How these universities are ranked
6 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #22 (EPFL) to #473 (Universita della Svizzera Italiana); they are listed first, in that order. Below them, universities follow their research output: University of Zurich is cited most (23,416,659 citations). 6 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
Public, private and where they are
35 are public and 0 private (100% public). By location, Vaud (1), Zurich (1) and Geneva (1) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is University of Geneva, founded in 1559. University of Zurich is the largest, with 28,000 students.
What the courses look like
The most common subjects are Business & Management (64), Medicine & Health Sciences (25), Computer Science & IT (24) and Engineering (20). The usual length is 1–2 years and 3 semesters (full-time) / 6 semesters (part-time). 92% are full-time and 5 can be studied online. Start dates lean to Spring (68% of courses with a stated intake) and Fall (64% of courses with a stated intake). FHNW - Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz offers the widest choice, with 62 of these courses.
What it costs
We hold indicative fees for 4 of these universities. University of Geneva is the least expensive at USD 1,200 a year and University of St. Gallen the most at USD 3,500; the middle of the range is about USD 1,700. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
