ETH Zurich’s main funding scheme for incoming master’s students is called the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme, usually just shortened to ESOP. It’s a merit-based award, not a need-based one, and it’s built around your bachelor’s performance and a research proposal rather than financial documentation. That changes what you need to prepare compared to most scholarships covered in guides like this.
Here’s what it actually requires, what it pays, how the timeline runs, and where the scam risks sit for a program this well-known.
Why This Scholarship Matters
ETH Zurich sits consistently near the top of global rankings for science and engineering, and its list of past affiliates includes Albert Einstein. For a student with a strong bachelor’s record but limited resources, ESOP is one of the more direct routes into that environment: full tuition waiver plus a living stipend, specifically built to remove financial constraints from the equation for a genuinely elite cohort.
What makes ESOP distinct from many university scholarships is that it isn’t just money. Recipients get mentorship and access to a network run through the ETH Foundation, which matters if your path runs toward a PhD or research career afterward — those connections tend to open doors that funding alone doesn’t. Because the program requires you to submit an original master’s thesis pre-proposal as part of the application, it also pushes you to think seriously about your research direction earlier than most master’s students have to, which can pay off later when it’s time to actually pick a thesis supervisor.
Quick Reference Table
| Detail | Information |
| Program name | Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) |
| Degree level | New master’s students only (not currently enrolled ETH master’s students, not students who already hold a master’s degree) |
| Grant value | Approximately CHF 12,000 per semester for living and study costs |
| Tuition | Full waiver for the regular program duration |
| Duration | 3 or 4 semesters, matching the standard length of the chosen master’s program |
| Number of awards | Roughly 60 per year, though the exact figure depends on available funding |
| Application platform | eApply (ETH’s online master’s admission portal) |
| Typical application window | 1 November – 30 November, 11:59pm CET/CEST, for the following autumn intake |
| Interview stage | Possible phone or video interview, typically in February |
| Decision announced | By end of March |
Who Actually Qualifies
Students with an outstanding bachelor’s record. ESOP’s academic bar is specific: you need to be in roughly the top 10% of your bachelor’s program, described by ETH as a grade-A equivalent. This is the core filter the program runs on — it’s explicitly a merit scholarship, not one built around financial need.
Applicants who are new to ETH master’s study. If you’re already enrolled in a master’s program at ETH, or you already hold a master’s degree from anywhere, you’re not eligible. This includes ETH’s own bachelor’s graduates — they can apply for a consecutive master’s under ESOP, but only if they haven’t already started that master’s program (a leave of absence from an existing ETH bachelor’s is the one specific exception noted for continuing students).
Both ETH’s own students and outside applicants. The program is genuinely open to students from other universities, domestic or international, applying for a master’s degree at ETH for the first time — it’s not restricted to ETH’s own bachelor’s graduates, though it does include them.
Students prepared to submit a real thesis pre-proposal. Beyond grades, ESOP asks you to draft an original pre-proposal for your intended master’s thesis, following proper scientific citation standards. ETH is explicit that plagiarism or negligent misrepresentation here leads to rejection during the process, or revocation of the scholarship (and even the admission itself) if discovered later.
Applicants who can name two references, if their program doesn’t already require them. If your specific master’s program’s standard admission process doesn’t ask for reference letters, ESOP requires you to separately name two reference persons — professors who can speak to your academic work — who’ll be contacted automatically to upload a letter.
Step by Step: How the Application Actually Works
Step 1: Choose your master’s program and confirm ESOP eligibility for it. Nearly all ETH master’s programs are eligible, with the general exception of MAS (Master of Advanced Studies) programs, which sit outside standard master’s admissions. Confirm your specific program is included before building your application around it.
Step 2: Apply for master’s admission through eApply. ESOP isn’t a separate application system — it’s a scholarship option built into ETH’s normal online master’s application portal. You select the scholarship option as part of that same process.
Step 3: Submit within the November window. For a given autumn intake, the application period runs from 1 November through 30 November of the prior year, closing at 11:59pm Central European time. This is the only annual window; there isn’t a rolling or secondary intake for ESOP itself.
Step 4: Prepare and upload your master’s thesis pre-proposal. This needs to be self-developed, follow correct scientific citation conventions, and outline a genuine intended research direction — not a placeholder document. ETH publishes formal specification guidelines for this pre-proposal, so check the current version rather than guessing at format.
Step 5: Arrange your two references, if your program requires them separately for ESOP. Confirm with your chosen program whether standard admission references also cover ESOP, or whether you need to designate two additional reference persons specifically for the scholarship.
Step 6: Keep your listed phone number reachable. Shortlisted applicants may be contacted for a phone or video interview, typically in February, using the number listed on your CV. Missing that contact attempt can cost you a spot in the process.
