SWITZERLAND

Switzerland is a small country located in the heart of Western Europe, and sharing borders with neighboring Germany, Austria, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Italy and France. There are now approximately 7.7 million people living in Switzerland, speaking four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

A mountainous landscape

Switzerland has an area of 41,285 square kilometers, of which more than 60% is occupied by the Alps, a great mountain range stretching circa one thousand kilometers from Austria to France. The Alps, with more than 80 peaks above 4000 meters, is a result of the collision of the African and European tectonic plates. The collision is actually still taking place, and these mountains grow at a rate of about 1mm per year.

Fortunately, the geological forces at play left in the western and northern part of the country a large hilly area more suitable for settlements and agriculture: the Swiss plateau. This more densely populated area endowed with several lakes is lined on its French border by a chain of low mountains, called Jura.

A prosperous economy

Nowadays Switzerland enjoys one of the most competitive economies in the world (2nd after the USA on the WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009), which relies mainly on the third sector. Large multinational corporations such as Nestlé, Novartis and ABB have their headquarters in Switzerland. The financial sector, including banking and insurance, also plays an important role, contributing to approximately 14% of the GDP (Swiss National Bank 2008). The largest exported goods are chemicals, machines, electronics and precision instruments, including watches. "Brainforce" is also highly valued, and Switzerland ranks second after Sweden in the European Innovation Scoreboard 2007. About 5.7% of Switzerland's GDP is invested in education (Swiss Federal Office for Statistics 2005).

Environment and quality of life

Switzerland's competitive economy has had a limited impact on environment. The 2008 Environmental Performance Index ranks Switzerland in the first position, mainly due to its use of hydroelectric power and its highly efficient public transportation system. A well-preserved environment easily accessible by public transport, safe cities, and excellent infrastructures make living in Switzerland very pleasant, and explain why the Global Ranking of Cities with a High Quality of Life ranks three Swiss cities among the top ten

ADMISSION AND VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR SWISS

SEARCH STUDY PROGRAMS IN SWISS UNIVERSITIES:

http://www.swissuniversity.ch/master-programs.htm

 

Admission to a Bachelor's Programme

The decision concerning admission to a course of studies rests with the individual institution. The basic admission requirement is a Swiss secondary high-school-leaving certificate (Matura, Maturité, Maturità) or a foreign secondary high-school-leaving certificate considered equivalent. Students not holding fully recognized certificates qualifying for university entrance may be required to take a university entrance exam.

Admission to a Master's Programme

The prerequisite for access to a Master's programme is a successfully completed Bachelor's level programme. Each university makes its own decisions as to whether a foreign Bachelor's degree can give the holder access to Master's programmes, and what are the conditions, if any (entrance examinations, further requirements). 

Admission to a Doctoral Programme

To be eligible for a PhD programme at a Swiss university, applicants must hold a Master's degree or equivalent from a recognised or accredited university. As conditions vary among universities, interested students should check the admission requirements of their prospective university.

Language Requirements

All Swiss universities require good knowledge of the language of instruction. The Universities of Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Geneva and Lausanne, as well as the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, are in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Fribourg is officially a bilingual university, with courses offered both in French and German, while Italian is the teaching language at the Università della Svizzera italiana, located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. The universities of Basel, Bern, Lucerne, St.Gallen, Zurich and the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich are located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
An increasing number of study programmes at Master's level are offered in English, thus a solid knowledge of English languageis advisable for all prospective students.

Scholarships - Governmental scholarships

The Swiss Government offers scholarships to foreign students and artists on the basis of reciprocity or within the framework of a scholarship pool to several countries. Scholarships are granted to postgraduate candidates or researchers from both industrial and development countries.

Candidates should, in the first instance, find out from their own country's authorities wether they are entitled to a government scholarship or should approach the Swiss embassy or consulate (www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps.html) in their home country. A list of the relevant countries and further information on the governmental scholarships, such as application requirements, duration of scholarship, scholarship amount, application procedure etc. are available at www.sbf.admin.ch/eskas-e.html Before applying, candidates (who must be under 35 of age and proficient in English, German, French or Italian) should get in touch with a professor (www.proff.ch) or with the responsible service of the programme at the chosen Swiss higher Education institution in order to get a written confirmation of acceptance.

To find out whether a Swiss University offers scholarships to international students, candidates are advised to check the website of the University in question.

Universities and colleges in Swiss

·         University of Basel (UNIBAS)

·         University of Bern (UNIBE)

·         University of Fribourg (UniFr)

·         University of Geneva (UNIGE)

·         Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

·         University of Lausanne (UNIL)

·         University of Lucerne

·         University of Neuchâtel (UniNE)

·         Università della Svizzera italiana (USI)

·         University of St.Gallen (HSG)

·         ETH Zurich

·         University of Zurich (UZH)