Funding for Postdocs
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Researchers with a PhD can apply for a job at UZH as a postdoctoral researcher or as a senior teaching and research assistant. Other than employment at the University, there are a variety of funding instruments open to postdocs. Depending on your career stage, you can apply for a fellowship, project funding, or an assistant professorship.
Experience abroad is essential for a career in academics. There are a number of mobility programs that offer postdocs financial assistance for a stay abroad.
The following overview is not conclusive; you should also inquire about about specific funding sources in your discipline.
1 Research at UZH
| UZH Postdoc Grant | The University of Zurich supports research projects of postdocs from its own fund. |
| UZH Entrepreneur Fellowships | With the UZH Entrepreneur Fellowships the University of Zurich provides funding, coaching, training and lab facilities to young researchers who intend to start up a company based on UZH research.
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| The Research Talent Development Fund (FAN) - supported by UZH Alumni - supports outstanding, innovative young researchers. |
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| Collegium Helveticum Junior Fellowships |
The Junior Fellowships enable early career researchers from the sciences and the arts to spend 10 months at the Collegium Helveticum.
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| DIZH Innovation Program |
The University of Zurich (UZH), the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH) are networking in DIZH to promote research on topics related to digital transformation.
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| SNSF Ambizione | The SNSF awards funding to postdocs wishing to conduct an individually planned project at a Swiss higher education institution. |
| SNSF PRIMA | The SNSF supports excellent female researchers at postdoc level who have the potential for an academic career and aspire to a professorship at a Swiss higher education institution. There is no call for PRIMA in 2023. Interested researchers can apply to the SNSF Starting Grants instead. |
| SNSF Eccellenza Professorial Fellowships |
Highly qualified young researchers who are aiming for a permanent professorship are enabled by this scheme to achieve their goal as leaders of a generously funded research project and team at a higher education institution in Switzerland. There is no call for Eccellenza in 2023. Interested researchers can apply to the SNSF Starting Grants instead. |
| SNSF Starting Grant | This instrument serves as a transitional solution for the ERC Starting Grants and also replaces the calls for proposals for Eccellenza and PRIMA. Researchers in Switzerland and abroad with at least 2 years' experience after the doctorate who want to carry out a research project in Switzerland can submit an application here. |
| SNSF Spark | The aim of Spark is to fund the rapid testing or development of new scientific approaches, methods, theories, standards, ideas for applications, etc. It is intended for projects that show unconventional thinking and introduce a unique approach. |
| SNSF Projects | Researchers with at least 4 years' experience after the doctorate (or an independent research position) can apply for SNSF funding to finance a research project. They cannot apply for funding for their own salary. |
| BRIDGE Proof of Concept | BRIDGE (a joint program conducted by SNSF and Innosuisse) supports projects at the intersection of basic research and science-based innovation. BRIDGE Proof of Concept is aimed at young researchers who wish to develop an application or service based on their research results. |
| SNIS Projectfunding |
The SNIS supports pluri-disciplinary projects in the social sciences and pluri-disciplinary projects that combine natural and social sciences. Projects must run for two years, and funding can range from 100’000 to 300’000 Swiss francs.
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| GSPI Impact Collaboration Programme |
The ICP supports collaborative projects which explicitly bridge science, policy and/or implementation and that involve at least one actor from an academic institution (no geographical limitation) and one actor from the International Geneva ecosystem carrying policy work or implementation work.
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| Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships | With these scholarships, foreign doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in all disciplines can fund a research stay at a Swiss higher education institution. |
| AXA Fellowships | AXA Fellowships aim at supporting promising researchers on a topic aligned with AXA’s priorities and societal challenges.
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| ERC Grants |
The European Research Council (ERC) awards highly competitive grants to excellent researchers who are setting up or consolidating their own research team or programme. Swiss researchers cannot submit applications for this program currently. Therefore the SNSF has launched the SNSF Starting Grants 2023 call.
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2 Research Stay Abroad
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These SNF fellowships facilitate a research stay abroad of 24 months for postdocs up to 3 years after the doctorate. In addition, a return grant for a 3 to 12-month research period upon returning to Switzerland can be applied for.
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| Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA) |
These EU grants are designed to increase the mobility of junior researchers at the postdoctoral level. Swiss researchers cannot currently submit applications for this programme; Swiss institutions can only act as so-called "outgoing hosts" for Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) schemes. The federal government has commissioned the SNSF to launch the Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowship (SPF).
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| Foreign Government Scholarships | Roughly 40 countries award grants to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers for a stay abroad. |
| Scientific Exchanges | The SNSF supports short research stays of one to six months. |
| UZH Global Strategy and Partnerships Funding Scheme |
The UZH Global Strategy and Partnerships Funding Scheme supports UZH faculties, departments and professional service units in pursuing activities that strengthen the impact of the global UZH network in line with the UZH Global Strategy.
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