As the highest level of career funding offered by the Swiss National Science Foundation, SNSF Starting Grants (StG) play a key role in the career of early-stage researchers. Every year, the SNSF allocates CHF 105M to fund approximately 60 projects across Switzerland. Next year, one could be yours!

SNSF StG empowers early-career researchers by enabling them to lead and manage their own project and team. Applicants must demonstrate clear evidence of scientific independence, such as publications as main authors and/or independent from their PhD supervisor.

Applicants must have defended their PhD thesis between 2 and 8 years prior to the call deadline. Moreover, they must have at least 2 years of research experience and a link to Switzerland, such as having completed a PhD/Master’s in CH or done research in Switzerland or holding Swiss nationality.

External candidates & internal ones without a professorial position must send eligibility form, CV + publication list, motivation letter & letter/s of support from USI professor/s to Servizio Ricerca by 7 January 2026 to obtain the institutional support. The internal procedure lasts appr. 2 months

This fund covers the PI’s salary and provides an additional CHF 1 million for a 5-years project. The grant can be used to cover project staff (e.g. PhD, postdocs, research assistants) and research costs (e.g. travel, conferences, Open Research Data and equipment).

The evaluation process consists of 2 phases. First, proposals are ranked by SNSF panel members based on their ground-breaking nature and scientific approach. The top-ranked proposals advance to the second phase, where they are also assessed by international peer reviewers.

SNSF panel members assess both the scientific quality of the research project and the applicant’s qualifications, focusing on both the novelty of the project and the applicant’s demonstrated ability to conduct ground-breaking research.

Are you planning to apply? Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity? Don’t miss the webinar on 19 January! You’ll also have the chance to ask your questions directly to the SNSF officers. Follow the link to register.

Browse through past-approved projects, filtering by discipline and year. Abstracts are also available.