The scholarship

Politics scholarships for academics enable graduates of Swiss universities to experience the political processes in the Swiss parliament “live”. The scholars work for the Parliamentary Services in the Federal Palace in Berne for a year. They support parliamentary legislative committees by working in the team of the committee secretary’s office. The scholars research documents and draw up reports for the attention of the members of parliament, write press releases, participate in committee meetings and are involved in their preparation and follow-up. They are in contact with representatives of the Federal Administration, experts from the field of academia and members of parliament.

In the process, they become acquainted with the modus operandi of Swiss politics and are able to gain experience at the interface between politics, administration and academia which may be useful for their later careers. The scholarships are particularly suitable for graduates who will later work in the field of mediation between politics and academia or who want to want to apply the knowledge they have acquired in their academic careers. 

The scholarship is tantamount to a gross annual salary of CHF 80,000. The amount is based on the rates of the SNSF for postdocs (or doctoral students).