Biozentrum PhD Fellowships Programme
The Biozentrum is the University of Basel's centre for molecular and biomedical research, and its PhD Fellowships are the flagship entry route into its International PhD Program. The Biozentrum explicitly encourages talented, ambitious and highly motivated young scientists from all over the world to apply, which makes Sri Lankan nationality no barrier at all. The fellowship provides full funding for the entire PhD, plus an annual allowance for attending conferences, buying books or acquiring a computer, and financial support for travel to postdoctoral interviews at the end of your thesis. Swiss doctoral salaries follow the Swiss National Science Foundation scale, so a funded PhD in Basel typically pays somewhere in the region of CHF 47,000-55,000 a year — around LKR 17.4 to 20.4 million. The most important number to understand is the other one: a maximum of 10 fellowships are awarded per year, on a strictly competitive basis, from an international applicant pool. This is a genuinely elite award and South Asian applicants do secure places, but rarely and only with outstanding profiles. Realistically you need a research-based Master's, real bench or computational depth, and ideally a publication or preprint. Applications for the 2026 round were open until 8 May 2026, with a separate 7 September 2026 deadline noted for other Biozentrum positions, and the fellowship application runs through the Biozentrum's own BIPED portal. Note that this is a fellowship into a structured PhD program — you apply to the programme and to research groups within it, not with an independent project of your own design. Basel living costs are high even by Swiss standards; the salary is sufficient for one person living carefully, but it will not stretch to supporting dependants.
The 2026 fellowship call closed on 8 May 2026; a separate 7 September 2026 deadline covered other Biozentrum PhD positions. A maximum of 10 fellowships are awarded per year and the call runs annually — expect a comparable spring 2027 deadline and confirm the current call on biozentrum.unibas.ch before planning around it.
Biozentrum, University of Basel
University-funded
emoji_events Award Overview
Funding
Full PhD funding
Number
Max 10 per year
Field
Molecular & biomedical research
info How this award actually works
Who awards it
Biozentrum, University of Basel — not Lanka Scholar. We are not the awarding body and cannot grant, reserve or guarantee this award.
How you are considered
Through your admission application. Awards like this are usually assessed automatically from the application you already submit — there is typically no separate scholarship form to fill in.
What it covers
Fully Funded PhD Fellowship, Maximum 10 Awards a Year. This is a reduction in tuition, not a full ride. You still fund the remainder, plus living costs and the balance your visa requires you to show.
Where we come in
We make the admission application strong enough to be competitive — course choice, documents, references and deadlines. The funder makes the decision.
fact_check Eligibility Criteria
Open to Applicants Worldwide
The Biozentrum encourages talented, ambitious and highly motivated young scientists from all over the world to apply. There is no nationality restriction on the fellowship.
Master's-Level Research Background
You need a completed or near-complete Master's or equivalent in molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, infection biology, neurobiology, computational biology or a related field.
Only 10 Awards a Year
Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to a maximum of 10 successful candidates per year, from a global applicant pool. Treat this as a stretch application and apply elsewhere in parallel.
Extras Beyond the Salary
Fellows receive an annual allowance for conferences, books or a computer, and financial support for travel to postdoctoral interviews at the end of the thesis — genuinely useful for launching an academic career.
account_tree Application Process
Study the research groups first
Read the Biozentrum's group pages and identify those whose work genuinely matches your training. A specific, informed group preference is what separates serious applications from generic ones.
Apply through the BIPED portal
Submit your fellowship application through the Biozentrum's own application portal within the open call. Prepare transcripts, CV, a research statement and referee details well in advance.
Selection and interviews
Shortlisted candidates are invited to interview, usually including discussions with individual research groups. Expect detailed technical questions on your Master's work.
Sort your Swiss residence permit
Once you hold an offer and contract, apply for the Swiss residence permit for doctoral researchers. Start looking for Basel accommodation immediately — it is scarce and costly.
Have a parallel plan
With ten awards a year, most strong applicants are unsuccessful. Apply to other funded European PhD programmes in the same cycle rather than waiting on one outcome.
Why the Biozentrum?
The Biozentrum is one of Europe's leading centres for molecular life sciences, sitting inside the University of Basel and beside the Basel pharmaceutical cluster that includes Roche and Novartis. Its International PhD Program is fully English-language and deliberately international in composition.
10
Fellowships per Year
Basel
Pharma Research Cluster
English
Programme Language
Looking for a scholarship because of the cost?
Then start here instead. Scholarships are competitive, usually partial, and decided by someone else — they are the least reliable way to make studying abroad affordable. Your destination and course choice move the number far more, and both are entirely within your control.
Work out your real number
Tuition, living costs, visa funds and flights for your destination — so you know the gap you are actually trying to close.
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The full catalogue, cheapest tuition first. Changing course or country saves far more than most awards are worth.
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Tuition, living costs and the total first-year figure for CH, in LKR as well as local currency.
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Every student visa requires you to show funds. Find out what you need before you commit to an application.
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