CERN Switzerland PhD Student Scholarship 2025 Open
If you are a PhD student from a country outside CERN’s Member or Associate Member States, this is your chance to immerse yourself in the world’s most advanced scientific environment.
The CERN Non-Member State Doctoral Student Programme offers you the opportunity to conduct part of your doctoral research at the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—the epicentre of groundbreaking discoveries in physics, engineering, and computer science.
This is not just an internship—it’s an up to 2-year fully funded doctoral placement at CERN, allowing you to gain skills, international exposure, and the chance to bring back expertise to strengthen research in your home country.
Programme Objective
The programme aims to:
- Provide capacity-building opportunities for PhD students from developing research environments.
- Facilitate world-class training, supervision, and exposure in particle physics, applied physics, IT/computing, and engineering.
- Enable you to work on cutting-edge experiments like those at the LHC while continuing your PhD at your home university.
PhD Programme Benefits Package
During your stay at CERN, you’ll receive:
- CHF 3,891/month (net of tax) allowance.
- Up to 2 years of association contract (can be split to allow work at home university).
- Travel allowance to and from Geneva.
- Family supplements if your spouse/children accompany you.
- Comprehensive health insurance during your stay (deducted from allowance).
- 2.5 paid leave days per month while at CERN.
What You’ll Work On?
As a CERN NMS Doctoral Student, you could be contributing to:
- Particle Physics & Applied Physics – Conduct experiments that probe the smallest building blocks of the universe.
- Engineering & Instrumentation – Work with pioneering technologies in mechanical, materials, and electronic engineering.
- Information Technology/Computer Science – Advance high-performance computing and data analysis for global-scale experiments.
Your work at CERN will form part or all of your doctoral thesis, under a partnership between your home university supervisor and a CERN supervisor.
Eligibility – Are You the Right Fit?
You can apply if you:
- Are a national of a CERN Non-Member State (priority for students in developing countries or regions).
- Are enrolled in a PhD programme at a university in an eligible country.
- Have completed at least one year of your PhD before applying.
- Have your university’s agreement to co-supervise your CERN research.
- Have good English and/or French skills.
Required Documents for Application Submission
Prepare these in PDF format (clearly labelled) to apply for this CERN PhD programme:
- CV.
- Motivation letter (highlighting capacity-building impact in your country).
- Statement of research interest.
- Two reference letters (one from PhD supervisor).
- Letter from home university agreeing to co-supervise.
- Latest academic transcript and diploma.
- Proof of PhD enrolment
Application Deadline
The last date to apply for the CERN Non-Member State Doctoral Student Programme is 20 October 2025 (23:59 CET). Selections will take place after panel review, with placements expected to start in 2026.
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