Funding opportunities
The University of Lucerne research committee (FoKo) has research funds (own resources) at its disposal which enable support for research projects, conferences and publications to a limited extent.
The majority of research undertaken at the University of Lucerne is financed by third-party funds. The University of Lucerne supports supports that research additionally and promotes young researchers in many ways.
The University of Lucerne promotes young research talent via junior and senior teaching and research assistant positions. Individual funding is also available by:
- The instrument ‘SpeedUp Sabbaticals’ for postdoctoral candidates (senior assistant or assistant professor) during the end phase is currently suspended!
- Graduate Academy of the University of Lucerne (GA-UniLu), contact point for the University’s junior researchers with a lot of opportunities on networking and a wide generic skills course programme and the mobility support of doctoral students abroad by the GA-UniLu
- Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Lucerne (GSL), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (KSF) promotion programme and one seed money funding per semester for new researchers
- Campus Lucerne/Swissuniversities: Course offers research skills and bottom-up offers for Doctoral students, lecturers and employees of the universities in Lucerne (Lucerne Campus): Registration conditions , current course offers and buttom-up offers (only in German)
- Mentoring programme, Gender Equality Office
Other (selected) institutions offering grants and/or advice:
The research committee (FoKo) supports third-party funded projects by providing start-up funding for these projects during the application stage, i.e during the process of compiling the third-party funding application. Furthermore it provides start-up and bridge funding for doctoral students or postdocs for the period between applying and the receipt of a decision from the external funding body. (pls. see: FoKo Guideline sheet)
The FoKo also supports projects or sub-projects up to a maximum of CHF 30,000.
The University of Lucerne also supports projects in the field of gender research via funds provided by the Equal Opportunity Committee.
Other (selected) institutions offering grants and/or advice:
The FoKo offers support towards the cost of organising academic conferences, to be used for fees, expenses and logistics etc. They also support University of Lucerne researchers with participation in academic conferences within Switzerland and abroad.
The FoKo’s maximum contribution towards conference organisation is CHF 15,000 (with or without conference publication).. Fee and expenses scales are set out in the FoKo guidelines.
University of Lucerne researchers then receive support for involvement in academic conferences if they are closely related to a current or planned research project and funding cannot be secured elsewhere (within or outside of the university). Daily allowances and accommodation expenses for trips within Switzerland and abroad are governed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) guidelines.
Other (selected) institutions offering conference and travel expense grants for attendance at conferences:
The FoKo offers publication grants in the form of printing cost subsidies and support with the editing of foreign-language texts. A close relationship with the University of Lucerne is a prerequisite for this.
The maximum amount to cover printing costs and the costs of editing foreign-language texts is CHF 5,000. The FoKo does not cover any printing costs for individual academic qualification papers (dissertations and postdoctoral theses). For more information see the FoKo guidelines.
The prorectorate research supports the publication of excellent dissertations at the University of Lucerne and evaluates the applications.
Conditions
- Dissertation rating: "Summa cum laude"
- Efforts to obtain third-party funding
- Publication as "Open Access" according to the Open Access Guidelines of the University of Lucerne, possible embargo periode max. 12 months (golden or green road)
- Submission of application before publication (retroactive applications are not possible)
- Support: half of the publication costs, up to max. CHF 4,000
- Assignment of any author fees to the University of Lucerne up to the amount of the support contribution by means of a cession agreement.
- Mention of support from the Prorectorate for Research, University of Lucerne
Application documents (to be submitted as one pdf)
- Application letter to: Vice-Rector Research, Prof. Alexander Trechsel
- Short description of the dissertation project and publication date (max. 1 page)
- Table of contents
- Certificate of completion of the dissertation with "Summa cum laude" from the dean's office
- Publisher's calculation incl. open access confirmation
- Proof of third-party funding
Submission (possible at any time)
For the attention of the Vice Rector Research, Prof. Alexander Trechsel: foko@unilu.ch
Other institutions that contribute to publications
- SNSF: support for publications / Open Access (recommendation, also possible for dissertations outside an SNSF project)
- Dr. Josef Schmid Stiftung
For more information on Open Access, see below.
The faculties and the department of Health Sciences and Medicine have available some additional funds to the ones of the research committee (FoKo) to support small research schemes (as well possible for PhD students). Pls. inform you:
- Faculty of Theology: teres.graf@unilu.ch (faculty manager)
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences: guidelines KSF(only in German)
- Faculty of Law: guidelines RF(only in German)
- Faculty of Economics and Management: rayk.sprecher@unilu.ch (faculty manager)
- department of Health Sciences and Medicine: guidelines GWM
Promotion of junior researchers
- Graduate Academy (all faculties)
- Campus Lucerne/Swissuniversities (all faculties):
Course offers research skills and bottom-up offers - Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (GSL/KSF)
Guide for PhD thesis and postdocs
Do you wish to receive a PhD successfully or do you ask yourself, PhD - and afterwards? Please see: Guide for doctoral and postdoctoral candidates (in German)