How to Get Into ETH Zurich from Abroad: German, Deadlines and Costs for 2027

For autumn 2027 entry to an ETH Zurich Bachelor's programme, you apply in eApply by 31 March with a German C1 certificate, and a foreign student who finished school abroad pays the threefold tuition fee of CHF 2190 per semester unless one of ETH's residence criteria applies. The examination route to a 2027 start closed on 31 March 2026, so as a new applicant you can only start in 2027 through admission without examination.

ETH Zurich has three types of admission to the first Bachelor semester: without an entrance examination, or after a reduced or a comprehensive ETH entrance examination. ETH decides which one applies to you only once your complete application is in eApply.

The real bar at ETH Zurich has two stages. Your school-leaving certificate must meet the swissuniversities conditions for your country and certificate, which ETH asks you to check there or in its own country list. Then the first year, the Basisjahr, covers mathematics, science and the basics of your programme, and ETH says only the very best students pass the rigorous exams of the first years.

ETH Zurich Albert Einstein Locker ( Ank Kumar) 16

An ETH Zurich Bachelor's programme comprises 180 credits and usually takes three years, taught mainly in German. Master's programmes carry 90 or 120 credits, and most are taught in English. ETH tuition is not the same for everyone: the simple fee of CHF 730 per semester covers Swiss and Liechtenstein citizens and anyone who obtained their school-leaving certificate while living in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.

Three rules that catch international applicants out

• German, with no extension. ETH Zurich teaches all Bachelor's programmes mainly in German. Unless a waiver applies, such as German as your mother tongue, your C1 certificate must be in eApply by 31 March; ETH calls that deadline fixed and non-negotiable and rejects an application without a valid certificate on formal grounds.
• Your fee group is set once. ETH assigns your tuition fee group once, before your studies start, and a move to the simple fee during your studies is not possible, not even from Bachelor's to Master's.
• The examination route starts later. An examination candidate starts only in the autumn after the January examination: the next one runs from 18 to 28 January 2027 for entry in September 2027, needed an application by 31 March 2026 and takes registrations until 15 October 2026.

Entry requirements change from autumn 2028

ETH Zurich plans to change the entry requirements for all Bachelor's programmes from the autumn semester 2028 onwards, and expects the changes to concern the mix of subjects you were taught and the subjects in your final examination. The rules are not final; ETH publishes details from spring 2027. A 2027 start, including after the January 2027 examination, falls under today's rules. If a gap year or the examination route moves your start to autumn 2028 or later, the new rules apply to you, and ETH's notice names no transition rule.

ETH Zurich is ranked #=8 in the QS World University Rankings 2027, the latest edition, after #7 in 2025 and #7 in 2026. By subject, ETH says it is in the first twelve for Science and Engineering in the THE and QS listings, and its reputation rests on a federal school founded in 1855 and 22 Nobel Prizes awarded to researchers associated with ETH.

The QS position comes from the QS profile of ETH Zurich, which also lists ETH at #1 in the QS Europe University Rankings for Western Europe, a regional table whose edition year the profile does not give. Times Higher Education, ShanghaiRanking (ARWU) and U.S. News publish their own tables with different methods; this page quotes QS only, so check the current ETH position on each publisher's site before you compare.

=8th

World University Rankings · QS 2027

ETH Zurich itself warns that rankings "vary greatly in their methods and focus and in how they define specialist areas, and so should be interpreted with caution when assessing the quality of a university." For a Bachelor applicant your subject matters more than the overall rank, so open the QS or THE subject table for your field, such as computer science, physics or architecture, before you decide.

Read the QS series as stability rather than a trend. Since the 2016 edition, the lowest QS position of ETH Zurich was #10 in 2018 and the highest was #6 in both 2020 and 2021. The =8 of 2027 is a shared eighth place.

What sets ETH apart: a federal institute for science and technology

ETH Zurich was established in 1855 as the Federal Polytechnic School, the Polytechnikum, and was given its present name, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in 1911. ETH is a federal institution, and its budget shows it: of a total of CHF 2.04bn, CHF 1.42bn is basic funding from the Swiss Confederation. ETH also performs services for the federal government, among them the Swiss Seismological Service.

ETH Zurich counts 22 Nobel Prizes awarded to researchers who have or have had an association with ETH, so the count covers any association with ETH, not only a degree from it.

ETH Zurich concentrates on science and technology but does not train narrow specialists. ETH students earn eight credit points in Science in Perspective across Bachelor and Master studies, six of them at Bachelor level, learning to put their knowledge "into broad historical, ethical, political, economic and social contexts". ETH also offers a Bachelor's in Public Policy for professional officers.

ETH Zurich in numbers

The ETH Zurich degree programmes brochure gives the figures below; apart from the 2024 rows, it does not say which year they describe.

The ETH brochure gives no split between Bachelor and Master students, no share of international students and no count of departments.

ETH Zurich publishes no acceptance rate for Bachelor applicants, overall or for applicants with a foreign school-leaving certificate, so there is no official rate for 2027 entry. ETH's degree-programme brochure dated July 2025 counts 26 198 students, of whom 4351 are doctoral students, from more than 120 countries.

