The Cyber-Defence Fellowships or CYD Fellowships is a talent program for cyber-defence research.  It is designed to promote new solutions to major challenges in the fields of security and data science by bringing together basic and applied research in cyber-defence. It offers master thesis, doctoral, and distinguished postdoctoral fellowships to candidates with an outstanding academic and, if applicable, professional track record. This program is highly competitive, and the primary evaluation criterion is excellence, as measured by academic records and professional accomplishments. Candidates applying for a CYD fellowship are expected to have excellent grade transcripts.

Cyber-Defense Fellowships

Course level: Master thesis fellowship, Doctoral, and Postdoctoral fellowship

Field of study: Cyber-defence

Scholarship period: 

Master thesis: 6 months

Doctoral: 4 years (with a possible one-year extension)

Postdoctoral: up to 2 years

Institution and country: CYD fellows are hosted by a higher education institution in Switzerland and conduct their research at the CYD Campus located on the premises of EPFL and ETHZ and in its office in Thun, Switzerland

Sponsor: Armasuisse Science and Technology

Scholarship inclusions:

Master thesis:

  • Living allowance equal to CHF 2,000.- per month for a maximum duration of 6 months
  • Research funds with a maximum amount of CHF 1,500

Doctoral and Postdoctoral:

  • Salary contribution (incl. social security benefits) based on the salary scale associated with the applicant’s position in the host institution.
  • Research funds with a maximum amount of CHF 3,000 per year
  • Conference costs with a maximum amount of CHF 6,000 per year

Eligibility criteria for the Cyber-Defence Fellowships:

Master thesis:

  • Citizens of any nationality
  • No age restrictions apply
  • Applicants must be enrolled in a Master’s program at a higher education institution (university or school of applied sciences) in Switzerland and have the endorsement of a professor employed in this institution willing to supervise them.

Doctoral:

  • Citizens of any nationality
  • No age restrictions apply
  • Applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program at a Swiss higher education institution and have the endorsement of a professor employed in this institution willing to supervise them when they submit their Stage 2 application.
  • Applicants may seek the endorsement of a professor employed at a school of applied sciences, but they must provide written confirmation at Stage 2 that they are simultaneously enrolled in a doctoral program at a Swiss university.
  • Applicants may request funding for less than four years only if they have already completed the first two years of their doctoral program and the requested funding period coincides with the completion of their Ph.D. thesis.

Postdoctoral:

  • Citizens of any nationality
  • No age restrictions apply.
  • Applicants must have the endorsement of a professor employed at a Swiss higher education institution willing to supervise them when they submit their Stage 2 application.
  • Applicants are only eligible to apply if they will conduct their postdoctoral research funded by a Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship in a different laboratory from the one of their doctoral and (if applicable) of their current postdoctoral research.

Application deadline:

Masteral fellowship: rolling call

Doctoral and Postdoctoral fellowship: 15 August 2022 (17:00 CEST) 

How to apply for the Cyber-Defence Fellowships:

For more information on the application process, visit the following application guides:

You may also join the online Applicant Workshop on 29 June 2022 from 10.00 to 10.45 CEST. The registration link to the event is available here.

Other useful links:

Cyber-Defence Fellowships