University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowships 2027: CHF 15,000 a Year, Eligibility and Deadline

The University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowships are merit awards from the Faculty of Science worth CHF 10,000 to CHF 15,000 a year, with no teaching duties attached. They go to outstanding students starting a Master of Science in fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, computer science, astrophysics, earth and environmental sciences or pharmacy. The fellowship is granted for one year and extended for the normal length of the master’s (three or four semesters) if you do well in your first semester.

Anyone can apply, whatever their nationality or home university, as long as they are among the best in their year and meet the admission rules of their master’s. The 2026 round closed on 28 February 2026. For master’s programmes starting in September 2027, the Deadline is 28 February 2027, and the online application opens at the beginning of January 2027. You must register for your UNIGE master’s first, because the fellowship file needs proof of that registration.

UNIGE Excellence Master Fellowships at a glance

(Dates based on this year’s calendar; confirm on the official page when the call opens.)

What the fellowship is worth in Geneva

The award sits between CHF 10,000 and CHF 15,000 a year. UNIGE does not publish how it decides who gets which amount. Over a four-semester master’s that is CHF 20,000 to CHF 30,000 in total, if you keep it after your first semester.

Set that against the cost of living. A UNIGE faculty page estimates a student budget of CHF 1,400 to CHF 1,900 a month, including CHF 550 to 700 for a student residence room, CHF 600 to 800 for food and other costs, and about CHF 100 for health insurance. That is roughly CHF 17,000 to CHF 23,000 a year, so even the top fellowship covers only part of what you will spend. I would treat it as partial funding and plan savings or family support for the rest, plus a part-time job within the hours your Swiss permit allows.

Tuition at UNIGE is low

The good news is the fee. UNIGE charges CHF 500 a semester, the same for Swiss and international students, which is among the lowest in Switzerland. The fellowship page does not say tuition is waived, so budget the CHF 1,000 a year yourself; the fellowship easily covers it. Geneva politicians have debated higher fees for foreign students, so check the current rate before you enrol.

Eligible master’s programmes

The fellowship covers Master of Science degrees in the Faculty of Science. The faculty lists these programmes:

Most of these master’s are partly taught in English, and some fully. The faculty says no French exam is required for admission, but check the language rules for your programme on the Faculty of Science master’s page. A Swiss master’s in pharmacy leads to professional practice in Switzerland, so confirm with the coordinator whether it suits a foreign graduate.

University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowships eligibility

1. Academic level: you should be among the best students in your year. No minimum GPA is published, so a strong transcript and class ranking carry the file.
2. Admission: you must meet the admission criteria of your chosen Faculty of Science master’s, which usually means a bachelor’s in the same or a closely related field.
3. Any home university: applicants from Swiss and foreign universities compete equally, and no nationality is excluded.
4. New master’s student: if you have already started a master’s in the Faculty of Science, you cannot apply.
5. Final-year students: you can apply while finishing your bachelor’s, as long as you complete it before the master’s starts.

Edge cases

• Bachelor’s in a neighbouring field: admission depends on whether your degree matches the master’s. If you studied, say, engineering and want physics, or pharmacy and want biochemistry, email the coordinator with your transcript before you pay for certified copies or tests.
• Grades on a different scale: “best in your year” is easier to prove with a class rank or a percentile from your department. Ask your registrar or a referee to state it.
• No English test yet: the fellowship lists language results as optional supporting material, but your master’s may still require proof of English. Book a test early if the programme asks for one.
• Current UNIGE bachelor’s students: you can apply, using a scan of your student card in place of the registration email.

Documents for the fellowship application

Everything goes into one PDF file, written in English or French. Incomplete files are not considered.

How to apply, step by step

1. Pick your master’s: read the programme page and admission rules, and email the coordinator if you are unsure whether your bachelor’s fits.
2. Register for admission at UNIGE: complete the master’s enrolment through the university admissions office. You will then receive the “UNIGE-Candidature: Dépôt de votre dossier” email. Keep it, because it is part of your fellowship file.
3. Ask your two professors early: give them your CV, transcript and a short note on the programme so their letters can be specific.
4. Register for the fellowship in January 2027: when the online application opens, sign up on the official fellowship page. You then get an email with a personal link to the application form.
5. Build and upload one PDF: put the documents in the order listed above, check every scan is legible, and submit through your personal link before 28 February 2027.
6. Finish admission: the faculty’s general enrolment deadline for September programmes is 30 April, but your admission registration has to exist before you submit the fellowship file.

