EPFL CYD Fellowship 2027 in Switzerland | Fully Funded

In a world increasingly shaped by digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and interconnected systems, the ability to defend cyberspace has become one of the most critical competencies of our era. Every government, every hospital, every financial institution, every power grid, and every communication network now depends on a layer of digital security that is under constant threat. The researchers and scientists who work to strengthen that security — who find the vulnerabilities before adversaries do, who build the defenses that protect the systems society depends on — are doing work that is as important as any in the world.

Switzerland has long understood this. And the EPFL CYD Fellowship 2027 is the Swiss federal investment in the next generation of those researchers.

Jointly launched by EPFL — the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, one of the world's most respected technical universities — and the Cyber-Defence (CYD) Campus, Switzerland's national center for cyber-defence research, this fully funded fellowship program invites outstanding researchers from every country in the world to come to Switzerland and push the frontiers of cybersecurity and data science. Three distinct fellowship tracks — for Master's students, doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers — ensure that exceptional talent at every stage of the research career can find a pathway into this extraordinary program.

There is no application fee. The program is open to all nationalities. And the deadline is 19 August 2026.

If you are a researcher in cybersecurity, information security, data science, or a related technical field, this fellowship was built for exactly the kind of work you are doing and the career you are building.

About EPFL: One of the World's Great Technical Universities

The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne — known universally as EPFL — is one of Europe's most dynamic and internationally celebrated research universities. Founded in its current form in 1969 and located on the northern shore of Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud, EPFL consistently ranks among the top engineering and technology universities in the world — sitting alongside institutions like MIT, Stanford, and ETH Zurich in the very highest tier of global technical education and research.

What sets EPFL apart is not just the quality of its research — though that research is genuinely world-class across fields from computational neuroscience and materials science to robotics and quantum computing. It is the culture of the institution: a relentless focus on innovation, a deep commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, and an unusually open and entrepreneurial environment that encourages researchers to pursue bold ideas and translate their findings into real-world impact.

EPFL's campus in Lausanne is one of the most architecturally striking and intellectually stimulating university environments in the world — a self-contained city of research, education, and innovation set against the backdrop of Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps. More than 400 laboratories and research groups operate on campus, working on questions that span the full spectrum of modern science and engineering. Researchers from over 120 countries call EPFL home, making it one of the most internationally diverse scientific communities on Earth.

For a CYD Fellow, EPFL is not just a location or an institutional credential — it is an ecosystem of intellectual energy, world-class facilities, and global scientific networks that will shape the direction and quality of your research in profound ways.

About the CYD Campus: Switzerland's Cyber-Defence Nerve Center

The Cyber-Defence (CYD) Campus is Switzerland's national center for cyber-defence research and innovation. Established as a collaboration between EPFL, ETH Zurich, and armasuisse — the Swiss federal office for defense procurement and technology — the CYD Campus represents Switzerland's strategic investment in the research capabilities needed to defend critical national and international infrastructure against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

The CYD Campus sits in Thun, a picturesque Swiss town in the canton of Bern, at the foot of the Swiss Alps. It operates at the intersection of academic research and applied defense technology — a space where fundamental scientific inquiry meets the urgent practical challenges of national and international cyber security. This dual nature is one of the most distinctive and intellectually stimulating aspects of the CYD environment: research here is not purely theoretical, but neither is it narrowly operational. Fellows work at the frontier where basic research generates insights that can translate into real defensive capabilities.

The partnership between EPFL, ETH Zurich, and armasuisse gives CYD fellows access to three of Switzerland's most powerful research and innovation institutions simultaneously — a breadth of institutional resource and network that is genuinely rare anywhere in the world.

The CYD Campus's research agenda is focused specifically on cyber-defence — understanding, detecting, preventing, and responding to cyber threats across the full spectrum of modern digital systems. This includes work on cryptography and secure communications, network security and intrusion detection, malware analysis and reverse engineering, secure system design, privacy-enhancing technologies, machine learning for security applications, and the broader intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

For researchers in these fields, the CYD Campus is among the most exciting and purposeful places in the world to work.

Switzerland: Research in One of the World's Most Beautiful Countries

Before going further into the fellowship's structure and benefits, it is worth appreciating the setting in which this research takes place. Switzerland is not simply a country — it is a particular kind of environment that has proven, over and over again, to be extraordinarily conducive to scientific excellence.

