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A new program has been added to the University of Zurich’s catalogue of scholarships and grants: In addition to social scholarships for financially disadvantaged students and mobility scholarships that promote stays abroad, UZH is now also introducing scholarships aimed at outstanding students who have completed their Bachelor’s degree and want to pursue a Master’s degree at UZH.
The first of these scholarships will be awarded in the upcoming Fall Semester. The program will initially be run as a pilot project for three years and will only be open to UZH students. In total, 20 aspiring Master’s students from across all seven of UZH’s faculties will benefit from the new program, with each receiving CHF 10,000 per semester. Depending on the duration of the Master’s degree program, the scholarships can amount to up to CHF 40,000.
With this financial support, scholarship recipients will be able to focus fully on their studies. “We want to support gifted students who are exceptionally committed to studying”, says Gabriele Siegert, Deputy President and Vice President Education and Student Affairs.
Support for talented students is a part of UZH’s mission statement. “By introducing Excellence Scholarships, we are now living up to this goal, specifically at the Master’s level,” adds Siegert. The new scholarships are intended to provide outstanding Bachelor’s students with extra motivation to continue their studies at UZH.
The program also gives UZH an additional tool to reward students who have shown a particular commitment to their studies and research. UZH currently honors outstanding academic achievements primarily through its prizes and awards, e.g. semester and annual awards.
Students who apply for an Excellence Scholarship must be able to present exceptionally good grades. And yet, the scholarships are about more than excellent academic achievement.
Students applying for a scholarship have to demonstrate that they are ambitious and talented enough to go on to achieve extraordinary things inside or outside of academia. To support their application, applicants will be asked to name projects with relevance for society that they would tackle if they had the required resources. “We want to reach students who, broadly speaking, want to do something for society – including those who want to pursue a career in academia and those who favor non-academic careers,” says Siegert.
Last but not least, successful applicants will also have to show some originality and individuality. Scholarship recipients will be drawn from among all applications that fit the criteria. “We’ve had very good experience with this procedure when deciding between applications of equal merit,” says Siegert.