Writing the motivation letter

Selection is based on excellence as shown in your file, and the letter is where you explain your scientific interests. Selectors want to see that you know what you want to study and why Geneva. A simple plan:

1. Your scientific question: one topic you care about, from a course, project or thesis.
2. What you have done: a lab project, code, fieldwork or publication, with a concrete result.
3. Why UNIGE: name a research group, course or facility in the faculty. Geneva hosts groups in astronomy, particle physics and life sciences, and CERN is nearby, but only mention links that genuinely match your plan.
4. Where you are going: a PhD, research job or industry role.

Example opening: “In my bachelor’s project I wrote a pipeline to classify variable stars from survey light curves. The Master in Astrophysics at Geneva would let me apply those methods to exoplanet detection, which is the work I want to continue in a PhD.”

Common mistakes

• Missing the UNIGE admission registration email in the fellowship PDF.
• Sending several files or emailing documents instead of using the personal link.
• A CV longer than two pages.
• Reference letters from supervisors who are not professors.
• A generic motivation letter that never mentions Geneva’s programme or research.
• Applying after you have already started a Faculty of Science master’s.

After you apply

The faculty does not publish a results date or the number of fellowships. Expect a decision in the spring, before the September start, and keep your admission file moving in parallel. If you win, the fellowship runs for your first year; at the end of the first semester the faculty checks your results, and good progress extends it for the rest of the regular three or four semesters.

Students from outside the EU and EFTA then apply for a Swiss student visa and residence permit, and must show they can pay for their stay. Your fellowship letter counts towards that, but at CHF 10,000 to 15,000 a year it will not cover the full amount, so prepare bank statements or a sponsor letter for the rest. Swiss health insurance is compulsory, though some students can keep cover from their home country.

Costs the fellowship does not cover

• Living costs above the fellowship, roughly CHF 2,000 to CHF 13,000 a year depending on your award and lifestyle.
• Tuition of CHF 500 a semester (not stated as waived).
• Visa and residence permit fees, flights and a rent deposit.
• Health insurance if you cannot keep a home-country policy.

How it compares with similar master’s awards

For more options, see our guides to scholarships in Europe and the Erasmus Mundus scholarships, several of which cover the same science fields with full funding.

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply if you are near the top of your class in a science subject, want a research-focused master’s taught mainly in English, and can cover the gap between the fellowship and Geneva’s living costs. Because tuition is only CHF 1,000 a year, the fellowship goes further at UNIGE than a similar sum would at most European universities.

Skip it if your field is outside the Faculty of Science (law, economics, medicine or international relations sit elsewhere at UNIGE), if you are already enrolled in a faculty master’s, or if you have no way to fund the rest of your stay. Swiss permit rules make that last point hard to work around.

FAQs

How much is the University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowship?

CHF 10,000 to CHF 15,000 a year, with no teaching duties. It is renewed for the regular length of the master’s if your first semester results are good.

When is the UNIGE Excellence Master Fellowship deadline for 2027?

The Deadline is 28 February 2027 for master’s programmes starting in September 2027. The online application opens at the beginning of January 2027.

Can international students get the Geneva Excellence Master Fellowship?

Yes. It is open to outstanding students from any university and country, as long as they meet the admission criteria of a Faculty of Science master’s.

Do I need to speak French to study a master’s at the University of Geneva?

Not for most science master’s. The Faculty of Science says its master’s are taught in English or in English and French, and no French exam is required, though you should check your programme’s own language rules.

Sources and updates

Scholars4Dev’s University of Geneva Excellence Masters Fellowships article was the starting point. Amount, duration, eligibility, the document list and the 28 February 2026 deadline were checked on the Faculty of Science Excellence Master Fellowships page; the programme list and 30 April enrolment date come from the faculty’s master’s page. The CHF 500 semester fee and living-cost estimate come from a UNIGE fees and cost of living page, and the fee debate from an IamExpat report (January 2024). The 2027 dates follow the 2026 calendar and will be updated when the faculty publishes the new call. Checked 25 October 2026.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.