Study in Switzerland

Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons that have partial sovereignty and autonomy. Their historically determined heterogeneous composition is reflected, among other things, in the language landscape with the four official languages Swiss German, French, Italian and Romansh. For the majority of the population (around 64 percent), the main language is Swiss German.

According to topmbadirectory, Switzerland is a landlocked country that borders Italy, France, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany. It is commonly referred to as the “roof of Europe”. Its distinctive mountain landscape reaches heights of over 4,000 meters above sea level. Many of Europe’s rivers have their source in these mountains. Switzerland is also known for its charming lakes, including the northern part of Lake Maggiore, Lake Geneva, Lake Lucerne and part of Lake Constance.

Economy and culture in Switzerland

In addition to forestry, mountain and agriculture, tourism traditionally plays an important role in the Alpine republic. The most important economic sector is known to be the service industry with its banking and insurance system known worldwide. Other important branches of industry are the food, raw materials and pharmaceutical industries.

The Swiss seat of government is the federal city of Bern. But there is no de jure capital. The charm of Swiss cities is made up of a mixture of tradition and modernity. Zurich, Geneva and Basel in particular are very diverse culturally. There is a wide range of options for night owls as well as museum visitors and athletes in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, historical buildings and tradition mix with the most modern architecture and the idyllic mountain landscape. The country also appears varied in its population composition: around a quarter of the almost eight million inhabitants are of foreign origin. Studying in Switzerland definitely offers an international study atmosphere.

University landscape in Switzerland

Despite its small size, our neighboring country has a renowned university landscape, which is why students from all over the world come to Switzerland to study. Numerous Swiss educational institutions are represented in the top places in international rankings. They are generally considered to be modernly equipped and state-of-the-art in research and teaching. A comparatively large number of established foreign academics are moving to Swiss educational institutions for a short or long term.

The accreditation and evaluation of all university institutions and their courses is carried out by the Swiss University Conference and the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities, among others. Belong to the Swiss university landscape

  • 10 cantonal universities (UH)
  • 2 Federal Technical Universities (ETH)
  • 8 universities of applied sciences
  • 16 universities of teacher education (PH) and
  • 18 art and music schools.

In 2010, a total of 206,000 people decided to study in Switzerland, 37,000 of them from abroad.

Cantonal universities

The cantonal universities are particularly dedicated to science and teaching. They have a comprehensive range with a wide range of subjects. Five of the universities are located in the German-speaking part of the country in Basel, Bern, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich. In French-speaking, the universities of Neuchâtel, Lausanne, Geneva and Friborg are represented. The only university in the Italian-speaking part of the country is based in Ticino.

Federal Technical Universities

The two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology are in Zurich and Lausanne. You have specialized in on-the- job training and applied research and development. The courses on offer range from engineering and natural sciences, mathematics, and pharmacy to sports and military sciences.

Switzerland’s study system

The academic year in Switzerland is usually divided into two parts: the winter semester begins at the end of September and lasts until the end of December. The summer semester, in turn, runs from mid-February to the end of May. Academic classes take the form of lecture, advanced and advanced seminar, exercise, colloquium and internship familiar to Germans.

By co-signing the European Bologna Declaration, Switzerland has also comprehensively reformed its study system. The modularized bachelor, master and doctorate courses thus replaced the previous degrees of magister, diploma, licentiate and doctorate. Since then, the mutual recognition of academic achievements in Switzerland and Germany has been simplified accordingly.

Nevertheless, applicants who are planning to study in Switzerland should clarify the recognition of their academic achievements or degrees in advance. For subjects that end with the state examination in Germany (such as law, medicine or teaching), graduates from a Swiss university may have additional conditions for recognition in Germany.

Bachelor, master, doctorate

A bachelor’s degree in Switzerland usually lasts three academic years. It ends with a written paper. The bachelor’s degree is already a direct qualification for a start into professional life. However, if you want, you can also build on this for a one-and-a-half to two-year master’s degree. It leads to a technical deepening of the previous studies and can qualify for a doctorate. This in turn usually takes two to five years until the dissertation is submitted and oral defense.

Other degrees

The undergraduate master’s course should not be confused with the postgraduate course of the same name in Switzerland. This Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) is a 15 to 24 month advanced training course or an in- depth and specialization course for academics who have already gained professional experience. Those interested in postgraduate studies can complete the following degrees in Switzerland:

  • Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS)
  • Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) and
  • Master of Advanced Studies (MAS)
  • Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA).

In Germany, however, these degrees are only classified as other postgraduate courses and are not recognized as academic degrees.

Study in Switzerland