02/04/2007 | Newsletter, Switzerland

Studying in Switzerland

Have you thought about Switzerland as a destination for your graduate program? If you have, then you are one of a growing number of international students who are considering this unique and dynamic country as a study abroad destination.

Chocolate, private and exclusive bank accounts, The Sound of Music, Roger Federer, cuckoo clocks, Heidi, world famous centres of hotel and tourism education, and the home of various international bodies, such as the World Health Organisation. The list goes on. Thinking about Switzerland conjures up a range of images, not least the magnificent mountains, the sophisticated and international cities of Zurich and Geneva or the famed high quality of life. In fact, once you start thinking about Switzerland it�s difficult to stop!

But have you thought about Switzerland as a destination for your graduate program? If you have then you are one of a growing number of international students who are considering this unique and dynamic country as the destination for your higher education. One factor that many international students intent on the many famous universities located in Australia, the UK and the USA often neglect is the high concentration of excellent quality institutions of higher education located in Switzerland. Judging by the most recent results of the Times Higher - QS World University Rankings, Switzerland is one of the highest performing countries, by the size of the population, of any country in the world today. A staggering seven institutions feature in the world�s top 200 universities, five of whom reach the top 100.

Switzerland�s higher education system consists of two types of institution offering graduate programs. On the one hand there are ten universities and two federal institutes of technology, all of which are regarded as the elite institutions within the country�s education system offering masters and research programs across the full range of academic subjects. On the other hand, there are seven Universities of Applied Sciences, all of which have been established since education reform in 1997 brought together a range of technical and vocational colleges offering the more applied academic subjects.

Like many other European countries, Switzerland is implementing the Bologna Declaration education reforms, replacing the traditional local system with standardised one or two year masters degrees and more formalised three to five year graduate research programs. Swiss investment in research and innovation is particularly high and coordinated at the Federal level, encouraging the very best international PhD and graduate research students to make the most of the internationally focused research groups and leading-edge research facilities.

Admission to Swiss graduate programs is the responsibility of each individual academic institution and entry standards are set by academic committee based on a combination of the quality of a candidate�s� undergraduate qualification, the subject for which they are applying and any standard admissions tests that are required. Unlike many European universities, it is important to remember that most Swiss institutions specify an application deadline for international students. For specific entry criteria, the websites of the individual institutions or the Rectors� Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS) at http://www.crus.ch/engl are the best sources of information for prospective graduate students.

At present, approximately 25,000 international students enjoy the academic and cultural experience of studying at Swiss universities and colleges. One of the unique aspects of graduate education in Switzerland is the variety of languages that the programs are offered in. Because the country has German, French and Italian areas, institutions offer programs in all of these three languages in addition to English, making the country an ideal choice for those students interested in learning a range of modern European languages.

Of course, one of the major factors in encouraging more and more international students to apply to Swiss institutions is the remarkably low tuition fees. The majority of the 12 institutions of traditional university level charge between US$700 and US$1,300 a year for their graduate programs, with higher fees charged for some specialised areas such as these MBA and medical-related fields. Living expenses are a little more costly at between US$15,000 and US$23,000 a year, depending on location of the institution and personal preferences of the students. Overall, however, graduate education offers exceptional value for money given the academic quality, high teaching standards and worldwide recognition of Swiss qualifications. Moreover, the Swiss Government invests a significant amount of their budget into international scholarship and fellowship schemes to encourage the best graduate students, particularly at the research level, allowing students to offset some of the high living costs they may encounter in the country.