FAQ

I cannot submit my application in mySAGW. What should I do?

Read the submission guidelines about mySAGW. You can only submit your application once you have created an account and logged in to mySAGW. To register, please click here. If you are still unable to submit your application, please contact us: sagw(at)sagw.ch

I have not received a confirmation of submission. What should I do?

You will receive a verification e-mail after your account has been created. You can download a confirmation of your complete application from mySAGW. However, we will not send you an e-mail confirming the successful submission of your application.

If you have not received the verification e-mail or are unable to download the confirmation of your complete application, please contact us: sagw(at)sagw.ch

I wrote the article together with my Ph.D. supervisor. Should I submit an individual or collective application?

If you are the lead author, you can submit an individual application. For collective applications, all the co-applicants must meet the formal eligibility criteria and must have made an equivalent contribution to the article.  

We are several authors. Do we have to apply collectively or should I apply individually?

There are three options:

1. If you are the main author and have contributed most to the article: Please submit an individual application on the mySAGW online application form and obtain the agreement of the joint authors.
2. If you have all contributed equally to the article: Please submit a collective application on the mySAGW online application form and send us the CVs of all joint authors. All the co-applicants must meet the formal eligibility criteria.
3. If you are one of the main authors who has contributed most to the article: Please submit a collective application on the mySAGW online application form, send us the CVs of all the co-applicants and obtain the agreement of the authors who are not involved in the submission. All co-applicants must meet the formal eligibility criteria.

What counts as an article that fulfils the criteria?

Your publication must be peer-reviewed. In duly justified cases other publication quality controls are also accepted. It can be a journal article, a book chapter or any other type of peer-reviewed publication. (see Criteria for articles).

When should my article have been published?
The article must have first been published between October of the previous year and October of the year of the application. For the Early Career Award 2025 the article must have been published between 1 October 2023 and 31 October 2024. The date of first publication counts. Whether it was first published online or in print does not matter (see Criteria for articles).

I do not have a Swiss passport. Can I still apply?

If you were a researcher working in Switzerland at the time of publication of the submitted article, you can apply regardless of your nationality. Please indicate on the mySAGW online application form the institution which you were affiliated with at the time of publication of the submitted article. If you were working abroad when the submitted article was published, you can apply if, at that time, you either had the Swiss citizenship or possessed a Swiss residence or settlement permit. 

I am based abroad. Can I apply?

The place of residence concerns the date of publication of the submitted article - not your current place of residence. You can apply in these two cases, regardless of your place of residence:

1. If you were working at a Swiss Higher Education Institution at the time of publication of the submitted article and were abroad conducting research, you can apply. Please mention in your cover letter the institution you were working at or in what context you were working abroad (e.g. SNF research project).

2. If you had a Swiss citizenship or a Swiss residence or settlement permit at the time of publication of the submitted article and were working abroad, you can apply

I did not hold a doctorate (PhD) at the time my article was published. Can I apply?

From the 2025 edition onwards, this will no longer be possible. To be eligible, you must already have obtained your doctorate (PhD) by the time your article was published (see Criteria for applicants).

What does «early career researcher» mean? Is my age an eligibility criterion?

Your biological age is not an eligibility criterion. Only academic age at the time of publication of the submitted article will be taken into account, understood as the time elapsed since the PhD. This means that at the time of publication 1) you must already have a PhD and 2) no more than six years have elapsed since completing your PhD. This six-year time limit may be exceeded in duly justified cases. The online application form on mySAGW gives you the possibility to extend the eligibility period and to indicate the reasons for doing so (see Criteria for applicants).

Which information should I include in my cover letter?

Your cover letter should be maximum two pages and address the following points:

• The originality of your paper
• How your research contributes to your branch
• How your article may be of interest to other branches (see Evaluation procedure and results).

If you wish, you can also include other aspects, such as your career.

Should I include a letter of recommendation?

No. Letters of recommendation will not be considered.