Study abroad in Switzerland for students

The Swiss brand is recognized globally. Swiss chocolate, cheese, watches, and the Swiss army knife. But, what’s lesser known is the prestigious place that the Swiss higher education system holds in the world. With several top-ranked universities, the Swiss higher education system offers students the opportunity to take their education and future careers further. Switzerland is one of an ideal choice for international students to study abroad.

Swiss Higher Education System

Swiss universities have an advisable reputation around the globe. Indeed, no less than 7 Swiss higher education institutions are featured in the top 200 of QS World Rankings (2019). Switzerland is country with a long tradition of higher education, its first university was founded in 1460 at Basel. As a result of sustained academic progress over the centuries, Switzerland is now home to some of the most renowned higher educational systems of Europe.

There are around 12 state-run universities in Switzerland. Out of those, 10 are cantonal, and 2 are federal institutes of technology. The differences between these two is that cantonal universities are operated and managed by individual cantons, and federal institutes of technology are run directly by the government of Switzerland. Canton is like an administrative area. The federal institutions are aligned in structure to international American universities, making it easier for foreign students to transfer there.

Apart from these twelve institutions, there are also two other types of institutions, 8 Universities of Applied Sciences and the Arts (UASAs), which provide scientific and professional education, and 20 Universities of Teacher Education (UTEs), which offer practice oriented teaching education.

Quality of Education

In terms of categories by which universities are measured, knowledge, teaching, research and international reputation, higher education institutions in Switzerland are ranked consistently high.

An International Network

According to Studies, in Switzerland nearly 25% of the student population is comprised of international students. Well, that’s a great news for a student who has newly arrived in Switzerland, meeting other international students will be the quickest way to make friends and grow both your professional and social network. It’s also the perfect way to open your mind to new traditions and customs and even to learn a new language.

Scholarships

Compared to other European countries, tuition fees in quite low. Making it one of the top choices for international students to study abroad. There are several scholarships that are offered through bilateral agreements between governments and/or universities, within the frame of a rules and regulations. Some of them are

• Swiss excellence scholarships for foreign students promotes international exchange and research co-operation between Switzerland and other 180 countries. Post graduate researchers can claim for this scholarship who are planning to pursue their research education in Switzerland.
• ETH Excellence scholarships supports students from both the ETH and from other universities (national and international) who wish to pursue a Master’s degree at ETH with a two year scholarship program.
• University of Lausanne Master’s Grants for foreign students are specifically for international students who wish to pursue their Master’s degree at Lausanne University.
• EPFL Excellence Fellowships offers a select few number of scholarships for students with a solid academic record and who wish to continue their Master degree studies in Switzerland.
• Graduate institute scholarships aim to support students with financial needs by offering a partial/complete financial assistance while completing their studies in Switzerland.
• IMD MBA Scholarships are offered to international students from different countries and backgrounds.
• University of Geneva Excellence Master Fellowships are offered in collaboration with several sponsors to support outstanding and highly motivated candidates who intend to pursue a Master’s of Science in any of the disciplines covered by the faculty.

Work While Study

After obtaining your residence permit and proving that you have sufficient funds to cover your studies expenses in Switzerland, you may be able to take a part-time job. In fact, the student residence permit definitely allows for a part-time job as long your university provides a statement confirming that your job will affect your studies. You can work up to 15 hours per week, but this is flexible depending on the canton (for example, in Geneva, you can work up to 30 hours per week). It is easier to find employment in the large urban centers like Geneva and Zurich. Each university has a job placement office that provides information to students over student employment.

Wages of an average part-time job vary between CHF 20 – 35 per hour according to the type of job and your skills.

Safe place to live

Switzerland is one of the safest countries in the world, students can be relaxed if they have any concern about their safety while studying abroad. Violent crime is almost non-existent and the risk of petty crimes, such as pickpocketing, are very low compared to other countries. Therefore, international students feel safe exploring Switzerland.

There is no doubt that Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries in the Europe and home to more than eight million residents, the country’s world class higher education institutions and high standards and quality of education attracts countless prospective students looking for quality higher education.

Higher Education System in Switzerland

Switzerland has one the best higher education system in Europe. There are a lot of public sector and private higher education institutions in Switzerland, providing education to all level and study fields. The education system of Switzerland is divided into three levels, primary level, secondary level and tertiary level. Higher education is given under tertiary level in universities and higher technical institutes. Universities have two different categories, one is which give general education and other is universities in applied sciences. There are quite a lot of institutes providing both study system, general and technical education system. Most of the courses are offered in French, Italian or German language, very few courses are offered in English language. International students are required to provide a language proficiency certificate in any of these language.

Universities in Switzerland

There are around 70-80 technical school and colleges working under 8 universities of applied sciences, these universities are providing technical education in quite a lot of fields. In these universities of applied sciences, studies are research based. Swiss Universities of applied sciences are also providing applied vocational science based training. These kind of universities are quite popular in Switzerland and a lot of student prefer this kind of study system.

