Branco Weiss Fellowship in Science

The Branco Weiss Fellowship offers an opportunity for postdocs in all areas of the natural and social sciences and engineering who have conceived an original and independent research idea that falls outside the scope of large-scale research projects. The fellowship gives an unusual degree of freedom: Fellows are encouraged to choose the best possible location for their research, anywhere in the world. They will receive support for up to five years. They decide for themselves how the financial resources will be allocated – for their own salary, for staff, for equipment or for a combination of these.

But it’s more than mere funding. Fellows become part of a community of exceptional junior researchers and alumni (most often in faculty positions) from a large spectrum of fields and countries. They thus get to benefit from co-mentoring opportunities, and may even launch collaborative projects which are eligible for additional financial support. Career steps, typically to take up junior faculty positions, are encouraged and will not result in termination of the fellowship.

What does it take to be considered for a Branco Weiss Fellowship?

• Scientific Excellence: Applicants must demonstrate that rare ability to excel within the constraints of academia while at the same time pursuing utterly original research that transcends the boundaries of disciplines. The more original and non-conformist their idea is, the more likely it is to be shortlisted. The fellowship seeks to form a community of scholars who aspire to one of Branco Weiss’s mottos: “make an impact.” Successful applicants are those with the determination and imagination to make this happen.
• Independent Research: In the past, the fellowship has received many applications that are merely follow-ups or a piece of a large-scale research project. These applications are not what is being sought. The Branco Weiss Fellowship is reserved for junior scientists who have developed a project idea on their own and who might find it a challenge to find support because their thinking is deemed to be out of the box and falls between existing disciplinary silos.
• Intellectual Curiosity and Social Commitment: One of the overall aims of the fellowship is to create new scopes for research that might potentially open up new fields. Often this requires a stimulus that can only come from dialog between different scientific fields.
• Communication Skills: One thing Branco Weiss Fellows have in common is a passion for communicating. They engage in dialog not just with their peers, but also across scientific boundaries and with society at large.
• Mobility: The fellowship provides an unusual degree of freedom. Fellows are encouraged to take advantage of their perks and choose the best home institution in the world to perform their research.

The fellowship was founded in 2002 by the late Swiss entrepreneur Dr. Branco Weiss. In 2010, he established the fellowship program at ETH Zurich, his alma mater. Candidates can apply for a project to be hosted by any academic institution worldwide, provided that it is exceedingly well suited for the task.

The original idea of The Branco Weiss Fellowship is exemplified by selected alumni portraits.

Who Should Apply

Candidates who excel beyond boundaries

The ideal applicant for a Branco Weiss Fellowship leverages the freedom offered by the fellowship to design a surprisingly novel and scientifically rigorous research project. The fellowship addresses junior researchers with a record of outstanding scientific achievement and a passion for venturing into new territory (see: Mission).

To give you an impression of what kind of qualifications a typical Branco Weiss Fellow should have, please check the current fellow profiles, as well as selected alumni portraits.

Before applying or contacting us, please read the information on this website carefully.

The registration portal for the 2023 fellowship intake is now closed. Candidates are welcome to start applying again in October 2023 for the January 15, 2024 deadline.

Eligibility, Duration, and Funding

Courageous postdocs aiming to go further

You are eligible for the 2024 intake if:

• You officially hold a PhD on January 15, 2024
• You have obtained your PhD a maximum of five years prior to January 15, 2024
• You do not hold/have not held a faculty-equivalent position (e.g. assistant professor or lecturer)
• Your project departs from the mainstream of research in your discipline
• You have a record of outstanding scientific achievement
• You demonstrate in the proposal a willingness to engage in a dialog on relevant social, cultural, political or economic issues beyond the frontiers of your particular discipline

Please note that we typically do not fund mainstream research projects that could also be funded by other scientific organizations.

If you have applied before and were not selected, you are welcome to apply again.

Only the following reasons for delays after attaining your PhD are acceptable:

• parental leave
• inability to work due to illness or accident

Applicants must provide an official confirmation of their leave(s) before they submit an application. The number of weeks that the research work was interrupted is accepted as an extension (max. 1 year in total).

Duration

Research projects should be conceived to last five years.

The first two years of a project are called the pioneer phase. At the end of the pioneer phase, a review and a site visit will be conducted. At this point, the project, its continued originality, and the productivity of the fellow will be evaluated. If the results of the evaluation and site visit are satisfactory, the fellow enters the exploitation phase for the remaining three years of the fellowship.

Branco Weiss Fellows are encouraged to seek faculty positions during their exploitation phase. Fellows can start a faculty position/professorship after the first year of the fellowship. Assuming an academic position will not result in termination of the fellowship.

Funding

A Branco Weiss Fellowship amounts to max. CHF 600,000 for up to five years. It may be used to cover all legitimate costs of research (i.e. salary and/or equipment, travel expenses, consumables, personnel, etc.).

Timelines

The proposals are evaluated by the directorate, selected faculty members of ETH Zurich, and external reviewers. Short-listed candidates are invited for personal interviews, to be held in Zurich, Switzerland.

The following timeline applies for the 2024 fellowship intake:

• January 15, 2024, 5 p.m. CET: final deadline for applications via the online form
• May 2024: notification and invitation for a personal interview sent to final selection of candidates; notification sent to candidates whose application has been rejected
• June 2024: candidates interviewed by a panel in Zurich, Switzerland; final selection of fellows
• September 1 to December 31, 2024: fellows commence research projects

Application

Applications for the 2023 fellowship intake are now closed.

If you are interested to apply for the 2024 fellowship you will need to have the following material and information ready for your online application starting October 2023:

• Letter of motivation including a statement explaining why your research differs from the mainstream (max. 1 page)
• Your proposed research project (max. 5 pages, including abstract, timelines, tentative milestones and references)
• Your CV (max. 4 pages)
• An invitation letter by your prospective host, stating why you are invited to the host group and why your research project is supported
• Copies of your three best publications (no doctoral theses, no books, only peer-reviewed journal articles or individual book chapters)
• 5 reviewer suggestions (to be entered directly in the online application)

Please note that a letter of support does not have to be submitted upon application. Budgets do not have to be submitted.

The steps required to submit an application in the web-based ETH Zurich grant application system ‘eResearch’ are outlined here.

In preparing the description of your intended research, you may wish to give emphasis to the idea or concept forming the heart of the work, the methods you are planning to use, and the potential impact of the outcome both for your own subject and for other disciplines. In your proposal, you should also seek to present links between society and science that you wish to explore and promote.

All documents must be submitted as PDF files (max. 15 MB in total). Please use the following naming conventions for your documents and do not forget to add your family name:

• FamilyName_ResearchProposal
• FamilyName_CV
• FamilyName_MotivationLetter
• FamilyName_HostLetter
• FamilyName_Publication1
• FamilyName_Publication2
• FamilyName_Publication3

Before applying, please read the Frequently Asked Questions and Guidelines on this website carefully.

Guidelines

The guidelines summarise the procedures and conditions of the Branco Weiss Fellowship.

They can be downloaded here.