Through the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students (FCS), the Swiss Government grants foreign students university scholarships (Swiss universities, Federal Institutes of Technology). These scholarships are offered on the basis of reciprocity (fixed number of scholarships for each country) or within the framework of a pool (scholarships without fixed distribution by country (like Kazakhstan and Tajikistan)). They are intended for students who have graduated from university (postgraduates).

Special emphasis will be put on research fellowships. These scholarships will enable applicants to further their education and to undertake research work in the fields in which the Swiss universities are particularly active.

The program is valid only for studies in Switzerland. The duration of the scholarship is for the nine-month academic year. An extension of maximum 12 months is possible.

The applications have to be submitted for a preliminary selection to the Swiss diplomatic representation in the student’s country of origin. The Swiss diplomatic representation will then forward the pre-selected applications to the FCS for final selection.
The scholarship is valid only for full-time studies in Switzerland. It is not valid for on-the-job studies, part-time studies, correspondence courses or mixed programs (part time in Switzerland and part time in another country).

Main conditions for the applicants are:

1) High education degree in the country of residence (diploma)
2) Sufficient knowledge of the teaching language (French, German, Italian or English)
3) Age limit: 35 years (born prior to 1.1.1977)

For more information please visit the web site of the Federal Comission for Scholarships for Foreign Students. For application forms please contact the Embassy.

Application deadline for Kazakh citizens is January 9th 2012. Place: Embassy of Switzerland in Astana.

For application documents please contact:
Kazakh citizens: The Swiss Embassy in Astana
Tajik citizens: The Swiss Agency from Development and Cooperation in Dushanbe.