Dear department coordinators (and DVs
cc’),
Please share this
information about this postdoctoral funding
opportunity (Schmidt Science Fellowship) with your
doctoral students, especially outstanding students.
Please note that only doctoral students
who will complete their doctorate between 15 May
2025 and 30 June 2026 are eligible.
Thank you.
Annette
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear doctoral students,
The Schmidt
Science Fellowship Program have just
opened their next call for applications for their
postdoctoral fellowships in 2026.
The
program offers a postdoctoral
research stipend for 1 to 2 years (up to
$220,000 USD). Fellows are supported to pursue a
postdoctoral placement at a world-leading
laboratory anywhere in the world who are interested
in broadening
their horizons, pivoting away from their PhD
research area, and pursuing a challenging and
rewarding period of study in an alternative
discipline with world-leading scientists. Schmidt
Science Fellows are encouraged and supported to take
an ambitious scientific risk when considering their
postdoctoral placement. Their proposed research should
represent a genuine and innovative disciplinary
departure from their PhD studies, with a clear goal
towards gaining new skills in a new area and
establishing field-leading interdisciplinary lines of
research with potential for high reward and societal
impact. During their fellowship year(s), they
also participate
in a Global Meeting Series that
introduces new research ideas, techniques, and
questions, in addition to a tailored training
program.
Eligibility
- Have conducted
their graduate degree in the natural sciences
(Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth
Sciences), Engineering, Mathematics, or Computing
– and all sub-disciplines therein.
- Expect to
complete, all of the requirements for the
conferral of their PhD in one of these fields
between 15
May 2025 and 30 June 2026.
- Able to start
their Fellowship in July
2026 or October
2026 and
available from April
2026 to July 2027 to
attend virtual onboarding activities, and from October
2026 to
attend in-person convenings.
Please
have a close look at the detailed information on the
Fellowship program and the evaluation criteria on the
Schmidt Science Fellow website:
https://schmidtsciencefellows.org/ and
in the attached brochures.ETH Zurich can nominate up to seven
candidates, who will
then be able to submit their full proposal. If you
are fulfilling the eligibility criteria and would
like to apply for this fellowship, please
send your application for nomination by 5 pm
on 22 April 2025 to awards@sl.ethz.ch.
Necessary documents and information for
the ETH Zurich nomination process:
- cover
page (1 page;
Name of fellowship; applicant name; expected
completion date of PhD; name of main doctoral
advisor/s and department; brief personal statement
that the PhD is on course to be completed between 15 May
2025 and 30 June 2026).
- your CV (max. 2
pages, incl. publications)
- your
major academic achievements (0.5 page;
key research results and any impact they might
have had, etc.)
- outline
of current
scientific field and
explanation on how the proposed
project/fellowship will be a change from the PhD
discipline and a change in application area, i.e. the
intended move into a new research field and new
application (0.5 page) (note, the move into a new
research field and application is one of the key
assessment criteria of the Schmidt Science
Fellowship)
- explain
briefly (0.5 page) why
you think you are an ideal candidate for the
Fellowship program, especially how you see your
research make a lasting impact in the sciences and
society.
Please submit the application as one
PDF file. Please note, only complete applications
will be considered.
Timeline/Deadlines:
22 April 2025 (5 pm): indicate your interest to be nominated
for the Schmidt Science Fellowship by sending all
the necessary information as stated above to awards@sl.ethz.ch
19 May 2025: we will inform you if you will be
nominated by ETH
By 29 May 2025: complete your individual details in the
Schmidt Science Fellow online applications portal
By 14 July 2025: submit your full proposal in the
Schmidt Science Fellow online applications portal
Please feel free to get in touch if you
have any questions (email awards@sl.ethz.ch).
Kind regards,
Annette Brockerhoff