Overview
The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships 2027–2028 are open to eligible applicants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a research fellowship or PhD scholarship at a Swiss higher-education or research institution.
Complete scholarship details
For applicants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the current SERI country list offers Research Fellowship and PhD routes. Research fellowships run 6–12 months and PhD scholarships are initially 12 months and may be renewed twice for up to 36 months, with a 1 September 2027 start. Each route provides CHF 2,450 per month. For non-EU/EFTA scholars, compulsory health and accident-insurance premiums are covered, a CHF 600 rental-deposit contribution and Half-Fare Travelcard are provided, and a return-flight allowance is available. Tuition and semester fees are not generally covered and remain the scholar's responsibility.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants for the research fellowship or PhD route need a master's degree or equivalent completed by 31 July 2027 (30 June 2027 for ETH Zurich), must have been born after 31 December 1991, must submit a detailed research plan, and must secure a letter of support from an academic supervisor in Switzerland. Additional residence, prior-award and application-completeness rules published by SERI apply.
Tips for this scholarship
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
SERI's current Africa country list, visually checked on the page containing the DRC row, states that applications for Congo, Democratic Republic (Kinshasa) opened 20 August 2026 and close 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM Swiss local time, with Research Fellowship and PhD routes. The 2027–2028 SERI programme page confirms the current eligibility, CHF 2,450 monthly support, related benefits and online GO ESKAS application. The deadline is normalized from 23:59 CET on 30 November 2026 to 22:59 UTC.
Job and Scholarship is the discovery and verification layer. Confirm eligibility, dates, salary/funding and application instructions on the original source before submitting anything.
Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) ↗