CCollegeMatcher

Switzerland · Universities and federal institutes of technology

University of Bern

Universität Bern · University (UniBE) · canton of Bern · Bern

unibe.ch →

Students, 2025/26

18,243

Educated abroad

17.5%

3,186 students

Largest field

Social sciences

18.0% 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

2.8%

225 of 8,014 students

Master's

12.4%

644 of 5,212 students

Doctorate

43.1%

1,543 of 3,584 students

Students, 2006/07–2025/26

2006/07: 12,8452025/26: 18,243
2025/2618,243
2024/2518,220
2023/2418,368
2022/2318,089
2021/2218,251
2020/2118,216
2019/2017,602
2018/1917,221
2017/1817,068
2016/1716,794
2015/1616,662
2014/1516,477
2013/1416,238
2012/1315,406
2011/1214,894
2010/1114,442
2009/1013,912
2008/0913,393
2007/0813,129
2006/0712,845

Fields of study, 2025/26

Field names translated by CollegeMatcher.

  • Social sciences3,287 · 18.0%
  • Human medicine3,053 · 16.7%
  • Economics and business1,922 · 10.5%
  • Law1,881 · 10.3%
  • Natural sciences1,685 · 9.2%
  • Medicine and pharmacy, interdisciplinary and other1,230 · 6.7%
  • History and cultural studies1,228 · 6.7%
  • Exact sciences911 · 5.0%
  • Languages and literature767 · 4.2%
  • Interdisciplinary and other754 · 4.1%
  • Veterinary medicine572 · 3.1%
  • Dentistry406 · 2.2%
  • Pharmacy292 · 1.6%
  • Theology174 · 1.0%
  • Exact and natural sciences, interdisciplinary and other60 · 0.3%
  • Humanities and social sciences, interdisciplinary and other21 · 0.1%

Level of study, 2025/26

  • Bachelor's8,014 · 43.9%
  • Master's5,212 · 28.6%
  • Doctorate3,584 · 19.6%
  • Continuing education, advanced studies and other1,433 · 7.9%

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, ETH Zurich, 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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