For 110 years, the Foundation for Research in Science and the Humanities at the University of Zurich (UZH) has been supporting projects across all faculties and disciplines at the University of Zurich (UZH). Applications are open to UZH professors, private lecturers, and visiting scholars.
Founded in 1915 as the first foundation at UZH, it was established at the initiative of then-Rector August Egger to raise private funds for research and teaching. This was a pioneering step at a time when the advancement of science was no longer regarded as the sole responsibility of the state.
Despite interruptions during the world wars, the foundation has remained a steadfast driver of research. Fundraising campaigns—most notably in 1948 and again in 1995/96—helped strengthen its resources and ensured continued support for numerous projects. In 1991, with the election of Prof. Dr. Verena Meyer as president, the foundation was led by a woman for the first time.
Since 2023, the foundation has been part of the UZH Foundation as an endowed fund. Its mission, however, remains unchanged: to promote scientific research and teaching in all disciplines and faculties at UZH. It places particular emphasis on financing studies, experiments, measurements, surveys, scholarly editions, archival and library research, as well as contributing to the acquisition of equipment, instruments, scientific tools, materials (including data), and specialized literature. To foster excellence in teaching, the fund also supports UZH lecturers in the scholarly development of their teaching activities.
According to the foundation’s statutes, only applications submitted by UZH professors, private lecturers, or guest lecturers are eligible for consideration.
Further information about calls for proposals and the application process is available from the Office of the Foundation for Scientific Research
The breadth of the foundation’s mission is reflected in the diversity of the projects it supports—ranging from studies of youth voter turnout to investigations of epigenetic aging in wild mice.
The members of the Advisory Board are:
Prof. Dr. Alex Hajnal, Faculty of Science (Chair)
Prof. Dr. Katja Rost, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Prof. Dr. Mathias Hoffmann, Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics
Prof. Dr. Maries van den Broek, Faculty of Medicine
Prof. Dr. Adrian Hehl, Vetsuisse Faculty
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Behr, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
PD Dr. Peer Mittl, Institute of Biochemistry
Dr. Klaus Seuwen
Dr. Franziska Widmer Müller, Germanist
