Study in Switzerland

For an overview and framework conditions for studying in Switzerland, please visit the website of Swissuniversities.

Most of the certificates issued outside of Switzerland are not recognized by Swiss universities and colleges: in order to be admitted, prospective foreign students must always quickly pass an entrance examination. Each university has its own admission criteria. That is why there are several entrance exams, see last page. Therefore, please start planning your studies early. The following points should be noted in particular:

  • The different entrance exams have different orientations. The ETH entrance exam is mathematical and scientific, the ECUS exam more linguistic
  • Since some scientific studies can be taken both at the University of Zurich and at the ETH, a prior analysis is recommended, which of the institutes corresponds more to the student’s inclinations. For example, math at ETH is very different in its focus from math at the University of Zurich. Engineering can only be studied at the ETH and not at the University of Zurich. Student advisory services of the ETH and the University of Zurich are helpful here.

Study and Military Service

We ask male Swiss citizens to inform themselves about the various implementation options for compulsory service at an early stage and to plan accordingly in the long term so that preparation, entrance examination and study are optimally coordinated. The official website of the Swiss Army contains information about the conditions as a Swiss abroad and about completing civilian service. For detailed information regarding the coordination of the various degree programs and the military, you can look up the military and study coordination of the ETH Zurich as well as the UZH student advisory service.