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.

*Note: 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.”

NOTE: PLEASE FOLLOW ACCURATELY THE APPLICATION PROCEDURE BELOW.

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

Mandatory condition

We only accept applications from students that have not commenced their Doctoral’s thesis stay abroad before the dates indicated below.

That is to say that:

for applications submitted for the May 1st deadline the travel and stay must not begin earlier than August 1st

for applications submitted for the November 1st deadline the travel and stay must not begin earlier than February 1st of the following year.

no applications will be accepted for Doctoral’s stay abroad beginning earlier than 3 months from the date of application

Documents for Application

Before the relevant application deadline, applicants must send an email to the ZKS Foundation’s email address here attaching the following three files:

The “Application form” completely filled in

The “Affidavit” duly completed, dated and signed

A single PDF document containing the following documents in this specific order:

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)

Two-page description of the candidate’s proposed research project including its goals and methodology, relevant references, and ending with the name, and signature of the thesis advisor at the candidate’s home university. Note that if this research project does not fall within disciplines sponsored by the Foundation (see first paragraph above) a grant will not be awarded

A short (maximum half a page) statement penned by the candidate indicating her/his grade point average in the units used by her/his institution, over all courses excluding the thesis grade for each diploma that she/he has earned or is currently studying towards. On this page the candidate may also give any factual information that she/he deems worthy of consideration by the Foundation

The candidate’s complete grade transcripts otherwise known as Transcripts of Records or Mark-sheets for all years of higher education with their translation into English if not originally written in English, French, German or Italian

A scanned and signed letter from the hosting professor, on letterhead from the hosting institution with her/his address and phone number, confirming with their signature the dates of the student’s stay and the following text, citedverbatim (i.e., word by word and without qualifications or modification other than filling in the applicant’s name) in the signed letter:

“I certify herewith that I

(i) will host and provide guidance to (*applicant’s name*) for the entire duration of her/his stay for the proposal submitted with this application,

(ii) will provide relevant information and means for the candidate to carry the work described in this proposal during her/his stay with us and

(iii) that any fee(other than living expenses of the applicant such as the cost of housing or health insurance) charged by my institution to visiting students will be waived or fully covered by my chair or laboratory.”

Without these statements written verbatim, free of qualifications or modification and signed by the host, the application will not be considered.

Further notes

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.

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).