The country's extraordinary natural beauty — the Alpine peaks, the glacial lakes, the rolling green meadows of the Mittelland — provides a backdrop to daily life that is genuinely restorative in a way that sustains the long hours and deep concentration that serious research demands. Switzerland consistently ranks at the very top of global quality of life indices, with exceptional public services, infrastructure, safety, and a civic culture that values precision, reliability, and excellence.

Switzerland is also one of the most scientifically productive countries in the world relative to its population. It hosts more Nobel laureates per capita than almost any other nation, and its federal investment in research and development is among the highest as a proportion of GDP in the world. The concentration of world-class research institutions — EPFL, ETH Zurich, the University of Basel, the University of Zurich, and many others — within a relatively small geographic area creates a density of scientific talent and collaboration that is exceptional.

For CYD fellows specifically, the location of the CYD Campus in Thun adds a particular character to the research experience. Thun sits at the western end of Lake Thun, with a stunning view of the Bernese Alps. It is a genuinely beautiful Swiss town — compact, safe, and full of character — that provides a peaceful and inspiring base for intensive research work. Bern, the Swiss capital, is just 30 minutes away by train; Lausanne and the EPFL campus are easily accessible for collaborative visits; and Zurich, Switzerland's largest city and a global hub of finance and technology, is about two hours distant.

Living and researching in Switzerland is an experience that enriches the personal dimension of a fellowship as much as it does the professional one.

The Three Fellowship Tracks: Find Your Pathway

One of the most thoughtfully designed aspects of the EPFL CYD Fellowship program is its three-track structure — ensuring that the program is accessible and relevant to exceptional researchers at different stages of their careers. Each track has its own specific focus, duration, and eligibility requirements, but all three share the same fully funded model and the same access to EPFL and CYD Campus resources.

Track One: CYD Master's Thesis Fellowship (6 Months)

The CYD Master's Thesis Fellowship is designed for outstanding Master's students who want to complete their thesis research at the CYD Campus under the supervision of a professor or supervisor from a Swiss higher education institution.

This six-month fellowship gives Master's students the opportunity to conduct their thesis research in one of the world's most advanced cyber-defence research environments — a context that provides access to facilities, expertise, and research problems that most university departments simply cannot match. Working at the CYD Campus for your thesis is not just a credential — it is a transformative research experience that gives your academic work real depth and applied relevance.

The research topics available for Master's thesis fellowships are published on the CYD Campus's official research projects page. These topics reflect the CYD Campus's current research priorities and represent genuinely open, substantive research questions at the frontier of cyber-defence science. Applicants are encouraged to review these topics carefully and identify the one that best aligns with their academic background and research interests.

Track One: CYD Master's Thesis Fellowship (6 Months)

The CYD Master's Thesis Fellowship is designed for outstanding Master's students who want to complete their thesis research at the CYD Campus under the supervision of a professor or supervisor from a Swiss higher education institution.

This six-month fellowship gives Master's students the opportunity to conduct their thesis research in one of the world's most advanced cyber-defence research environments — a context that provides access to facilities, expertise, and research problems that most university departments simply cannot match. Working at the CYD Campus for your thesis is not just a credential — it is a transformative research experience that gives your academic work real depth and applied relevance.

The research topics available for Master's thesis fellowships are published on the CYD Campus's official research projects page. These topics reflect the CYD Campus's current research priorities and represent genuinely open, substantive research questions at the frontier of cyber-defence science. Applicants are encouraged to review these topics carefully and identify the one that best aligns with their academic background and research interests.

Fellowship Benefits:

• ✅ Living allowance for the 6-month fellowship period
• ✅ Research allowance to support thesis work

Eligibility:

• ✅ Open to all nationalities with no age restriction
• ✅ Must be currently enrolled as a Master's student
• ✅ Must have a professor or supervisor endorsement

Track Two: CYD Doctoral Fellowship (4 Years)

The CYD Doctoral Fellowship is the program's flagship track — a four-year fully funded fellowship that enables exceptional doctoral candidates to complete their PhD thesis at the CYD Campus under the supervision of a Swiss university professor.

Four years is a substantial commitment and a substantial investment — and the CYD Doctoral Fellowship takes that investment seriously. Fellows in this track receive a competitive salary, in addition to living and research allowances and coverage of conference participation costs, recognizing that a PhD fellow is a professional researcher making a real contribution to the institution's scientific output.

