and Federal Institutes of Technology). In their choice of study, candidates should keep in mind employment possibilities in their own country.

• Before applying for an ESKAS scholarship, you will first need to find out whether the university you wish to attend actually offers the postgraduate course or field of research you are interested in. You should therefore contact the person in charge of the postgraduate course or a professor who can provide you with guidance on your research project. You will need to submit copies of your university degree (with transcript), a detailed study plan and curriculum vitae. Failure to take the necessary precaution of contacting the university beforehand may result in your scholarship application being rejected by the relevant institution in the host country or by the Swiss embassy.

  Universities may request additional information and/or set certain conditions to determine whether or not you qualify for admission. In some cases, e.g. for Master's programmes, you may also have to enroll directly with the university before the application deadline. No FCS scholarship funding will be provided for the preparatory programme if the university does not accept you for enrolment. In such cases, your scholarship application will be invalid. Furthermore, FCS will not pay any costs that you may incur in relation to the university admissions process.

• Candidates who submit their applications within the frame of a cooperation program between the academic institution (institute, laboratory, etc.) of their country of origin and in Switzerland have a certain priority.

  On the other hand, the Swiss embassy or the relevant institution of the host country can reject candidates who are already in Switzerland or a third country. The FCS does not give them priority status even though the responsible authorities support them.

• Good knowledge in German, French or Italian is required for studies at a Swiss university or art institution. In some cases the candidate's knowledge of English will also be tested.

The Swiss embassy or consulate sets a preliminary language examination. If satisfactory language ability cannot be demonstrated, the candidature is basically turned down. If there is doubt whether the candidate can follow lectures in French or German without problem, the scholarship is granted only on the condition that the candidate takes a preparatory language course in Fribourg (German / French) or Lugano (Italian) from the beginning of July to the middle of September. They will receive a scholarship for this course and are exempt from all course fees. Students who have the “Diplôme de langue” of the Alliance Française or the “DELF 2” or the "Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung" (ZMP) of the Goethe Institute or an equivalent diploma are exempt from attending the language course. A special regulation applies for eventual Italian courses.

How to Apply

Note: This is a two-step process. First, you will need to complete the CBIE online application and then the Swiss application provided in Adobe PDF. You will need to send to CBIE the Swiss application as well as all the supporting documents.

Step One: CBIE APPLICATION

Applicants must complete the CBIE Online Application.

• Enter your data in the fields provided, following the instructions for each item.
• Upon completion, verify your data prior to submitting.
• To obtain a hard copy for your records, prior to submitting, you may print the form using the print function of your browser. Note that CBIE does not require a hard copy.
• SUBMIT to provide your application electronically to CBIE.

Applicants must also submit the following supporting documents to complete the first part of the application process:

• Proof of Canadian citizenship: one certified copy of the following: birth certificate, citizenship card or passport (do not include original documents); a certificate of baptism is not accepted as proof of Canadian citizenship.
• Signed "Declaration by Applicant" found at the end of the online application.
• Two letters of recommendation from professors.
• Official transcript (one) of ALL post-secondary studies to date (COMPLETE academic record(s) including College of Applied Arts and Technology-CAAT and CEGEP) must be sent directly from the issuing institution(s) or you may include your transcript(s) in your application package provided they are in a sealed envelope.
• Proof of registration for studies in progress, including courses being taken
• Two sets of artwork samples for applicants in the area of graphic and applied arts as well as music.

Artwork samples required are as follows:

• For painters, graphic artists and sculptors: photographs of 3 pieces of their work, rough drafts (with date of creation); could be presented on CD;
• For musicians: high-quality CD or tape recordings of 3 different styles of music if the music involves interpreters and directors. Composers have to submit their scores.

*Only samples as specified above will be presented to the selection committee. Samples can be returned following the competition; please indicate the return address. However CBIE, while taking all reasonable care, cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage of artwork samples.

Step Two: SWISS GOVERNMENT APPLICATION

Applicants must complete the Application for a Swiss Government Scholarship

• Applications must be typewritten and sent to CBIE in three (3) copies.

Applicants must also submit the following supporting documents to complete the second part of the application process:

• Three recent passport-size photographs. Write your full name on the back of one photograph.
• Photocopies of secondary school certificates, or equivalents (not for arts studies).
• Photocopies of certificates from previously attended universities/colleges and diplomas; for arts students, photocopies of certificates and diplomas of previously attended conservatories, music colleges or arts and crafts schools;
• Precise and detailed plan outlining the program of study or research you intend to do in Switzerland and a letter of motivation.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Health certificate (on the intended FCS form).
• If applicable, language certificate (German, French or Italian).
• One copy of your letter(s) of acceptance or copy of confirmation from a professor at the intended Swiss university/college that the scientific supervision of the study project is guaranteed; for postgraduate or master courses, please contact the course directors and enclose the reply or the letter of admission.

Note: If the above list of documents is not submitted in German, French, Italian or English, then an authenticated translation in one of these languages must be included.

Deadline

Complete application (Step 1 and Step 2) must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. EST, October 14, 2009. Supporting documents must be postmarked on or before this date.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that supporting documents are submitted by the deadline. The selection committee will not accept incomplete files. All required information must appear in the space provided: supporting documents other than those SPECIFICALLY requested will not be accepted.

We strongly recommend that you collect all the required supporting documents in sealed envelopes and send them to CBIE in one package by a method which will provide you with confirmation of its delivery, such as courier service or registered mail.

If you are unable to collect all the required supporting documents, please ensure that your referees and institution(s) issuing transcripts submit the documents directly to CBIE by the deadline. Be sure to identify the name of the scholarship program for which you are applying on all documentation sent to CBIE.

Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE)
Attn: Foreign Government Awards Program – Switzerland
220 Laurier Ave. W., Suite 1550
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5Z9

We are unable to acknowledge receipt, by letter or telephone, but you can e-mail us at: scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca

Notification

Applicants who are pre-selected by the Canadian Scholarship Selection Committee will be notified in mid December by CBIE that their applications will be forwarded to the Swiss diplomatic representation in Ottawa as nominees.

Those who are not pre-selected will be notified in late December by CBIE.

Final Selection

The Federal Department of Home Affairs awards scholarships on the advice of the FCS. Successful candidates will be notified in May by the FCS.

All recommendations of the Canadian Scholarship Selection Committee and decisions made by the host countries are final and are not open to appeal.