ETH Zurich admits Bachelor applicants by conditions, not by a set number of places. ETH states that application to its Bachelor's programmes "is in principle open to all". ETH also says it is not in a position to discuss your personal chances of admission before your complete application is in eApply.

Acceptance-rate percentages quoted for ETH Zurich on other sites are those sites' estimates, not ETH figures. An international share of students could not be matched to an ETH source either, so this report gives none.

Admission routes and entrance examination pass rates

ETH Zurich sorts Bachelor applicants into three types of admission: admission without entrance examination, or admission after passing the reduced or the comprehensive ETH entrance examination. Your school-leaving certificate decides the route, and ETH can only tell you which route applies after receiving your complete application in eApply.

ETH Zurich's entrance examination page gives no pass rate for either examination, only that results will be communicated soon after the end of the entrance examination session. The ETH entrance examination is no open contest either: sitting it without an application and an admissions decision is not permitted.

Human Medicine: limited places and a residence rule

For Human Medicine, ETH Zurich states that demand outruns supply. In German-speaking Switzerland, applicants currently must also pass the aptitude test for medical studies, as the number of applicants significantly exceeds the number of available places. ETH also says the Bachelor of Human Medicine "is only open for students with a Swiss passport or Swiss settlement permit", with exceptions listed in an ordinance published only in German.

If you are eligible, you apply for Human Medicine through swissuniversities by 15 February of the relevant academic year and need German at Level C1. Without a Swiss passport or settlement permit, the ETH Human Medicine Bachelor is closed to you unless an exception applies. The pages of ETH Zurich's other Bachelor programmes state no such limit on places.

Where ETH Zurich's selection really happens

Admission by conditions does not make ETH Zurich easy to finish. ETH writes that its undergraduate programmes are highly competitive and only the very best students pass the rigorous exams in the first years of the Bachelor's degree programmes. Plan for that filter, not an admission rate: the chapter on the first year explains the Basisjahr.

ETH Zurich decides Bachelor admission on your school-leaving certificate, a German C1 certificate due by the application deadline of 31 March unless a waiver applies, and, where ETH requires it, a passed ETH entrance examination. If you apply now for autumn 2027, you need admission without examination, because the exam route into autumn 2027 required an application by 31 March 2026. ETH says Bachelor study is “in principle open to all”; the hard filter comes in the exams of the first years.

ETH Zurich sorts every Bachelor applicant into one of three types of admission and can tell which one applies to you only after receiving your complete application in eApply. The subject and grade conditions depend on your country and certificate: ETH asks you to check them on the swissuniversities website or in its country list, and the diploma chapter sets them out. New requirements planned from the autumn semester 2028 onwards do not affect an autumn 2027 start.

The German certificate is a hard gate at ETH Zurich: applications with an invalid, insufficient or missing certificate are rejected after 31 March on formal grounds.

The ETH entrance examination is held in German once a year, in the third and fourth weeks of the year, and you may not sit it without an application and an admissions decision. The next sitting, 18-28 January 2027, is open only to applicants who applied by 31 March 2026; after passing, they can enter only in Autumn Semester 2027. If you apply now, the exam route into autumn 2027 is closed; the entrance examination chapter has the details.

Where motivation letters and references come in

ETH Zurich’s Bachelor admission pages build the decision from the admission requirements for your school-leaving certificate, the language requirements and, for certain applicants, an ETH entrance examination. The holistic evaluation that weighs standardized tests, the letter of motivation and the letters of recommendation is described on ETH’s Master’s application page and belongs to Master’s admission.

Security screening for Bachelor applicants

ETH Zurich runs a security screening to ensure compliance with dual use and sanction policies. Bachelor’s studies are generally not covered, unless part of your previous education took place at a university of origin that is relevant for security screening. If you have already studied at a university, read ETH’s export control page before you apply.

Where the real selection happens: the first year

ETH Zurich does not assess applicants in advance: the Admissions Office is not in a position to discuss your personal chances of admission in advance of a complete eApply application. The first year at ETH, the Basisjahr, is worth 60 credits of mathematics, the sciences relevant to your programme and the programme fundamentals, and ETH says only the very best students pass the rigorous exams in the first years.

Passing the first-year examination at ETH Zurich also unlocks money: Bachelor students become eligible for ETH cost-of-living scholarships only after passing the first year examination in all parts. The first-year chapter explains that examination. A failed ETH entrance examination is a separate matter: the exam page states no resit rule, and the exam falls under ETH’s entrance examination regulations, published in German, so check them first.

For autumn 2027 entry, ETH Zurich has no single grade for the IB, A-levels or a national diploma: your school-leaving certificate leads to one of three types of admission, either without an entrance examination, after a reduced examination in 4 subjects, or after a comprehensive examination in 8 subjects. The conditions are country- and certificate-specific, and ETH tells you which route is yours only after it has your complete application in eApply.

ETH Zurich sends you to two places for the conditions on a foreign certificate: the swissuniversities website and ETH's own country list, a PDF on the admission prerequisites page. For the International Baccalaureate, the European Baccalaureate and International A-levels with IGCSE, the swissuniversities section to open is "Ausländische Vorbildungsausweise", foreign school-leaving certificates.

