CCollegeMatcher

Switzerland · Universities and federal institutes of technology

University of Lucerne

Universität Luzern · University (UniLU) · canton of Lucerne · Lucerne

unilu.ch →

Students, 2025/26

4,245

Educated abroad

14.8%

629 students

Largest field

Law

33.9% 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

7.3%

151 of 2,070 students

Master's

16.2%

238 of 1,468 students

Doctorate

33.4%

180 of 539 students

Students, 2006/07–2025/26

2006/07: 2,0522025/26: 4,245
2025/264,245
2024/253,923
2023/243,561
2022/233,396
2021/223,282
2020/213,206
2019/203,044
2018/193,007
2017/182,949
2016/172,842
2015/162,845
2014/152,821
2013/142,754
2012/132,654
2011/122,582
2010/112,450
2009/102,382
2008/092,240
2007/082,107
2006/072,052

Fields of study, 2025/26

Field names translated by CollegeMatcher.

  • Law1,437 · 33.9%
  • Social sciences696 · 16.4%
  • Medicine and pharmacy, interdisciplinary and other510 · 12.0%
  • Economics and business462 · 10.9%
  • Theology435 · 10.2%
  • History and cultural studies291 · 6.9%
  • Human medicine250 · 5.9%
  • Interdisciplinary and other164 · 3.9%

Level of study, 2025/26

  • Bachelor's2,070 · 48.8%
  • Master's1,468 · 34.6%
  • Doctorate539 · 12.7%
  • Continuing education, advanced studies and other132 · 3.1%
  • Licence or diploma36 · 0.8%

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 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, 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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