Mobility fellowships and grants for doctoral students: Innovations in 2013
Make it clear, streamlined and flexible: these are some of the goals pursued by the SNSF in restructuring its mobility fellowships for stays abroad. In addition, the SNSF will increase its support for doctoral students as of 2013 by means of a new excellence scheme (Doc.CH) in the humanities and social sciences.
The fellowships will henceforth consist of three funding schemes that are open to all disciplines. Doc.Mobility and Early Postdoc. Mobility are distinct schemes that replace the fellowships for prospective researchers. The submission deadlines at the local Research Commissions and the Fellowship Commission of the SNSF have been harmonised and set to 1 March and 1 September. Doc.Mobility runs for 6 to 18 months and is aimed at doctoral students. Early Postdoc.Mobility is geared at postdocs at the beginning of their careers and runs for 18 months. Advanced Postdoc.Mobility replaces the fellowships for advanced researchers, with funding decisions being made by the National Research Council. At least one year’s experience as a postdoc by the submission deadline (1 February and 1 August) is a prerequisite for this funding scheme, which offers support for a period of 12 to 36 months. Approximately 600 fellowships are awarded each year.
A doctorate thanks to Doc.CH
The new funding scheme Doc.CH is addressed to doctoral students who wish to write a dissertation in the humanities and social sciences in Switzerland on a topic of their own choice. The submission deadlines are 10 March and 10 September. The requirements for this funding scheme include a master’s degree with excellent marks and, in principle, a change of higher education institution between the bachelor and the doctorate. Candidates must be supervised by two professors. The evaluation procedure consists of two phases: the local Research Commission of the chosen university selects the best applications in the first phase, and the National Research Council takes the funding decisions in the second phase. The SNSF awards 40 grants per year. Eligibility requirements for these schemes, such as the academic age, have been made as flexible as possible in order to accommodate different career paths.
(From: SNSFinfo print No 17 / October 2012)
Contact
Careers division
Doc.CH