Canton of Bern - Canton of Bern Student Support Grants

Benefit

You will receive a grant that is tailored to your individual financial circumstances. As a rule, you do not have to repay this. There is no fixed amount. The canton’s education authority compares your income and expenditure with those of your family and makes up the difference based on set guidelines. For example, the costs of a university degree are estimated at approximately CHF 3,000 per year (around EUR 3,100). The grant applies for the entire duration of your studies, although the total funding period is limited to 12 years. From your fourth year of study at a higher education institution onwards, two-thirds of the funding will be in the form of a grant, and you can apply for a loan to cover the remaining third. A loan is money that you repay within 10 years of completing your studies at the interest rate set by the Berner Kantonalbank. The money comes from the Directorate for Education and Culture of the Canton of Bern.

Eligibility

• Link to Bern: Your parents live in the canton of Bern, or you have a personal connection to this canton. For example, after completing your initial training, you lived and worked here independently for two years, you hold a ‘C’ settlement permit for the canton of Bern; or, after five years’ residence in Switzerland, you hold a ‘B’ residence permit; or you have been granted asylum and have been assigned to the canton of Bern.
• Type of training: Your degree programme must lead to a recognised qualification. This includes upper secondary education (apprenticeships, vocational and general upper secondary schools, Gymnasium) as well as tertiary education (universities, universities of applied sciences, teacher training colleges, ETH, higher vocational schools). Private schools in Switzerland and abroad are also included, provided they lead to a recognised qualification.
• First qualification: This must be your first degree programme. Second degrees, PhDs, additional qualifications and adult education are not eligible for funding.
• Financial need: Neither you nor your parents can afford to pay for your education yourselves. The grant simply makes up the shortfall that is not covered by your family’s income and your own income.
• Field of study: All subjects are open.
• Age: As a rule, you will no longer receive financial support once you have become 35. Exceptions apply if you take up or resume employment following a period of family leave or care leave, or for other important reasons.

How to apply

Applications for each year of the apprenticeship must be submitted online via the cantonal portal ‘StipBE-Online’, for which a BE-Login account is required. The application deadline is 30 June for a training year starting in the first half of the year (spring semester), and 31 December for a training year starting in the second half of the year (autumn semester). You can use a forecast calculator on the canton’s website to check in advance whether it is worth applying.