SNSF Funding and ERC Grants

Interested candidates should first consult the regulations of the funding agencies and, second, contact a potential mentor (that is, an elected professor) within the institutes of the department well ahead of time.

The mentors guide the candidates through the internal procedures. In particular, their duties are

1. Make sure the candidates are aware of all deadlines.
2. Make sure the candidates get interviewed on the level of the institute.
3. Make sure the candidates have a sound financial plan.
4. Make sure the candidates are aware of the teaching duties of their prospective personnel.
5. The mentor has to be present at the institute meeting to introduce the candidate and to answer questions that may arise during the interviews.

Once a prospective candidate has identified a potential mentor, they will be interviewed by the host institute. The mentor will provide relevant background information and ensure that the head of the institute schedules the interview.

Each institute’s interview will be chaired by a faculty member from another institute to ensure departmental oversight. All professors from all institutes are invited to attend each institute’s meeting. Voting rights are granted to all those who typically participate and vote in the respective institute meetings, as well as to all professors.

Candidates are welcome to apply to be hosted at the Department of Physics for the SNSF StG 2026 call. The general procedure is outlined above. For this call the following deadlines have to be kept:

1. Before February 16, 2026:
   1. The candidates agree with a faculty member of the Department that they will be acting as the mentor.
   2. The candidates make sure they are eligible for the call.
   3. The mentor informs the head of institute about the candidate.
   4. The candidates submits a CV that includes the birthdate and a certificate of their PhD to the managing director of the department.
2. Before March 1, 2026:
   1. The head of institute clarifies with the candidate where the research project would be hosted. If there is the need for additional laboratory installations, Janis Lütolf has to be contacted.     
3. Before March 13, 2026:
   1. Institute heads communicate their interview dates to the managing director of the department.
   2. Institute heads must provide the names of candidates, their mentor’s name and research statements to the managing director of the department.
      
   3. Institute heads are responsible for ensuring all institute members (who are not professors) receive these documents by this deadline.
4. By March 18, 2026:
   1. The manging director of the department distributes the candidates’ names, CVs, and research statements, along with their interview schedules such that all professors have this information prior to the interviews at the institutes.    
5. By April 1, 2026:
   1. The chairs of the institute meetings must communicate the results of the votes to the manging director of the department and the head of the department.
6. On April 1, 2026:
   1. The Department sends its hosting letters to the office of research of ETH which will then issue the official hosting agreement. 

For further questions, please get in contact with your mentor.