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Universities in Switzerland

Situated in central Europe and sharing borders with France, Italy, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein, Switzerland has elements of several European cultures for international students to enjoy, along with a cutting edge, high quality education system.

The types of University

There are around 58 universities and higher education institutes in Switzerland, which fall into several types of institution:

• Public universities: There are 12 publicly funded universities, many of which are long established, the oldest being the University of Basel which was founded in 1460. Others include the University of Geneva and the University of Lausanne. These universities tend to place emphasis on the quality of research produced and are highly prestigious.
• Higher education institutions of art and music: There are several Arts universities in Switzerland, allowing students to focus their studies on subjects such as Music, Film, Dance and Art. The largest of these is Zurich University of the Arts.
• Universities of teacher education (UTEs): Switzerland boasts a string of 20 universities aimed entirely at educating the next generation of teachers including Bern University of Teacher Education, University of Teacher Education Lucerne and Zurich University of Teacher Education.
• Universities of Applied Sciences: Focusing more on practical applications of study, there are several universities of applied sciences in Switzerland, including Bern University of Applied Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences and University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland.

Language of tuition

Switzerland has four officially recognized national languages. The majority of Swiss nationals speak either French, German, Italian, while Romansh is also spoken in the Swiss state of Grisons.

The multilingual nature of the country is reflected in its universities, where courses may be taught in several languages including a combination of English/French, English/German and English/Italian.

Popular Swiss cities for international students

• Geneva – Located in the far west of the country and sharing a border with France, Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland and is located on Lake Geneva. It has a highly international reputation and enjoys a backdrop of the Jura mountains. There are several prestigious universities located in Geneva, including the University of Geneva and Geneva Business School.
• Lausanne – Located on Lake Geneva, Lausanne allows its visitors views of both the Jura mountains and the Alps, providing plenty of opportunity for outdoor exploration and leisure pursuits. It is home to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) along with several other high profile universities.
• Montreux – Situated on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva, Montreux is an attractive city for tourists, and also hosts the well known Montreux Jazz Festival. It is home to several prestigious hospitality schools such as Glion Institute of Higher Education and Swiss Hotel Management School in nearby Leysin.
• Basel – Sitting on the border of Switzerland, France and Germany, Basel is home to the University of Basel, which is the oldest university in Switzerland. Basel has a historic medieval old town and is based on the Rhine river.
• Zurich – The largest city in Switzerland, Zurich is based on the northern tip of the river Zurich and has a rich history to explore. It is home to several universities such as the University of Zurich, which is the largest university in Switzerland.
• Bern – The capital city of Switzerland, Bern’s old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is home to several universities including the University of Bern.

The top universities in Switzerland

The Swiss education system is internationally recognised and is home to some of the world’s best universities. 13 of Switzerland’s universities feature in the Time Higher Education World University Rankings, with ETH Zurich ranking at number 11 in the world for both 2023 and 2024. Other top ranked universities include École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the University of Zurich and the University of Bern.

Table of the top ranked universities in Switzerland

See below for a list of universities and higher education providers in Switzerland. Click on universities you are interested in below to read more and to see which courses are available for international students.