The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) is ETH Zurich’s scholarship for master’s applicants with a very strong bachelor’s record. It covers living and study expenses at CHF 13,500 per semester from the autumn semester 2027 onwards, and it waives tuition fees. The scholarship runs for the regular length of the master’s programme, which is three or four semesters. ETH Zurich plans to assign approximately 60 ESOP scholarships for the 2027/28 academic year; the exact number depends on the availability of funds.
Who can apply: any applicant to an ETH Zurich master’s programme (MAS programmes are excluded) who achieved a very good bachelor’s result, defined by ETH as the top 10% of the bachelor’s programme, or grade A, which you assess yourself. The official page contains no nationality restriction. You are not eligible if you are already enrolled in a master’s programme at ETH Zurich or already hold a master’s degree. ETH’s own bachelor graduates apply through the same eApply system; they may start the ESOP only with a leave of absence.
When to apply: the application window is 1 to 30 November 2026, closing at 11:59 CET, for a start in the master’s programme in the autumn semester 2027 (HS27). There is no separate scholarship form: you apply through eApply, the online master’s application, and add the ESOP documents to it.
What to prepare beyond the admission file:
1. A pre-proposal for your master’s thesis, written according to the ESOP guidelines published on the ETH page.
2. Two reference letters from professors. If your programme does not already ask for references, you must name two professors as reference persons.
3. Availability by phone in February 2027, because the selection committee may interview shortlisted candidates.
Timeline: applications 1-30 November 2026; possible interviews in February 2027; decisions communicated by the end of March 2027; studies begin in September 2027.
Practical notes for applicants from the GCC and other countries outside Europe: the same admission requirements for the master’s programme apply (degree recognition, language certificate, programme-specific prerequisites), and the scholarship decision follows the admission decision. Check the specific master’s programme page on ethz.ch for its own document list before the November window opens, since the scholarship documents are uploaded together with the admission documents.