No separate scholarship application
There is no separate scholarship application. ESOP is folded into eApply, ETH Zurich’s regular online Master’s admission system, so applying for the programme and applying for the money happen in the same submission. On top of the normal admission documents you also upload a pre-proposal for your Master’s thesis, which the university says you must write yourself using proper scientific citation, and if your programme doesn’t already collect references you need to name two professors who will be emailed to upload one.
Two eligibility points easy to miss
Two eligibility points are easy to miss. You are not eligible if you already hold a Master’s degree, or if you are already enrolled in one at ETH Zurich, so this is specifically for incoming students, including ETH’s own Bachelor’s graduates moving straight into a Master’s. And there is only one application window a year, 1 to 30 November, with no fallback round if you miss it.
More than a stipend: mentorship and a foundation network
ETH Zurich’s own framing of ESOP goes beyond the money: the programme is described as combining a scholarship with mentorship and access to a network run through the ETH Foundation, not just a cash grant attached to admission. The university backs this with real, named scholars featured in its own video portraits rather than a generic pitch, evidence that the mentorship and network side of the award is treated as a genuine part of the experience, not marketing language layered on top of a stipend. For a wider view of engineering-specific funding beyond this one university, see the guide to funding for engineering.
What the money actually is, and how selection works
The money itself is a flat CHF 12,000 a semester for living and study costs plus a full tuition fee waiver, running for as long as the Master’s programme normally takes, three or four semesters depending on the subject. About 60 scholarships are expected for the 2027/28 intake, and the final call sits with the Rector after each Master’s programme’s own Admissions Committee reviews applications, with results out by the end of March. Selection may include a phone or video interview in February, so keep the number on your CV reachable that month.