Also, there are a lot of private universities in Switzerland. Most of these universities offers courses in French, German or Italian language, and some of them offers courses in English too. These institutes are world famous for their high standards and world class education.

Admission Requirements

The Swiss higher education institutions offers a lot of study programs for both national and international students. Admission requirements of these higher education institutions vary from one institute to another institute. Following are the general requirements from Swiss higher education institutions but you may check the requirements from your desired institute for additional documents required.

Admission Requirement for Bachelor’s Program in Swiss Universities

For admission in bachelor degree program, following documents are required.

• Admission application form (filled and signed).
• CNIC.
• Recent passport size photos.
• Secondary school certificate or equivalent (intermediate or A level).
• University entrance exam passed (if any).
• All transcripts issued by past education institutions.
• Language proficiency certificate(French, Italian or Germen), and for English language proficiency ( TOEFL or IELTS).

Admission Requirement for Masters Program in Swiss Universities

For admission in Master’s degree program, following documents are required.

• Admission application form (filled and signed).
• CNIC.
• Passport size pictures.
• Bachelor’s degree (16 year of education) with a satisfactory CGPA.
• University entrance exam passed (if any).
• Good grades in required subject.
• Language proficiency certificate (French, Italian or Germen), and for English language proficiency ( TOEFL or IELTS).

Admission Requirements for Doctorate Degree Program (PhD.) in Swiss University

For admission in doctorate degree program (PhD.), following documents are required.

• Admission application form (filled and signed).
• Master’s degree (18 years of education) with satisfactory results.
• CNIC.
• Recent passport size photos.
• Good research work in relevant field.
• Impressive thesis.
• Good grades in required subject.
• Language proficiency certificate (French, Italian or Germen), and for English language proficiency ( TOEFL or IELTS).
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First of all, you have to apply for admissions in a Swiss University, of which all the applications are submitted online which is free of cost. After being accepted from a Swiss University you immediately have to apply for Swiss D Visa and application fee of Swiss D visa is around USD50 and if you are submitting your applications through visa application centres on behalf of embassy there must be definitely some other extra charges. In addition, there are also some other charges such as VFS service fee and courier charges which will be around USD 40 in total.

One of the major pre-departure expense is the air ticket ofcourse, the cost of an average round trip air ticket to Switzerland is around USD400-650 and one way USD 200 to USD 230.

There are also some other pre-departure expenses such as clothes and utilities.

Post-Departure Expenses

If you are studying in a European country, this definitely means that most of the part of your expense will be covered by the tuition fees. Compared to other European countries, tuition fees in Switzerland is a little bit lower.

Public Universities Tuition Fees

Public sector swiss universities receive significant funds which makes tuition fee comparatively lower compared to other American and European Universities providing same quality of education.

Average tuition fee at a public sector swiss university is around EUR 1,500 to EUR 1,700 per year for Bachelors and Masters program. On other hand, EUR 100 to EUR 250 for PhD. program.

Private Universities

Private universities in Switzerland have quite higher fees, which goes around EUR 8,000 to EUR 16,000.

Some of the good private universities and their fees are

Living Cost

All over the Switzerland, the living cost is quite expensive and managing your monthly budget without making any compromise will be definitely a tough job.

You should keep in mind an average budget of around EUR 1,300 to EUR 1,800/month to pay for accommodation, food, transportation, tuition, supplies and some few leisure activities. Geneve and Zurich are the most expensive cities that gives a budget exceeding EUR 1,800 to EUR 2,500/month.

There are some other extra costs too, such as, monthly health insurance which is around EUR 250 to 300/month, books and supplies which is EUR 100/month.

The average cost of living in some Swiss cities:

• Geneve,  around EUR  1,800-2,500/month.
• Zurich,  between EUR 1,800 and 2,200/month.
• Bern, around EUR 1,600/month.
• Basel, between EUR 1,400 and 2,000/month.

Student Accommodation Cost

Students who are earning through a part time job, out of the total average monthly earning of an international student studying in swiss universities, they usually pay around 33% of their monthly expense on accommodation, around 8% on tuition fees and 7% on transportation. Rates for accommodation in Switzerland are above the international range of 300 EUR/month, as the average for any housing option is around 600 EUR/month.

• Student halls of residence, between EUR 450 to 800/month.
• Rent/share an apartment, average price ranges between EUR 700 to 1,000/month for a one bedroom apartment.

Food Cost

Usually most of the students buy groceries from the local super market and cook food at their own, which will cost around EUR 300/month if you even eat out once in a while.

Average meal at and average inexpensive restaurant in Switzerland cost around EUR 15 to 20 per person. And in a university dining hall, it cost around EUR 7-10 per person.

Transportation Cost

A monthly cost through public transport will cost around EUR 60/month but most of the students chooses to walk instead or some travel through bicycle

Study In Switzerland Questions