Step 7: Wait for the decision. Results are communicated by the end of March. Final scholarship decisions rest with the Rector of ETH Zurich, following evaluation by the Admissions Committee of each applicant’s specific master’s program — so the process runs partly at the university level and partly at the program level.
Applicants targeting more than one master’s program need to submit a separate ESOP application for each program individually — there’s no single combined submission that covers multiple program choices at once.
Eligibility Details and Prerequisites Worth Double-Checking
Academic threshold. The top-10%/grade-A standard is described consistently across ETH’s own materials, but “top 10%” can be interpreted differently depending on your home institution’s grading system — if your university doesn’t rank students or use an equivalent grading distinction, it’s worth reaching out to ETH directly rather than guessing how your transcript translates.
Field of study. All master’s programs at ETH are eligible for ESOP, aside from MAS programs, so the constraint here is really about degree type, not subject area — science, engineering, and other ETH master’s fields are all covered.
Funding limits are real. ETH states plainly that the number of scholarships awarded depends on available funding each year, so a strong academic file doesn’t guarantee an award even if you clear every threshold — roughly 60 have been awarded in recent cycles, but that figure isn’t fixed.
No separate financial documentation is required for ESOP itself. Unlike need-based scholarships, you’re not submitting income statements or financial-status certificates for this program — the selection criteria run on academic merit and the research proposal, not verified financial need.
Avoiding Scams Around This Scholarship
ESOP is well known enough that it draws the same kind of secondary content and occasional bad information as other flagship European scholarships. A few things worth checking directly:
There’s only one application channel: eApply. ESOP has no separate portal or standalone application form. If a site directs you somewhere other than ETH’s own master’s application system to submit an ESOP application, that’s inconsistent with how the real process works.
No fee is ever charged to apply for or receive ESOP. Applying through eApply for master’s admission carries its own standard university fees, but there’s no additional payment tied specifically to the scholarship application or its award. Treat any request for a scholarship processing fee as a clear warning sign.
The thesis pre-proposal must be your own work. Be cautious of any third-party service offering to write or heavily template your pre-proposal for a fee — beyond the ethical problem, ETH explicitly treats plagiarism or misrepresentation here as grounds for rejection or later revocation, which makes this a genuinely risky shortcut to take.
Confirm dates directly against ETH’s own scholarship page. Application windows and award numbers shift slightly year to year, and several third-party sites publish dates or figures for the wrong cycle. ETH’s official scholarship page (under ethz.ch/students) is the authoritative source — use it to confirm the exact window before you submit anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for ESOP without applying to a specific master’s program?
No. ESOP is built directly into the standard master’s admission application through eApply — there’s no way to apply for the scholarship independently of applying for a specific program, so you need a program choice finalized before you can meaningfully start the ESOP application itself.
Does holding a master’s degree from another country disqualify me?
Yes, based on ETH’s stated criteria. ESOP is aimed at students entering their first master’s degree, so if you already hold a master’s from any institution, you’re not eligible for this particular scholarship, regardless of your academic record.
What if my university doesn’t rank students or use a grading system with a clear top-10% cutoff?
This is a genuine gray area, since ETH’s published criterion assumes a ranking or grade-equivalence system that not every university uses the same way. Your best path is to contact ETH’s scholarship office directly and ask how your specific transcript and grading system should be interpreted, rather than assuming your GPA translates cleanly.
Is the interview mandatory for every applicant?
Not necessarily — ETH describes the phone or video interview as something the selection process “might include,” suggesting it applies to some subset of applicants rather than everyone automatically. Since you can’t predict in advance whether you’ll be contacted, the practical takeaway is to keep the phone number on your CV genuinely reachable through February.
Can I apply for ESOP more than once if I’m rejected the first time?
The published materials don’t describe a lifetime cap on attempts, and the program runs on annual cycles, so re-applying in a future cycle appears to be a reasonable path if your circumstances or file improve. Confirm directly with ETH whether anything about a prior unsuccessful application affects a future one, since that detail isn’t spelled out publicly.
Does ESOP cover living costs completely, or just contribute toward them?
The stipend, roughly CHF 12,000 per semester, is described as covering living and study expenses alongside the tuition waiver, but Zurich is an expensive city and your actual costs will depend heavily on housing choices and lifestyle. Treat the published figure as the scholarship’s contribution, and budget your own realistic cost-of-living estimate on top of it rather than assuming it covers every scenario.
What happens if my grades or academic progress slip after I’m awarded ESOP?
The published materials focus mainly on the award criteria rather than detailed ongoing conditions, so if you’re concerned about maintaining eligibility through your program, the right move is to ask ETH’s scholarship office directly what continuing requirements, if any, apply once you’re enrolled — don’t assume the award is unconditional for its full duration without checking.
Figures, dates, and eligibility details above reflect ETH Zurich’s most recently published ESOP information as of 2026 and are subject to change year to year. Always verify current-cycle details directly on ETH Zurich’s official scholarship page before applying.
