Deadline:
February 28, 2025
Location(s)
Switzerland
24 rue du Général-Dufour 1211 Genève 4
Overview
The Faculty of Science, with the support of external partners, has established an Excellence Fellowship program open to outstanding and highly motivated students who wish to pursue a Master of Science degree in one of the disciplines covered by the Faculty.
Details
The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Geneva is an internationally recognized leading research institution.
This cutting-edge research covers a broad range of scientific disciplines: astronomy, biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, pharmaceutical sciences, earth sciences and the environment.
The Faculty hosts three National Centres of Competence in Research of the highly competitive Swiss National Sciences Foundation as well as many European research projects.
The Masters of the Faculty of Science constitute an ideal training base for an academic but also a professional development, opening on careers in industry, teaching, administration in sciences, communication and media... The programs Master's degrees are either entirely in English, or in English and French.
The Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science of the University of Geneva (UNIGE) is notable for the excellent quality of its research and for its cosmopolitan outlook, reflected by the international mix of its professors, post-docs, research students and students.
- UNIGE in world rankings in 2017: Respectively 60th (Shanghai – red), 63rd (Leiden - black), 98th (QS – blue) and 130th (Times Higher Education – green), the UNIGE is in the top 1% of the world’s best universities. Shanghai puts the Geneva Faculty of Science in the 41st place overall, 12th in Europe, 3rd in Switzerland after the ETHZ and 2nd in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
- High quality training: The Faculty of Science has 2700 students of which 780 (more than 28%) are research students. The numbers are increasing every year.
- Impressive results: In 2017, 629 degrees were awarded of which 151 were doctorates in eight fields: astrophysics, biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, pharmaceutical sciences and earth and environmental sciences.
- A quality environment: Over 340 teachers including 158 professors, 900 doctoral and post-doctoral students and 400 technical and administrative staff.
- A substantial budget: CHF 150 million (the Swiss franc is just over 1 US$), of which CHF 75 million from the canton of Geneva, CHF 25 million of federal aid and CHF 50 million from research grants. Every franc from Geneva generates an additional franc of external revenue
- 5 national research centers (NCCR) hosted by the Faculty of Science: At the end of 2013 the Swiss confederation awarded two new NCCR to the Faculty of Science: SwissMAP in mathematics and theoretical physics and PlanetS in astronomy. They join the center for Chemical Biology (2010) and two other centers (Frontiers in Genetics and MaNEP – materials with novel electric properties) which were awarded in 2001 and have now reached the end of their funding.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
Regardless of your home university, whether you have passed or are doing a brilliant bachelor degree, and that you are one of the best in your year, this program is for you!
You must meet the admission criteria of the Master of your choice and be selected on the basis of the application file for an Excellence Fellowship.
The application (in English or French) must include the following documents in the form of a SINGLE pdf file:
- A scan of your national identity card or passport.
- A scan of your UNIGE card or if you are not yet a UNIGE student, the mail of the central administration named “accuse-reception de votre demande d'immatriculation” (proof you have started the matriculation process).
- A Curriculum Vitae (2 pages maximum).
- The transcript of exams passed during the bachelor education, with all grades.
- A motivation letter in which you describe your specific scientific interests and your motivation to pursue a Master of Science program at the University of Geneva.
- If possible: Letters of references from two professors (preferably sent by them directly to Excellence-Master-Sciences@unige.ch) attesting your aptitude to this program.
- Any other pertinent information like results of GRE (General requirement examination), of TOEFL or other language test.
The application is made online. After registering, you will receive an e-mail containing a personal link allowing you to fill out the application form.
Next application deadline is 28 February, 2025 (for Masters starting September 15, 2025).
For the application to be considered, each student has to fulfill the enrollment procedure as described on the Admissions Office website.
IF ALL THE ABOVE MENTIONED CLAUSES ARE NOT COMPLETED, THE APPLICATION FILE WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED.
Candidate selection is based on excellence.
Dates
Deadline: February 28, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
- The Excellence Fellowship consists of a grant amounting to CHF 10'000 to CHF 15’000/year (no teaching duties);
- it is awarded for one year and extended for the regular duration of the chosen Master's program (three or four semesters) provided the applicant is academically successful at the end of his/her first semester of studies.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
