Switzerland is home to two of the world's top technical universities — ETH Zurich and EPFL — both consistently ranked among the global top 20 for science and engineering. While Switzerland is known for high living costs, several scholarships make studying there genuinely accessible for Pakistani students.
ETH Zurich offers approximately 60 ESOP scholarships per year for Master's students. The scholarship covers CHF 12,000 per semester for living and study expenses, plus a full tuition fee waiver for the duration of your Master's programme.
Key requirement: You must be in the top 10% of your Bachelor's degree programme (Grade A equivalent). Already-enrolled ETH Master's students or those holding a Master's degree are not eligible.
Application window: November 1-30 annually for intake starting the following Fall semester. Results are communicated by end of March.
EPFL offers a more limited number of fellowships worth CHF 10,000 per semester, covering up to 4 semesters. Unlike ETH's ESOP, this is a partial fellowship — students remain responsible for tuition and rent themselves.
Important: Only about 3% of EPFL Master's applicants receive this fellowship, making it extremely competitive. There is no separate application — simply check the fellowship box when applying for EPFL Master's admission.
Two application rounds: December 15 and March 31 annually.
Most ETH Zurich and EPFL Master's programmes are taught in English, though German (ETH) or French (EPFL) proficiency for daily life is recommended. Specific IELTS/TOEFL requirements vary by individual programme — always check your chosen programme's page directly.
Despite Switzerland's reputation for high costs, the scholarship stipends (CHF 10,000-12,000 per semester, roughly CHF 1,700-2,000/month) are designed to realistically cover living expenses in cities like Zurich and Lausanne, where student accommodation costs are factored into university planning.
Switzerland scholarship cycles and requirements can change. Always check ethz.ch and epfl.ch directly before applying, and verify deadlines on ScholarPath's scholarship pages, which are kept updated.