The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) is ETH Zurich’s merit scholarship for outstanding students entering a regular Master’s programme (not MAS) in Zurich. It is funded by donations through the ETH Zurich Foundation.
Applicants from Switzerland and every other country apply alongside their Master’s application. The current window runs 1–30 November 2026, for study starting in autumn 2027.
Benefits & funding
- CHF 12,000 per semester for living and study costs, rising to CHF 13,500 from autumn 2027.
- Tuition fee waiver.
- Both run for the programme’s regular length (three or four semesters).
- Mentorship and the ETH Foundation network.
- The grant pauses during an exchange semester and, as a rule, during a compulsory internship of 10+ weeks.
Eligibility
- Open to all nationalities and places of residence.
- Applying for a regular ETH Zurich Master’s programme (MAS excluded), in the first (November) window.
- A very good Bachelor’s result: top 10% of the programme (grade A, self-assessed).
- Not eligible: current ETH Zurich Master’s students and anyone already holding a Master’s degree.
- ETH Bachelor students apply the same way for a consecutive Master’s.
Application process
- 1Apply for the Master’s programme via eApply by 30 November 2026, 11:59 a.m. CET, and tick ESOP.
- 2Upload a Master’s thesis pre-proposal you wrote yourself, on top of the admission documents.
- 3If your programme asks for no references, name two professors as referees; they upload letters after an email from the system.
- 4Be reachable by phone in February for a possible phone or video interview.
Program timeline
Application window opens
1 November 2026
Deadline
30 November 2026, 11:59 a.m. CET
Possible interviews
February 2027
Decisions
End of March 2027