Overview
An upcoming ETH Zurich fellowship call for exceptional early-career researchers proposing independent interdisciplinary work on the origin and prevalence of life. The 2026 call opens 4 September 2026.
Complete fellowship details
The fellowship provides 100% salary according to ETH standards for three years, with a possible fourth-year extension funded by the host professor(s) after a successful mid-term review. It also provides up to CHF 20,000 annually in total for research activities and international mobility. Employment is expected to start between April and September 2027.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must be early-career researchers with demonstrated scientific excellence. At application, the PhD thesis must at least have been submitted; applications within three years of obtaining the doctorate are considered, with justified exceptions possible. Applicants need an existing academic/research affiliation and must apply jointly with one or two ETH Zurich professors who are COPL members and willing to host the project.
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
Official ETH Zurich page states the call opens 4 September and closes 6 November 2026 but does not state a closing clock time, so deadline_date is used. The page states full salary funding, not a general 'fully funded' label; only the specified salary and research/mobility support are recorded.
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 ↗