SNSF Starting Grant (StG)

CV and major achievements

In order to comply with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) principles, the SNSF defined a new structure for the CV and requests a standardised set of information from all applicants.

Applicants will have to compile their CV according to a new template on the SNSF Portal and subsequently upload a PDF in the data container "CV and major achievements" in mySNF. This information is intended for evaluators to specifically assess the scientific quality and relevance of the research output.

For more details on the new CV format see here.

Link to Switzerland

Applicants must either hold Swiss nationality or a degree from a Swiss institution, or have carried out research at a Swiss institution for at least two years with an average of at least 80% working time.

Current position

Researchers are not eligible to apply if they already hold a position that allows them to lead a research project and team AND have already received significant third-party funding (excl. Ambizione).

Qualification

Eligibility is based on the date of February 1st, 2025.

To be eligible, applicants need to have one of the following qualifications and fulfil the time requirement:

• Have a PhD and 2-8 years of research experience after the PhD defence.
• Have an MD (state exam or equivalent), be within 12 years of the MD, and have a min. of 3 years of clinical work and 2 years of research experience.
• Have a qualification equivalent to a PhD, i.e., 3 years of research activity after a higher education degree, and have 2-8 years of research experience after the qualification equivalent to a PhD.

Extended eligibility conditions

The eligibility window can be extended under the following circumstances (full-time or part-time leave possible):

• Maternity
  Extension of 18 months per child born before or after the PhD, or by the documented amount of maternity leave if longer than 18 months.
• Paternity, adoption or parental leave
  Extension by the documented amount per child before or after the PhD.
• Inability to work due to illness or accident
• Care duties (e.g., taking care of close relatives)
• Services that benefit the general public, particularly military or civilian service
• Continuing education in connection with the applicant’s research activities, particularly internships or clinical work

The deadlines of the SNSF StG 2025 call are as follows:

Note: Indirect costs (i.e., overhead) of 15% are not included in the budget and should not be added to the data container "Requested funding" in mySNF. According to the University of Bern overhead rules, overhead funds are not passed on to PIs in SNSF grants (an exception previously applied to the Horizon Europe Transitional Measures).

Salary of applicant (if requested)

The University of Bern salary bracket for SNSF Starting Grant applicants is 25/24 (Gehaltsklasse 25/Gehaltsstufe 24). Budget your salary at 100%. Include a pay rise of two salary levels each year:

Y1        CHF 143’854 (GK25/GS24)
Y2        CHF 145’608 (GK25/GS26)
Y3        CHF 147’363 (GK25/GS28)
Y4        CHF 149’117 (GK25/GS30)
Y5        CHF 150’872 (GK25/GS32)

Note: This is an annual gross salary excluding social security contributions (see below).

Salaries of team members

Note: Please overwrite the amounts calculated by mySNF by activating the corresponding checkbox. If you get an error message, please include the following sentence: "These amounts correspond to the 2024 salaries at the University of Bern." For social security contributions, see below.

PhD students

Due to the increase in the minimum salary for SNSF-funded PhD students from 2026, the Grants Office recommends provisionally budgeting an average gross salary (excluding social security contributions) of CHF 53,215/year:

Note: The length of employment for a PhD student funded by the SNSF is a maximum of four years.

Postdoctoral researchers

According to the postdoc regulations of the University of Bern, postdocs should be employed at a minimum of 80%, or, in particular individual circumstances, at least 50%. The following salary rates should be used for postdoc positions (annual gross salaries excluding social security contributions at 100%):

Note: If you are budgeting a postdoc who was already employed at the University of Bern before, use the actual salary rates of the postdoc.

Student assistants

The yearly annual gross salary (excluding social contributions, see below) for a student assistant with a bachelor’s degree is CHF 31’142 (GK12/GS0, 50% employment) and without a bachelor’s degree is CHF 26’526 (GK7/GS0, 50% employment).

Social contributions

The University of Bern's (employer) social security contributions are 15%. They are added on top of the salaries and included in the total maximum budget. mySNF will automatically calculate the amounts for you.

Other social contributions: There are two kinds of further allowances in the Canton of Bern:

1. Betreuungszulage / Care allowance – You need to budget this allowance under “further social security contributions”. The TOTAL allowance is CHF 250/month for one child (CHF 3000/year), CHF 180 for two (CHF 2160/year), CHF 110 for three (CHF 1320/year) and CHF 40 for four children (CHF 480/year). Make sure that you explain your request under “general remarks” (e.g. care allowance for child).
2. Kinderzulage / Child allowance – This allowance will be paid by the “Ausgleichskasse” and therefore you do not need to request this money from the SNSF.

For further information on salary ranges for researchers with qualification positions, please see the University of Bern salary ranges document (in german) from the Human Resources Office.

Confirmation of the higher education institution

A confirmation letter from the University of Bern signed by the Vice-Rector for Research and Innnovation must be uploaded with your application. With this letter, the University of Bern confirms that the applicant will receive at least the title of Assistant Professor (without tenure-track) for the duration of the SNSF StG. The letter is prepared by the Grants Office and signed by the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation.

The Grants Office will send you this letter to upload to mySNF once we have received the commitment letter from your chosen institute/department (see below).

Commitment of your institute/department

In order for the Grants Office to send you the confirmation of the higher education institution, you must provide us with a commitment letter from your chosen institute/department. With this letter, the head of the institute/department commits to supporting your project if you are successful. This letter is for internal purposes only and is NOT uploaded with your application.

You must use the template provided by the Grants Office for the commitment letter. In order to download the appropriate template, please answer the following question:

For resources, guidance and advice on open access publications and research data as well as on data management plans, your contact is the University of Bern’s Open Science Team.

SNSF grantees must guarantee open access to all peer-reviewed scientific publications of their results as set out in the SNSF Funding Regulations and the Implementation Regulations. Costs for publications do not need to be included in the budget of individual grant applications. The SNSF offers reimbursement of Article Processing Charges (APCs) (of publications in full open access journals only) originating from SNSF-funded projects through ChronosHub. For details, please see here.

For further information on SNSF policy, please consult the SNSF open research data webpage. A data management plan (DMP) will be required for approved grants. The necessary funding (if applicable) must already be included in the grant application.

The Grants Office cannot provide sample proposals. We recommend that you contact successful applicants directly and ask them to share their strategies and experiences. A list of SNSF StG projects at the University of Bern can be found on the SNSF Data Portal.

If you have any questions, please consult the FAQ tab on the SNSF Starting Grant or contact the Grants Office.