Tuition and scholarships for Master's programmes

The Department of Education, Culture and Sport (Dipartimento dell’Educazione, della cultura e dello sport - DECS) of the Canton of Ticino provides financial support to students who meet its residency requirements.

The information booklet and the application forms can be downloaded from the web page: www4.ti.ch/decs/sa/uast/sportello/formulari-e-opuscoli (in Italian only).

A related web page provides information about private foundations active in Ticino: www4.ti.ch/decs/sa/uast/fondazioni-private/fondazioni-private (in Italian only).

For further details, please contact the “Ufficio degli aiuti allo studio”: www4.ti.ch/decs/sa/uast/ufficio.

Swiss students residing in other cantons can apply for educational funding from the competent cantonal office, which can be found through the following web site: www.edk.ch/it/temi/borse-di-studio/uffici-cantonali.

2024/25

For the academic year 2024/25, the Foundation for the Lugano Faculties of the Università della Svizzera italiana will award:

• 60 one-off scholarships of CHF 4'000 each to students admitted to the first year of a Master’s programme offered by the Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Informatics, Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society (except the Master in European Studies in Investor Relations and Financial Communication) or Faculty of Biomedical Sciences (only Master in Cognitive Psychology in Health Communication) 
  Call

    Applications must be submitted through the appropriate online form, the link of which will be provided in the letter of admission to the Master’s programme, by July 31st, 2024.

• 20 one-off scholarship awards of CHF 4'000 each given to the best student enrolled in the second year of each USI Master's programme based on the results at the end of the first year of studies. The scholarship awards are granted automatically in November on the basis of the autumn exam session results
  Regulations

For scholarships granted by private foundations to students enrolled in the Academy of Architecture, please refer to the web page www.arc.usi.ch/en/practical-information/scholarships.

2024/25

The call will be available in June 2024.

2023/24

The IBSA Foundation for scientific research offers scholarships every year for students enrolled in the first or second year of the Master of Medicine. Each scholarship consists of an annual amount of CHF 2'000. Information on how to apply is available on the web page www.biomed.usi.ch/en/study/study-medicine/fees-and-scholarships.

For scholarships available for students enrolled in one of the Master’s programmes offered by the Faculty of Theology, please visit the web page of the desired programme, which can be accessed by clicking on the following link: www.usi.ch/en/education/master.

2024/25

The call will be available in September 2024.

2023/24

Swiss and foreign students enrolled at the Università della Svizzera italiana can apply for a scholarship granted by the Leonardo Foundation. Applications must be submitted through the appropriate online form by October 31st, 2023.

• Call (in Italian only)
• Application form for Swiss students
  (to be submitted in paper form to the Leonardo Foundation’s Secretariat)
• Application form for foreign students
  (to be submitted electronically)

2024/25

The call will be available in June 2024.

2023/24

The Zonta Club Lugano Foundation awards several scholarships to students who reside in the Canton of Ticino - both Swiss and foreign with the C residence permit, who are attending a Bachelor's or a Master's degree programme. The application form together with the supporting documents has to be submitted by October 31st, 2023.

• Competition announcement and application form

2024/25

The call will be available in September 2024.

2023/24 

The Ermes and Fiorella Borsari Foundation offers scholarships for university studies in Economics and/or Fine arts (sculpture and painting), aimed at students born or residing in the Canton of Ticino who attend a Swiss university, a recognized or accredited Swiss university of applied sciences and arts or the Brera Academy in Milan. Deadline for submitting applications for subsidies: May 30th, 2024.

• Call (in Italian only)

The Swiss Study Foundation offers a wide range of support for students with outstanding academic results (average: 5.3/6 or 8.8/10), who engage in activities in society and who speak at least two national languages. The Foundation is also able, depending on need and personal profile, to provide financial support to students, as well as doctoral students, already admitted to the Swiss Study Foundation. For more information, please visit their website: www.studyfoundation.ch/.

• Letter of invitation to apply (in Italian only)
• Brochure of the Foundation (in Italian only)

2024/25

The call will be available in June 2024.

2023/24

Fondazione Lang e per la Cultura Italiana del Cantone Ticino offers several scholarships to university students or graduates from Ticino who have the intention of continuing their studies in Switzerland or Italy. The duly completed and signed participation form, accompanied by all required documentation, must be sent by October 21st, 2023.

• Call (in Italian only)
• Application form (in Italian only)

Fondazione Silvio e Marianne Tarchini

2024/25

The call will be available in September 2024.

2023/24

The Board of the Silvio and Marianne Tarchini Foundation has opened the competition for the assignment of scholarships aimed at deserving young Swiss people, primarily from Ticino, for studies in the Federal Universities and Polytechnics in Switzerland, for studies in the Professional University Schools (SUP) and for other higher professional training. Preference will be given to studies in economics or architecture or similar disciplines and priority will be given to students of the Mendrisio Academy of Architecture. The application must be submitted by October 27th, 2023 via the form accessible on the web page www.fondazione-tarchini.ch/.

2024/25

The Board of the Silvio and Marianne Tarchini Foundation has opened the competition for the assignment of scholarships aimed at students of Swiss nationality or who at the time of obtaining the high school diploma or the relevant qualification were resident in the German- or French-speaking part of Switzerland and are pursuing a Bachelor's degree in a university or university of applied sciences and arts in the German- or French-speaking Switzerland or abroad, who have achieved particularly outstanding results and who intend to enroll in a USI or SUPSI Master's course in the Economics, Architecture or Civil Engineering area. Deadline for submitting applications: June 30th, 2024.

• Call (in Italian only)

With the aim of promoting research on topics relating to the Verzasca Valley, the Verzasca Foundation is instituting an annual prize open to all recent graduates from Switzerland or resident in Switzerland, enrolled in a Swiss or foreign university. Master's or doctoral work will be awarded CHF 2000 and Bachelor's or diploma work will be awarded CHF 1'000. Papers in all fields of research, written in one of the 3 official languages (in special cases also in English), are eligible. The submission deadline is the July 31st of each year.

• Call (in Italian only)

• Regulations (in Italian only)

2023/24

The Università della Svizzera italiana undertakes to support, within the limits of its possibility, its students enrolled in the Academy of Architecture, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Communication, Faculty of Culture and Society, Faculty of Economics or Faculty of Informatics in situations of serious financial difficulty through the allocation of solidarity grants and loans.

• Disposizioni (in Italian only)
• Application form - Lugano Faculties
• Application form - Academy of Architecture

For further information, please contact:

• Academy of Architecture: [email protected]
• Faculty of Biomedical Sciences: [email protected]
• Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society and Faculty of Informatics: [email protected]
• Faculty of Theology: [email protected]