Information for the Professors

Each application must be submitted with a letter of invitation/recommendation from the professor who supports the application and who will act as a supervisor during the stay. This letter is a key element in the selection process.

Before committing to supervising the candidate, it is recommended that you thoroughly assess the application: quality of the research project, language skills, academic competencies necessary to carry out the project, etc. A personal meeting, whether in person or online, before issuing a letter of recommendation is highly recommended.

If the person is awarded a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship, you as the supervisor, are responsible for supporting the person in academic matters during their stay. The International Relations Office (IRO) is responsible for the administrative support of the scholarship holder. This includes support before, during, and after the stay. At the beginning of the stay, IRO invites all scholarship holders to a welcome event, and during the semester, various socio-cultural activities take place where scholarship holders can get to know Fribourg and Switzerland and meet their peers.

For doctoral scholarships with a maximum duration of 36 months, there is the option of extending the status without a scholarship. It is therefore recommended that you discuss potential sources of financial support with the scholarship holder early in the process, ideally at the very beginning, in case a fourth year turns out to be necessary.