CCollegeMatcher

Switzerland · Universities and federal institutes of technology

ETH Zurich

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich · University (ETH) · canton of Zurich · Zurich

ethz.ch →

Students, 2025/26

26,257

Educated abroad

37.8%

9,927 students

Largest field

Exact sciences

27.0% of students

Institutional accreditation

to 23 Sept 2028

decided 24 Sept 2021, as listed on 3 September 2026

“Educated abroad” (Bildungsausländer) means the student gained their university entrance qualification outside Switzerland. It is not nationality: a foreign national who went to school in Switzerland counts as educated in Switzerland. For universities of applied sciences the Office publishes it for diploma, bachelor's and master's students only, so continuing-education students are left out of that share. Students are everyone matriculated at a Swiss higher education institution in the autumn (winter) semester, as the Federal Statistical Office defines them.

Educated abroad, by level, 2025/26

Bachelor's

19.9%

2,293 of 11,517 students

Master's

42.8%

4,176 of 9,747 students

Doctorate

74.3%

3,163 of 4,259 students

Students, 2006/07–2025/26

2006/07: 12,7922025/26: 26,257
2025/2626,257
2024/2525,533
2023/2424,751
2022/2324,386
2021/2223,886
2020/2122,903
2019/2021,609
2018/1920,806
2017/1820,031
2016/1719,302
2015/1618,744
2014/1518,185
2013/1417,682
2012/1317,309
2011/1216,747
2010/1115,984
2009/1015,071
2008/0914,051
2007/0813,197
2006/0712,792

Fields of study, 2025/26

Field names translated by CollegeMatcher.

  • Exact sciences7,081 · 27.0%
  • Mechanical and electrical engineering6,653 · 25.3%
  • Civil engineering and geodesy3,924 · 14.9%
  • Technical sciences, interdisciplinary and other3,088 · 11.8%
  • Natural sciences2,546 · 9.7%
  • Exact and natural sciences, interdisciplinary and other1,056 · 4.0%
  • Agricultural and forest sciences618 · 2.4%
  • Pharmacy549 · 2.1%
  • Human medicine314 · 1.2%
  • Social sciences146 · 0.6%
  • Interdisciplinary and other130 · 0.5%
  • Humanities and social sciences, interdisciplinary and other112 · 0.4%
  • History and cultural studies40 · 0.2%

Level of study, 2025/26

  • Bachelor's11,517 · 43.9%
  • Master's9,747 · 37.1%
  • Doctorate4,259 · 16.2%
  • Continuing education, advanced studies and other470 · 1.8%
  • Licence or diploma264 · 1.0%

Accreditation and fees

Institutional accreditation under the Higher Education Act is decided by the Swiss Accreditation Council; an institution needs it to call itself a university, university of applied sciences or university of teacher education. The dates are the decision and the end of the term as the Council's list showed them on 3 September 2026. A term that has ended since may have been renewed — check the Council's list. The Council's list

Each institution sets its own tuition — for ETH Zurich and EPFL the ETH Board does, by ordinance — and many charge students from abroad more. Fees are not published as open data, and swissuniversities' fee tables may not be reused, so no fees are shown here: check each institution's website.

Other universities and federal institutes of technology: University of Zurich, University of Bern, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, EPFL, University of Basel, University of St. Gallen, University of Fribourg, Università della Svizzera italiana, University of Neuchâtel, University of Lucerne, UniDistance Suisse, Geneva Graduate Institute, Theological University Chur

Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), Students and Degrees in Higher Education (SHIS-studex) — tables “Studierende an den universitären Hochschulen nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Studienstufe, Bildungsherkunft und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040100_108); “Studierende an den Fachhochschulen und pädagogischen Hochschulen nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Studienstufe, Geschlecht und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040400_136); “Studierende an den Fachhochschulen und pädagogischen Hochschulen nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Bildungsherkunft und Hochschule, nur Studierende auf Stufen Diplom, Bachelor und Master (ohne Weiterbildung)” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040400_138); “Studierende an den Fachhochschulen (ohne PH) nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Studienstufe, Geschlecht und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040200_170); “Studierende an den pädagogischen Hochschulen (ohne FH) nach Jahr, Fachrichtung, Geschlecht und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040300_191); “Studierende an den pädagogischen Hochschulen (ohne FH) nach Jahr, Fachrichtung, Staatsangehörigkeit (Kategorie) und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040300_192). Terms of use: opendata.swiss “Open use. Must provide the source” (https://opendata.swiss/en/terms-of-use). Sums and shares, English names, the English names of university and teacher-education fields, cantons, cities and websites are CollegeMatcher's additions, not the FSO's. Accreditation dates: Swiss Accreditation Council, list of accreditation decisions (https://akkreditierungsrat.ch/en/decisions/), as last updated on 3 September 2026.

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