The CERN Student Programme is a fully funded opportunity for international students to get a graduate degree in Switzerland.
The Switzerland CERN Scholarship Programme offers a annual allowance of CHF 46,884, travel allowance, and health insurance.
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for the CERN Doctoral Student Programme, you will need to meet the following requirements:
- You are a national of a CERN Member State or Associate Member State. Currently, we cannot consider applications from Pakistani, Lithuanian, Latvian, Cypriot and Croatian nationals, as the ceiling defined under Article II.5 of the Associate Membership Agreement has been reached.
- You have a good knowledge of English or French.
- Your university must support your participation in the programme. This means that your university should agree that the research you conduct at CERN will contribute to your PhD thesis. Additionally, your field of study should align with CERN’s research areas, including, but not limited to, physics, engineering, computing, and related applied sciences.
- You must be enrolled in a doctoral program in a relevant field such as physics, engineering, computer science, or a related discipline. You should have begun your doctoral studies at the time of application.
Your responsibilities:
- Carry out your doctoral research in collaboration with CERN and your home university.
- Contribute to ongoing projects in domains such as applied physics, computing, engineering or related technical fields.
- Present and document your work as part of your academic and research objectives.
- Learn from and work alongside world-class scientists, engineers and technicians within an international and multidisciplinary team.
Your profile:
- Your field of study is in Applied Physics, Engineering, Computing, or a related area.
- You are motivated to develop your research in a hands-on, collaborative and innovative environment.
- You enjoy teamwork and learning from others in a collaborative setting.
Your skills:
- Solid theoretical foundation in your research area, combined with an interest in practical applications.
- Curiosity, precision and a proactive attitude towards learning.
- Good communication skills and ability to work effectively in a multicultural team.
Benefits
During your studies, CERN will provide you with:
- A monthly allowance of 3907 Swiss Francs (tax free).
- 30 days of paid leave per year plus 2 weeks annual closure.
- Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive Health Insurance scheme (the contribution will be automatically deducted from your allowance).
- Family supplement to subsistence allowance, depending on your individual circumstances.
- Travel expenses to Geneva upon joining CERN, depending on your individual circumstances.
- A contract duration for 12 months, renewable up to 3 years, with possibility to spread over a maximum duration of 4 consecutive years to allow you to spend time at the university.
Required Documents
To apply, candidates must be ready to submit the following documents;
- Your CV (English or French)
- Any document you consider relevant to your application
- An academic reference letter (optional)
- An academic transcript (optional)
Method of Application
Application Deadline: October 16, 2026.