Lake Zurich at golden hour with the Swiss Alps in the background and trees on the shoreline.

Switzerland 2026/27 intake: excellence grant applications typically align with Master's admission, closing around spring 2026 — confirm on unine.ch

University of Neuchâtel Master's Grant for International Students

The University of Neuchâtel (Université de Neuchâtel, UniNE) is a French-speaking Swiss public university in the Jura lakes region, known for biology (its Institute of Biology and hydrogeology work), linguistics, law, economics, and its business and Islamic/Arab-world studies. Through its excellence grant scheme it supports outstanding international Master's students with awards of around CHF 16,000 per year (LKR 5.9m+), helping to cover Switzerland's living costs (Neuchâtel's tuition itself is modest by international standards). Selection is merit-based and tied to admission to a Master's programme. For strong Sri Lankan graduates comfortable studying in a French-language environment — or in one of Neuchâtel's English-taught tracks — this is a genuine funded route into the Swiss system at lower overall cost than Zurich or Geneva. Exact grant value, number of awards and deadlines are set each year, so confirm the current terms on the University of Neuchâtel website.

University of Neuchâtel

University-funded

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Value

~CHF 16,000/yr

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Level

Master's

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Basis

Academic Merit

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International Applicant

Open to international students with a non-Swiss qualification admitted to a University of Neuchâtel Master's. Sri Lankan applicants are eligible; check the annual call for exact conditions.

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Excellent Academic Record

A first-class or strong upper-second Bachelor's in a relevant field from a recognised Sri Lankan university. The grant is competitive and ranked on academic merit.

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Admission to a Master's

The grant attaches to admission to an eligible Neuchâtel Master's programme. You apply for admission first; grant consideration follows for admitted candidates.

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Language Proficiency

Most programmes are taught in French (B2/C1 required); some tracks are in English (IELTS ~6.5). Sri Lankan applicants from English-medium degrees may qualify for English tracks via an MOI route — confirm with admissions.

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Apply for admission to a Neuchâtel Master's

Submit your admission application for an eligible Master's via the University of Neuchâtel, with transcripts, degree certificate, CV and language evidence.

Apply for the excellence grant

Complete the grant application as indicated for your programme, attaching the required documents, before the deadline.

Merit-based selection

The university ranks candidates on academic merit and awards a limited number of grants for the intake.

Accept and apply for the Swiss visa

Accept your place and grant, then apply for the Swiss student visa (national D visa) via the Swiss representation covering Sri Lanka, using your admission, grant confirmation and financial evidence.

Why University of Neuchâtel?

Neuchâtel is a compact, research-active Swiss university in a beautiful lakeside town, strong in biology, linguistics, law and economics, with modest tuition and a lower cost of living than Switzerland's big cities. Its excellence grants make funded Swiss study realistic for Sri Lankan graduates.