ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships at ETH Zurich in Switzerland
Country: Switzerland
Program: ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships
Host Institution: ETH Zurich
Duration: 2 years
Funding: Salary plus CHF 12,000 per year for research expenses
Deadlines: 1 March and 1 September each year at 17:00 Swiss local time
The ETH Postdoctoral Fellowships support incoming postdoctoral researchers at ETH Zurich. The programme is designed for high-potential academics who have already shown scientific excellence early in their careers. The page also describes it as a prestigious early-career programme, with 40–50% of fellows securing a professorship within a few years after the fellowship.
Program Overview
The fellowship is intended to foster young researchers at ETH Zurich. Applications must be supported by an ETH Zurich professor who acts as the mentor. A professor may submit with only one candidate in each evaluation round, and the source stresses that there must be convincing synergies between the host group and the fellow.
The page also explains that the fellowship is meant to support academic independence at an early stage. Therefore, priority is given to applicants who propose their own projects. In addition, the applicant and mentor should not have closely collaborated before the fellowship.
What the Fellowship Covers
✓ Fellow’s salary at 100%, based on ETH standards
✓ CHF 12,000 per year for research expenses
✓ Travel and mobility allowances
✓ Research cost contributions
The source also states that the budget for travel and research costs cannot be used for salary costs, and salary funds cannot be used for research costs. The duration of the fellowship is two years and it cannot be prolonged.
Eligibility Criteria
• Applicants must hold a doctorate by the submission deadline or complete it within the next six months
• Applicants who already hold a PhD must have obtained it no more than two years before the submission deadline
• The decisive date is the date of the examination or defense
• Applicants who have not yet completed their doctorate must submit a certification of the planned defense date signed by the advisor or department chair
• The defense must be completed by the time the fellowship starts and no later than six months after the deadline
• Applicants who earned their PhD from ETH Zurich or the University of Zurich will not be considered
• Applicants may not have resided or carried out their main activity in Switzerland for more than twelve months in the three years before the submission deadline
• Applicants may not have carried out their main activity at ETH Zurich, EPF Lausanne, a research institute of the ETH domain, or the University of Zurich for more than six months in the three years before the submission deadline
• Applicants must have at least one scientific publication in a peer-reviewed journal or have been awarded a prize for their doctoral thesis
The source makes clear that applications not complying with the eligibility criteria will be rejected on formal grounds.
Required Support and Documents
Applications must be supported by an ETH Zurich professor who is willing to act as mentor. The host must provide an invitation letter, and this letter has to be uploaded with the application. Assistant professors must contact the Grants Office before submission to confirm their eligibility to act as hosts.
Each candidate also needs two external reference letters. These letters must be sent directly by the referees to the Grants Office no later than 10 days before the submission deadline. The letters must include a letterhead and the signature of the reference provider.
Application Process
Applications must be submitted electronically in PDF format through the ETH Zurich grant application system, eResearch. The call is usually opened in the system about one month before the deadline.
The page also states that applicants must use the provided templates for the project description and accompanying information. In practice, the process includes downloading the templates, preparing the documents in PDF format, registering on eResearch, starting a new application, adding the host professor, adding the two reference providers, validating the form, and then submitting it electronically.
Selection Process
The ETH Zurich Research Commission is responsible for the evaluation of applications. In the first step, proposals are evaluated in writing. After that, selected candidates are invited to an interview.
The interview is conducted online by video call and lasts about 15 minutes. The source also notes that candidates are informed within two months after the deadline whether they are invited to interview, while final funding decisions are communicated about four months after the submission deadline.
Timeline and Start of Fellowship
The annual submission deadlines are 1 March and 1 September at 17:00 Swiss local time. If a deadline falls on a weekend, it is postponed to the following Monday at 17:00 Swiss local time.
ETH Fellows are expected to start their fellowship no later than eight months after the submission deadline. A later start is possible only in exceptional cases and requires approval from the Grants Office. The fellowship always starts on the first day of a month.
