The education of doctoral students is the responsibility of the universities. Doc.CH grants enable promising researchers to write a doctoral thesis in the humanities and social sciences in Switzerland on a subject of their own choice. Doc.Mobility grants allow researchers in all disciplines to conduct part of their doctoral thesis abroad.

Scientists may also receive indirect support from the SNSF as doctoral students via the financing of PhD posts, particularly in project funding, as well as via other funding schemes (Eccellenza, PRIMA, Ambizione, NCCRs, NRPs, special programmes in biology and medicine, Sinergia). Candidates who wish to obtain such a post must contact the principal investigator directly.

Doctoral students employed in research projects can also apply for a mobility grant in order to conduct part of their doctoral thesis abroad by agreement with the principal investigator. The mobility grant is awarded as a supplementary grant within the scope of an ongoing SNSF project.

Mobility grants in projects

If you are aiming for a stay abroad as a postdoc after gaining your doctorate, you may apply for an Early Postdoc.Mobility or Postdoc.Mobility fellowship. The SNSF also offers smaller grants for researchers at postdoc level, namely Scientific Exchanges.   

In addition, the SNSF finances postdoctoral posts as part of project funding and via career funding schemes (Eccellenza, PRIMA, partially Ambizione) and programmes (NCCRs, NRPs, special programmes for biology and medicine, Sinergia). The PhD posts are awarded to the researchers responsible for the project.

If you are a postdoc with family commitments working in an SNSF-funded project, you may be able to reduce your work-time percentage or have child care costs covered via a Flexibility Grant (the two forms of support may also be combined).

Flexibility Grant

If you aim to make or continue a postdoctoral stay abroad and hold a doctoral degree, you can apply for an Postdoc.Mobility fellowship.

Postdoc.Mobility

If you can demonstrate a postdoctoral research experience combined with an excellent track record, you may apply for an Ambizione or a PRIMA grant. Whereas Ambizione is open for male and female researchers, PRIMA is directed towards outstanding female researchers. Ambizione and PRIMA do not require prior links with Switzerland and are therefore open to foreign researchers. Ambizione and PRIMA grants include the researcher’s salary as well as research costs and offer optimal conditions to lead a research project at a Swiss research institution.

If you are sufficiently qualified to be an assistant professor based on your track record, you may apply to Eccellenza, which enables you to do research at a Swiss research institution. SNSF Eccellenza Professorial Fellowships include the applicant’s own salary, at the local rate applicable to assistant professorships, and project funds. SNSF Eccellenza Grants are aimed at researchers who have recently obtained an assistant professorship with tenure track at a higher education institute in Switzerland. They can only apply for project funds.

If you are employed at a Swiss research institution and have at least four years of postdoctoral experience, you may submit an application for project funding, provided you are capable of conducting a research project independently (not under instructions) and of leading the personnel employed for the project. Furthermore, you must have access to the necessary infrastructure. At this stage in your career, you may also apply for the financing of individual projects in the context of National Research Programmes (NRPs) and National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) in response to the relevant calls for proposals.

The programmes "Research partnerships with developing countries" and SCOPES (Eastern Europe) are designed to support international collaborations; Scientific Exchanges and publications serve the same funding purpose. It is also possible to access funding schemes of the ESF and FP7.

You are active in clinical research, have applied for project funding from the Biology and Medicine division and wish to dedicate 30% of your working time to your research project. In consultation with your employer you can apply for a Protected Research Time for Clini-cians grant.

In the SNSF's understanding, established researchers are scientists with credentials who are employed at a Swiss research institution in a temporary or long-term capacity (typically as professors) and who have their own research group(s). They must have successfully applied for third-party funding in a competitive procedure, be involved in the training of young scientists and have a certain amount of experience in organising and managing scientific projects.

Established researchers do not have access to the funding schemes of career funding, which are geared primarily at junior researchers. They may, however, apply for support through all other funding schemes. Furthermore, established researchers and their research groups may apply for financial support when acquiring equipment (R'Equip) and infrastructures. They may also apply for grants to cover the costs of large-scale projects (e.g. Sinergia), or for a leadership role in such projects.

You are active in clinical research, have applied for project funding from the Biology and Medicine division and wish to dedicate 30% of your working time to your research project. In consultation with your employer you can apply for a Protected Research Time for Clinicians grant.

In principle, eligibility to submit applications to the SNSF ends with the conferral of emeritus status or with retirement. However, retired persons and persons with emeritus status are eligible to submit an application if they can show that they hold at least a 50% position at an eligible research institution for the duration of the relevant research project.

​If you are a researcher at a university of applied sciences (UAS) or a university of teacher education (UTE) and have done a doctorate there, you have exactly the same options as researchers at other universities. Researchers without a doctorate have access to all SNSF funding schemes except for a small number of career funding schemes.

Funding

If they have an excellent track record, they may apply for an Ambizione, PRIMA or Eccellenza. In all funding schemes to which they have access, their applications are subject to the same conditions as those of other university researchers with regard to the fulfillment of requirements or criteria. The specific practices customary in the relevant discipline are taken into account when the applicant's track record is assessed.