One deadline, and no second chance for master’s aid
For September 2027 entry, the Institute’s admissions page gives one deadline for all master’s and PhD programmes: Thursday 14 January 2027 at midnight Geneva time. Recommendation letters are due by Thursday 22 January 2027. Master’s applicants do not fill in a separate scholarship form. They answer the financial questions inside the admission application, and the page is explicit: if you do not apply for aid in the January round, you cannot do so at any later time. The Institute processes applications in batches rather than on a rolling basis and says late applications are not accepted, so submit well before the day.
What master’s aid actually looks like
This is not an automatic scholarship. According to the Institute’s financial aid checklist, about 10 to 15% of new master’s students receive aid each year. An award can be a full or partial scholarship, capped at CHF 20,000 and described as for two years, a tuition reduction, or a mix of both. Tuition for non-Swiss residents is CHF 8,000 a year, and the Institute’s own monthly budget estimate for Geneva runs from CHF 1,430 to CHF 2,720 or more, before the health insurance deductible. Even a large award may not cover everything. Aid is renewed only if you apply again in April and May of your first year and show continued need and academic progress. Stipends are paid monthly, and master’s students must live in Switzerland or neighbouring France to receive theirs. Aid can be reduced if your total income in the academic year goes above CHF 32,000. Swiss rules limit foreign students to 15 hours of work a week during term, and the Institute notes that non-EU students may not work during their first six months in Switzerland.
Proving financial need
Admission decisions are need-blind: the academic committees do not see who asked for aid. A separate Financial Aid Committee decides awards from the documents you upload. You need a cover letter, in English or French, explaining your background, your financial situation, your family’s situation and how you plan to pay for Geneva. You also need proof of your own annual income, such as an income declaration, a tax certificate, 12 months of salary statements or a contract. A copy of your parents’ annual income is mandatory if you are under 26 and highly recommended if you are older. Where tax documents do not exist, the checklist asks for an official attestation saying so, together with three months of bank statements and proof of any other funding. Documents in languages other than English, French, German, Italian or Spanish need an English translation or annotations explaining the key figures. Some awards are paid by donors, but there is no separate application for them: the committee matches students to sponsors, and the Institute asks applicants not to contact donors or foundations directly.
PhD offers come with funding attached
The PhD side works differently. The Institute states that every PhD admission offer comes with a four-year financial support package, from the Institute or from another approved organisation, and PhD candidates should not fill in the financial aid form. The Institute’s package pays CHF 20,000 a year as CHF 2,000 a month from September to June, and tuition falls to CHF 3,000 in the first year and CHF 1,000 a year after that. There is no stipend in July and August, when PhD students may work full time. During the academic year, work is limited to 25% in years one and two. In years three and four it is 25% for students who also hold a teaching assistantship, and 50% for those on the package alone. PhD students who are paid from an externally funded research project run by a faculty member, usually through the Swiss National Science Foundation or a European funder, can also be admitted. The Institute offers PhD programmes in anthropology and sociology, international economics, international history and politics, international law, and international relations and political science.
The Swiss Government route, and the October date
The Institute describes the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships in two ways, so confirm which applies to you. Its admissions page says PhD applicants who want that scholarship must apply by Thursday 15 October 2026, with references by 22 October, and that successful applicants receive a support letter for the Swiss application and are then not considered for the Institute’s own package. Its financing page, by contrast, says enrolled PhD students can apply for the Swiss scholarship during their first year, and that it would replace the Institute’s package in years two to four. PhD applicants to the International Law programme who want the Swiss route can only apply if their Swiss government deadline falls on 12 November or later. If in doubt, email the Scholarships Office at scholarships@graduateinstitute.ch before choosing a deadline.
Fees, language and the other small print
The application fee is CHF 100 for either deadline, paid through Flywire, and it cannot be waived. If your country’s banking system is under international sanctions, payment may be postponed and added to your first tuition invoice. The October payment applies only to PhD applicants seeking Swiss government funding, while the January payment covers every programme. English at CEFR C1 is required, for example TOEFL iBT 100 or IELTS Academic 7.0, unless you completed at least a full year in a university programme taught fully in English. The Institute warns that failing to document the required English level by 30 May may lead it to rescind an offer of admission. French is encouraged but not required: students below B1 must take a free three-week intensive course before their first semester, plus weekly classes in their first year.