Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) 2026: Deadline, Eligibility, Benefits

The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme, known as ESOP, is run by ETH Zurich together with the ETH Zurich Foundation to support outstanding students taking up a master's degree at ETH Zurich, apart from MAS programmes. Applicants must be applying to, or already conditionally admitted to, an eligible ETH Zurich master's programme, must not already be enrolled in an ETH Zurich master's or hold a master's degree, and must show a very good bachelor's result, self-assessed as being in the top 10 percent, or grade A equivalent, of their bachelor's programme. Shortlisted applicants may be asked to submit a pre-proposal for their eventual master's thesis and to take part in a phone or video interview, typically held in February. ESOP provides a scholarship of CHF 12,000 per semester for living and study expenses, rising to CHF 13,500 per semester from the Herbstsemester 2027 intake onward, together with a full waiver of tuition fees, for the regular duration of the master's programme, either three or four semesters depending on the field. Beyond the money, scholars receive mentorship and access to the ETH Zurich Foundation's donor and alumni network. About 60 scholarships are awarded each year, with decisions communicated by the end of March. Applications are submitted through ETH Zurich's online master's application system (eApply); for a start in the Herbstsemester (autumn semester) 2027, the application window runs from 1 November to 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm CET.