Canton of Basel-Stadt - Canton of Basel-Stadt Student Support Grants

Canton of Basel-Stadt student grant

You will receive a grant of up to CHF 19,000 per year (about 19,700 EUR) if you are unable to finance your training or studies entirely yourself. This money is a genuine grant, which means you will never have to pay it back. The canton calculates the exact amount based on your personal budget: it takes into account the costs of your studies and living expenses, deducts the amount that you and your family can contribute, and covers the difference. Each grant covers one academic year. You must submit a new application for each subsequent year, up to a maximum of approximately four years. The canton of Basel-Stadt awards around 2,000 such grants each year. Should your budget still prove insufficient, the canton may grant you a loan, which you will have to repay upon completion of your studies.

Who can apply

• Connection to Basel-Stadt: Your parents live in this canton, or you yourself have lived there for a considerable period of time, or you have been allocated to this canton as a refugee or a person granted temporary residence.
• Age: You’ll be under the age of 40 when your training starts. If you’re older, you can still apply if you really need the money.
• Type of training: Your course is officially recognised by the Swiss federal government or the cantons. This covers apprenticeships, upper-secondary schools (such as a Gymnasium), higher vocational schools, universities of applied sciences, teacher-training colleges and universities including the ETH.
• Stage: This is your first qualification. Everything up to your first master’s degree is regarded as initial education. The canton only funds second degrees and further education in rare cases, usually in the form of a loan.
• Where you study: You can study in Switzerland or abroad. A degree programme abroad must be state-recognised and correspond to a Swiss degree programme for which you meet the entry requirements.
• Field of study: All subjects.
• Financial need: You cannot cover the full cost of your education on your own. The canton always takes your parents’ income and assets into account, even if you are already 25 years old.

How to apply

First, complete the online assessment on the canton’s website. The Office for Education Grants will then check whether you meet the eligibility criteria. If so, they will send you the application form by post; you should complete it and return it together with your supporting documents. The deadline is 30 September for upper secondary courses and 31 October for higher education courses.