Studying in Switzerland: Swiss Universities
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| General Information |
There are 12 official higher education establishments in Switzerland (10 Cantonal Universities and 2 Federal
Institutes of Technology) as well as a number of other colleges of higher education.
The Universities of Basel, Berne, Zurich, and St. Gallen, as well as the Federal Institute of Technology in
Zurich are located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
The Universities of Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg and Neuchâtel, as well as the Federal Institute of Technology
in Lausanne are in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Recently the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland had also its own University, with a few Faculties, located
in Lugano. The Università della Svizzera italiana has Faculties of architecture, economics, and
communications.
The following may also be considered as institutions of higher education:
- The University College (Theology) in Lucern
- The Paedagogische Hochschule St. Gallen (College of Secondary Education of St. Gallen)
- The Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (Graduate Institute of International Studies) in Geneva
- The Institut de Hautes Etudes en Administration Publique (Graduate Institute for Advanced Public Administration) in Lausanne
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| Overview |
While each Swiss University has its own character, all have a similar structure. They are divided into
schools: law, social sciences, arts, theology, natural sciences, and medicine. Fribourg and Neuchâtel
Universities have no medical school, but provide a medical curriculum up to the pre-diploma level.
The University of Fribourg has an intermediate position as the only Swiss University that is officially
Roman Catholic and bi-lingual (French and German) in its teaching.
The two Federal Institutes of Technology are run by the Confederation and have a standard period of study,
which ends with a diploma. Both Institutes train engineers, architects, chemists, physicists, and
mathematicians.
The Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich also has courses in pharmacy, agriculture, forestry,
mathematics, and natural sciences.
In a further period of study at the Federal Institutes of Technology, it is possible to gain a doctorate
in technical science, natural science or mathematics.
The University of St. Gallen prepares its students for management positions in industry (Master of
International Management), Business Administration, Economics, Law and Social Sciences.
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| Duration of Studies and Degrees |
The academic year in Swiss Universities is divided into two semesters: the winter semester from mid-October
to the beginning of March and the summer semester from mid-April to mid-July.
The total length of studies up to the first academic exam is generally 3 to 5 years depending on the course
of study, and 6 years for medical studies. Experience shows that the total length of study is usually 1 or
2 years longer.
The Swiss academic degrees are the Licentiate, the Diploma and the PhD. The level of the Licentiate and the
Diploma (the first two degrees conferred in Switzerland) is between the American and British Bachelors and
Masters degrees. Most Swiss universities ask for a Licentiate as a prerequisite for a PhD.
By signing the Bologna Declaration Switzerland committed itself, together with 31 European countries, to
reform its university system towards the international standard with Bachelor and Master as common degrees.
By the year 2010 all Swiss Universities must have changed their curriculum.
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| Recognition of Foreign School Certificates |
Those wishing to enroll must have a state-recognized Swiss matriculation certificate or a foreign
certificate/diploma of equivalent value. All Swiss university-level institutions are autonomous, and
therefore requirements for admission can vary. Those desiring a definite statement as to the recognition of
their certificate/diploma should write directly to the University in Switzerland that they wish to enter.
Candidates holding a certificate, which is only partly equivalent to Swiss matriculation, can sit for one
of the entrance examinations held twice a year in Fribourg by the Swiss Universities. Applications are made
through the Secretariat of the University, to which entrance is desired, which will also supply detailed
information about the examinations. The candidate may wish to prepare for the entrance examinations by
attending courses, specifically designed for this purpose in Fribourg.
Part: 1 2
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Switzerland-4You: be Swiss-Happy!
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Nobel Laureates
related to Switzerland |
Physics









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1920: Charles Edouard Guillaume
1921: Albert Einstein
1952: Felix Bloch
1976: Burton Richter
1984: Carlo Rubbia,
Simon van der Meer
1986: Heinrich Rohrer
1987: K. Alexander Müller
1988: Jack Steinberger
1992: Georges Charpak
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Chemistry






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1913: Alfred Werner
1937: Paul Karrer
1939: Leopold Ruzicka
1975: Vladimir Prelog
1991: Richard R. Ernst
2002: John B. Fenn,
Koichi Tanaka,
Kurt Wüthrich
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Physiology and Medicine








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1909: Emil Theodor Kocher
1948: Paul Hermann Müller
1949: Walter Rudolf Hess
1950: Tadeus Reichstein
1957: Daniel Bovet
1978: Werner Arber
1984: Niels K. Jerne,
Georges J.F. Köhler
1996: Rolf Zinkernagel
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Literature

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1946: Hermann Hesse
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