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Of the 11 Public Arts, Design & Architecture universities in Switzerland, ETH Zurich ranks highest at #7 in the QS World University Rankings 2026. It is followed by University of Zurich (QS World #100) and University of Basel (QS World #158). Across the whole list there are 30 courses to choose from.
11 universities · ranked best first
how we rankPublic University · 1 course in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 2 courses in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 1 course in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 1 course in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 6 courses in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 3 courses in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 9 courses in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 1 course in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 3 courses in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 1 course in Arts, Design & Architecture
Public University · 2 courses in Arts, Design & Architecture
Arts, Design & Architecture at other levels
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4 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #7 (ETH Zurich) to #473 (Universita della Svizzera Italiana); they are listed first, in that order. The rest are ordered by research impact. ETH Zurich has the largest research record in this group, with 27,634,855 citations and an h-index of 1,175.
The split is 11 public to 0 private institutions. By location, Zurich (2) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is University of Zurich, founded in 1833. University of Zurich is the largest, with 28,000 students.
By level: 21 bachelor's and 9 master's. Within the subject, the largest areas are Arts, Design & Architecture (29) and Architecture (1). The usual length is 4 years and 6 Semester. 100% are full-time. Start dates lean to Fall (67% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (63% of courses with a stated intake). FHNW - Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz offers the widest choice, with 9 of these courses.
We hold indicative fees for 2 of these universities. ETH Zurich is the least expensive at USD 1,600 a year and University of Zurich the most at USD 1,700; the middle of the range is about USD 1,700. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
ETH Zurich (QS World #7), University of Zurich (QS World #100) and University of Basel (QS World #158) lead this list. QS World positions come first; the rest are ranked by research impact.
Of those with published fees, ETH Zurich is the least expensive at about USD 1,600 a year. Fees are indicative — confirm on the university's site.
11 public and 0 private universities are on this list.
Most listed courses run 4 years, with 6 Semester the next most common.
Fall is the main intake — 67% of courses with a stated start date begin then, and Spring is the second.
FHNW - Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, with 9, ahead of BFH - Bern University of Applied Sciences (6).
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