University of Lausanne Offers CHF 1,600/Month Master’s Scholarship, But It’s Not Full Funding

The University of Lausanne (UNIL) in Switzerland has opened applications for its Master’s Excellence Scholarship for the 2027/2028 academic year, offering around 10 international students a monthly grant of CHF 1,600 throughout their master’s program. The application deadline is November 1, 2026, and it comes with an important caveat worth taking seriously before applying: UNIL’s Master’s Excellence Scholarship is explicitly not a fully funded scholarship.

What the UNIL’s Master’s Excellence Scholarship Covers

• CHF 1,600 per month (approximately ₹1,87,664), paid for 10 months a year (mid-September to mid-July), for the minimum statutory duration of your specific master’s program (typically 1.5 to 2 years).
• Exemption from UNIL’s standard course registration fees: you’ll still pay a CHF 80 (~₹9,383) semester fee.
• Around 10 scholarships are awarded each year, making this a genuinely competitive, small-cohort award.

The Caveat That Matters Most

UNIL states directly that CHF 1,600/month does not cover the full cost of living in Switzerland, one of the most expensive countries in the world for students, and Lausanne specifically sits in the pricier Lake Geneva region. CHF 1,600 works out to roughly ₹1,87,664 a month, while a realistic student budget in the Lausanne area typically runs closer to ₹1,95,000–2,44,000 a month (€2,000–2,500). This is a genuine gap, not a rounding error: applicants need their funding source to cover the shortfall, not just cover incidental extras. 

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Exchange rate: CHF 1 = ₹117.29 (September 2026)

Who Can Apply

• A degree from a foreign university recognized as equivalent to a Swiss bachelor's degree, completed before starting the master's program.
• An outstanding academic record.
• C1-level language proficiency in whichever language your chosen program is taught in, French or English.
• You must not currently be enrolled at the University of Lausanne.
• A CHF 200 administrative fee (approximately ₹23,458) is required with your application.

Which Programs Are Excluded

Not every UNIL master's qualifies. Specifically excluded:

• Master's programs from the School of Medicine
• Master in Sciences and Practices of Education
• Master of Law (except International and Comparative Law, Legal Theory, and International Tax Law and Policy)
• Master of Science in Physical Education and Sport Didactics
• Master of Science in Health Sciences
• Master of Science in Sustainable Management & Technology
• Master of Science in Human Taphonomy
• All MAS programs and other third-cycle/continuing-education programs

Additional admission conditions also apply specifically to Finance, Psychology, Arts, and Nursing master's programs; check these carefully before applying.

How to Apply

• Submit your application as a single PDF containing all required documents.
• Incomplete files, including missing recommendation letters, result in automatic rejection 
• Two recommendation letters are required, from teachers or an employer familiar with your work, sent directly by the authors using a professional email address, after you've completed online registration.
• If your degree was issued in a country that hasn't ratified the Lisbon Convention, you'll also need to post certified true copies of your academic documents.
• Your scholarship application doubles as your master's program application; there's no separate admissions submission required.

Selection Timeline

• Nov–Dec 2026: Applications processed by UNIL's Social Affairs and Student Mobility Service and Admissions Office.
• Dec 2026–Jan 2027: Incomplete or rejected applications notified.
• Jan–Feb 2027: Complete applications assessed by the relevant faculty.
• Feb–Mar 2027: Faculty-level rejections notified.
• March 2027: Final Selection Board decisions made.
• Early April 2027: Results communicated. Decisions cannot be appealed.

Why It Matters for Indian Students

Switzerland is a genuinely underexplored destination for Indian students relative to its academic standing. UNIL is a well-regarded research university, and a scholarship open to any nationality with no exclusion on India is worth knowing about simply because it's less crowded competitively than equivalent UK or US applicant pools. That said, this scholarship is best suited to students who already have a partial funding plan in place (family savings, an education loan, or a part-time work arrangement), since CHF 1,600/month closing only part of the cost-of-living gap means this scholarship reduces the burden rather than removes it. Treat it as a meaningful discount on an expensive destination, not as full financial coverage.

If you're weighing Switzerland against other European options, our Europe scholarships and post-study routes guide covers comparable funded pathways in Germany and France side by side.

Have questions about whether Switzerland fits your budget and academic plans? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counselor.