The doctoral fellowship is particularly suited to early-stage PhD candidates — those at the beginning of their doctoral journey who can shape their entire research program around the CYD Campus's agenda and resources. However, the program offers flexible funding duration, meaning that doctoral candidates at different stages may also be considered.

Research under this fellowship is conducted in close collaboration with a Swiss university professor, ensuring that fellows have both the institutional backing of a Swiss university program and the research environment and expertise of the CYD Campus. This dual institutional relationship is one of the greatest assets of the doctoral fellowship — it places fellows at the intersection of academic research excellence and applied cyber-defence innovation.

Fellowship Benefits:

• ✅ Full doctoral salary provided throughout the fellowship
• ✅ Living allowance included
• ✅ Research allowance provided
• ✅ Conference participation costs covered

Eligibility:

• ✅ Open to all nationalities and ages
• ✅ Must be enrolled in a Swiss doctoral program
• ✅ Must have a professor's endorsement
• ✅ Preference given to early-stage PhD candidates
• ✅ Flexible funding duration available

Track Three: CYD Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship (2 Years)

The CYD Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship is the program's most senior track — a two-year fellowship for exceptional postdoctoral researchers who are ready to lead an independent research project at the CYD Campus.

This fellowship is explicitly designed for researchers who are transitioning into research independence — who have completed their doctorate and are ready to establish their own research identity and agenda. The "Distinguished" designation is meaningful: this fellowship is reserved for postdoctoral researchers of exceptional caliber, and the selection process reflects that standard.

A key feature of this track is the requirement that fellows join a new research environment — meaning that the postdoctoral fellowship must be conducted in a context different from the fellow's doctoral training. This requirement reflects a well-established principle of research career development: that researchers who move between institutions and environments develop broader perspectives, more diverse networks, and more creative research approaches than those who remain in the same laboratory throughout their early careers.

For postdoctoral researchers from outside Switzerland, the CYD Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship represents an extraordinary opportunity to spend two years at the intersection of EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the CYD Campus — a combination of institutional resources and networks that is virtually unmatched in the European research landscape.

Fellowship Benefits:

• ✅ Full postdoctoral salary for up to 2 years
• ✅ Living allowance included
• ✅ Research allowance provided
• ✅ Conference participation costs covered

Eligibility:

• ✅ Open to all nationalities and ages
• ✅ Must have a professor's or supervisor's endorsement
• ✅ Must be entering a new research environment (different from PhD institution)

The Research Topics: What You Will Work On

The CYD Fellowship's research agenda covers the full breadth of modern cyber-defence science — bringing together both fundamental and applied research in ways that generate knowledge of both theoretical depth and practical relevance.

Core research areas include:

Cryptography and Secure Communications — developing the mathematical foundations and practical protocols that underpin secure digital communication, from post-quantum cryptography to privacy-preserving computation.

Network Security and Intrusion Detection — understanding how adversaries penetrate and move through digital networks, and developing the detection and response capabilities needed to identify and contain breaches.

Malware Analysis and Cyber Threat Intelligence — dissecting the tools and techniques used by cyber adversaries, building knowledge bases that inform defensive strategies and attribution analysis.

Secure System Design and Verification — developing methodologies for building digital systems that are provably secure, and tools for verifying that deployed systems behave as intended.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Cyber-Defence — applying and developing machine learning techniques to problems of anomaly detection, threat classification, vulnerability discovery, and automated defense.

Privacy-Enhancing Technologies — building tools and protocols that protect individual and organizational privacy in digital systems, balancing security with fundamental rights.

Human Factors in Cybersecurity — understanding the human dimensions of security — how people make security decisions, how social engineering attacks succeed, and how security systems can be designed to work with human behavior rather than against it.

Full details of available research topics are published on the official CYD Campus research projects page, and applicants are strongly encouraged to review them carefully before applying.

How to Apply

1. Visit the official EPFL CYD Fellowship page at epfl.ch/research/funding/epfl-programmes/cyd/
2. Review the three fellowship tracks carefully and select the one that matches your academic stage
3. Explore the available CYD research topics at the official CYD Campus projects page
4. Identify and contact a Swiss professor or supervisor willing to endorse your application
5. Prepare your CV, research proposal, and supporting documents
6. Submit your complete application through the official EPFL online portal before 19 August 2026