Overview
Three-year ETH Zurich fellowships for exceptional early-career researchers proposing independent interdisciplinary research on the origin and prevalence of life, with a possible fourth host-funded year.
Complete fellowship details
The 2026 call opens 4 September and closes 6 November 2026. Fellows receive a 100% ETH-standard salary for three years and up to CHF 20,000 per year for research activities and international mobility. A possible fourth year is funded by the host professor(s) after a successful mid-term review. Employment is expected to begin between April and September 2027.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must be early-career researchers who have submitted their PhD thesis and normally apply within three years of obtaining the doctorate. They should have an existing affiliation with an academic or research institution. Applications are joint with one or two ETH Zurich professor hosts affiliated with COPL, and at least one host/co-host must have a guaranteed ETH position for the full fellowship duration.
Tips for this fellowship
Practical Job and Scholarship guidance. These tips do not replace official rules or create new eligibility requirements.
- Check eligibility, funding coverage, study/project level and every required document before investing time in the application.
- Prepare transcripts, references, language tests, proposal/motivation statement and proof documents early.
- Separate the scholarship deadline from any university/program admission deadline; they may be different.
- Treat “fully funded” as a source fact only when the official provider explicitly confirms the covered costs.
Verification notes
Verified against the current official COPL page. The call runs 4 September–6 November 2026; the current source does not state a 2026 closing time, so deadline is null. Submission is through the ETH Job Board when the call is live.
Job and Scholarship is the discovery and verification layer. Confirm eligibility, dates, salary/funding and application instructions on the original source before submitting anything.
ETH Zurich Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life ↗