Location: Switzerland
Program: Postgraduate Degrees
Eligibility: All Nationalities
Duration: Up to 4 years
Deadline: August 19, 2026
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The CYD Fellowships – A Talent Program for Cyber-Defence Research is a highly competitive programme jointly launched by EPFL and the Cyber-Defence (CYD) Campus to promote research and education in cyber-defence by bringing together basic and applied research in security and data science. Fellows are hosted by a Swiss higher education institution and conduct their research at the CYD Campus, located on the premises of EPFL and ETHZ and in an office in Thun. The 14th call for applications opened on June 3, 2026, with a Stage 1 deadline of August 19, 2026 (17:00 CEST) for Doctoral and Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship applications, and a rolling call open throughout the year for Master Thesis Fellowship applications.
EPFL, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, is one of the world’s leading science and technology universities, consistently ranked among the top 20 globally, with campuses in Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland. EPFL is home to over 400 laboratories and research groups across its six schools covering architecture, civil and environmental engineering, basic sciences, engineering, computer and communication sciences, life sciences, and management of technology and supports an international community of over 16,000 students and researchers.
Benefits of the Programme
Depending on the type of scholarship, it will provide the following to its recipients:
- Salary / living allowance
- Research funds of up to CHF 3,000 per year
- Conference costs of up to CHF 5,000 per year
- Up to 4 years of funding
- Possible 1-year extension
- Additional support
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Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for this programme, applicants must meet the following:
- Citizens of any nationality may apply; no age restrictions apply
- Doctoral Fellowship: must be enrolled in a doctoral programme at a Swiss higher education institution and have the endorsement of a supervising professor employed at that institution when submitting the Stage 2 application; applicants seeking endorsement from a professor at a school of applied sciences must also provide written confirmation of simultaneous enrolment in a doctoral programme at a Swiss university; preference is given to applicants who have not yet started, or who are at the very beginning of, their PhD; applicants may request funding for less than 4 years if the requested period coincides with the completion of their thesis
- Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship: must hold a PhD at the time of application
- Master Thesis Fellowship: must be enrolled in a Master’s programme at a Swiss higher education institution
- All applicants must demonstrate that their proposed project can significantly influence the research fields of security and data science and have significant impact on Swiss cyber-defence, and that it will bring together researchers from the CYD Campus and from at least one Swiss higher education institution
Note: Kindly check the official webpage for full and detailed requirements.
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Selection Criteria
The selection process for Doctoral and Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowships consists of two stages. In Stage 1, submitted applications are evaluated by a CYD Campus internal committee chaired by the Director of the CYD Campus, based on the fit of the candidate with the CYD Campus and the fit of the candidate’s pre-proposal with the aims of the programme. Shortlisted applicants are assigned a prospective CYD Campus mentor, who interviews them to determine willingness to endorse the applicant for Stage 2; only applicants endorsed by their prospective mentor proceed to Stage 2. In Stage 2, shortlisted applicants submit a full research proposal; final decisions are made by a committee chaired by the Director of the CYD Campus and composed of 3–5 members representing the CYD Campus and Swiss higher education institutions. The primary evaluation criterion across all fellowship categories is excellence, as measured by academic records and professional accomplishments.
How to Apply
CLICK HERE to visit the official webpage and submit your application
