Doctoral Exchange Grant

NOTE: in 2025 and 2026 Doctoral Exchange Grants will only be offered in Medieval Disciplines or Digital Humanities.

DOCTORAL EXCHANGE GRANT

These grants are to support collaborative inter-university cutting-edge research for students with top academic credentials studying towards an engineering degree (with engineering understood as the use of scientific principles for the design, construction or production of physical or virtual structures or systems)*, or towards a degree in all medieval disciplines, as well as towards a degree in digital humanities at the intersection of medieval disciplines and computer or data science. * This definition excludes biology, chemistry, physics and all life science. The grant aims to encourage research collaboration between two universities which must be located in two different countries, namely the home university of the candidate and a hosting university or research institute, one of the two being necessarily situated and governed in Switzerland. The grant will contribute to cover local living costs of the candidate while visiting in person for the entire period the hosting university or research institute exclusively and travel costs with a flat rate economy-class return airfare/train ticket from the home university to the hosting university.

“The candidacy will be taken into consideration only if the applicant will not receive any other source of funding included assistant salary.”

Please note that this grant will not cover tuition, visiting student, hosting or laboratory nor any other fees.

THE FOUNDATION WILL NOT GIVE ANY INFORMATION, JUSTIFICATION NOR REASON FOR THE DECISIONS CONCERNING THE ACCEPTANCE OR NOT OF AN APPLICATION.

Please consider that no reply will be given to such requests. We wish to inform applicants that, due to a significant increase in the number of applications to our fellowship programs, there is a high probability that students whose grade point average is not in the upper tier for their institution(s) of study will not be selected.

Stipend duration

Six to twelve months.

Grant

A stipend of 2’500, — Swiss francs per month to defray local living expenses at the hosting university or research institute, plus flat rate economy-class return airfare/train ticket from the home university to the hosting university.

No other fees and/or university overhead (tuition fees or visiting fees) will be covered.

The last installment of the grant (CHF 2’500.-) will be paid only upon receipt of a statement sent directly from the thesis advisor at the home university (the same who signed the project), confirming that the attendance was successfully completed and of the electronic copy of the thesis.

Questions that are clearly answered by grant rules will receive no answer; also, requests for exceptions to grant rules will not be taken into consideration.

NOTE: PLEASE FOLLOW ACCURATELY THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE BELOW.

FALSE OR INCOMPLETE OR LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED AND WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY ANSWER.

Application procedure

Applicants should send before the relevant application deadline for an intended Doctoral Exchange Grant’s thesis stay abroad that begins at the earliest five (5) months after that application deadline an email to the ZKS Foundation’s email address here with attached the following three files:

The first, the “Application form” completely filled in.

The second, the “Affidavit” duly completed, dated and signed.

The third in single PDF format containing the following documents in that order:

A one page motivation letter with the full address of the candidate

A one-page resume, including descriptions of the candidate’s education and work experience, plus elementary personal data (date and place of birth, citizenship, marital status, language proﬁciency)

A three- to four-page description of the proposed research project or of the desired research project including its goals and methodology, together with the name, address and signature of the thesis advisor at the candidate’s home university

A one-page indicating your grade point average (for Bachelor, Master – up to today if applicant for Master Thesis Grant, PhD – up to today if applicant for Doctoral Exchange Grant), in the units used by your institution, over all courses excluding the thesis grade for each diploma that you have earned or are currently studying towards

Grade transcripts otherwise known as Transcripts of Records or Mark-sheets of the applicant for all years of higher education

A scanned email or letter from the hosting professor on letterhead from the hosting institution with her/his address and phone number, confirming that (i) she/he will host, provide guidance to the student for the entire duration of her/his stay, (ii) providing any relevant information she/he may wish to contribute concerning funding for expenses related to the candidate’s work during her/his stay and (iii) certifying by means of the statement given above that any fee charged by his/her institution to visiting students will be waived or fully covered by her/his chair or laboratory (without this the application will not be considered).

Recommendation letters are not considered, hence please abstain from sending them to us.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS NOT ACCEPTED, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO APPLY A SECOND TIME FOR THE SAME GRANT.

Note: in considering the application, the ZKS Foundation may contact the hosting professor.

Deadlines

Twice a year : May 1st and November 1st of each year, at 23.59 (Swiss time).

Application form

Affidavit