The ETH Zurich Admissions Office decides your route from your file: it does not discuss your chances of admission in advance of a complete application in eApply, and questions already answered in the ETH FAQ get no individual answer.

IB, A-levels, European Baccalaureate and national diplomas

ETH Zurich's admission web pages give no minimum points, grades or required subjects for any diploma. For the IB, the European Baccalaureate and International A-levels with IGCSE, the conditions are in the swissuniversities section for foreign certificates. For the US high school diploma, the German Abitur and the Polish, Italian, French, Indian or Chinese certificates, you look up your country on swissuniversities or in the ETH country list. We could not verify those entries for this report in October 2026, so it prints no grade figures: note the subjects and grades your entry names and compare them with your final-year subjects.

What changed from the old Category A, B and C list

Earlier versions of this page sorted diplomas into Categories A, B and C, with grade cut-offs for direct admission: a band for the Abitur, an IB points total with Higher Level maths, A*A*A at A-level, a European Baccalaureate percentage, mention très bien for the French bac, and Italian and Austrian grades. ETH Zurich's admission web pages use no such categories, and we found no official source for those cut-offs. ETH names three types of admission and leaves grades and subjects to the country-specific conditions, so we removed the old cut-offs rather than guess new ones.

The old Category B said the reduced examination covers only the subjects your diploma lacks. ETH Zurich describes the reduced examination as 4 examination subjects, against 8 for the comprehensive one, and publishes the examination content of each as a PDF. The ETH entrance examination page gives no pass rate for either examination, and no ETH page we checked supports the old transfer route after a first year at another university.

The examination route and a start in autumn 2027

ETH Zurich's entrance examination page sets out the cycle behind a 2027 start. Applicants whose certificate met the conditions for examination-free admission could start in Autumn 2026, while applicants who must sit the examination can, after passing it, only enter in Autumn Semester 2027.

The January 2027 ETH entrance examination is open only to applicants who applied by 31 March 2026, because ETH Zurich lets no one sit the entrance examination without an application and an admissions decision. If your diploma needs an examination and you have not applied yet, the published calendar has no path to a September 2027 start. For autumn 2027, you need a diploma that gives admission without an entrance examination.

Diplomas that waive the German certificate

Your diploma also decides whether ETH Zurich asks for a German certificate. ETH waives the certificate for the German Abitur from a school in Germany or the German-speaking part of Switzerland, the Austrian Reifeprüfungszeugnis from a school in Austria or Liechtenstein and the Luxembourg Certificat de fin d'études secondaires, among a few others. Most other applicants who are not native German speakers submit a C1 certificate by the application deadline of 31 March.

New subject requirements from autumn 2028

ETH Zurich is planning changes to the entry requirements for all Bachelor's degree programmes from the autumn semester 2028, expected to concern the subjects you were taught and the subjects covered in your final examination. The plans are early guidance and not yet finalised, and details follow on the ETH website from spring 2027. If you start in autumn 2027, the current conditions apply to you. If you aim for autumn 2028 or later, read the ETH admission prerequisites page again once those details are out.

ETH Zurich admits some Bachelor applicants only after its own entrance examination, held next on 18-28 January 2027 in German for entry in September 2027, and its admission pages name no SAT or ACT requirement. The examination costs CHF 550.00 in its reduced form and CHF 800.00 in its comprehensive form, and registration, open only to applicants who applied by 31 March 2026, closes on 15 October 2026.

ETH Zurich tells you in your admissions decision whether you must sit the entrance examination, and it can decide only once your complete application is in eApply. The ETH admission prerequisites page sets out three types of admission: without an examination, after the reduced examination of 4 examination subjects, or after the comprehensive examination of 8 examination subjects. Your school-leaving certificate decides which, and ETH sends you to swissuniversities and its own country list for the rules on each certificate. Without an application and an admissions decision you cannot sit the examination.

The ETH entrance examination is in German, and ETH names familiarity with the subject terminology in German as a prerequisite, so learn the German terms for mathematics and physics, not only the English ones. If the ETH language rules require a German certificate from you, the C1 certificate is due by the application deadline, 31 March.

Dates and registration for the January 2027 session

If you are starting now and your diploma needs the ETH entrance examination, autumn 2027 entry is out of reach: the application deadline for this route was 31 March 2026, and ETH admits examination candidates only in the autumn after they pass. ETH Zurich holds the examination every year in the third and fourth weeks of the year, but its pages give no dates yet for the next cycle.

ETH Zurich also plans new entry requirements for all Bachelor's programmes from the autumn semester 2028 onwards, expected to cover the subjects you were taught and those in your final examination. Details follow from spring 2027, so check then whether your certificate still leads to the same examination.

How to prepare: what ETH publishes and allows

ETH Zurich offers no preparation courses and no German courses before studies begin, so the eight-month Vorbereitungskurs in older guides is not an ETH course. ETH expects careful preparation on your part; the topics follow the educational goals of the Swiss Matura recognition ordinance, plus ETH's own requirements. What ETH publishes for you:

• Example papers, in German only: Mathematics Part I and Part II and Physics from 2026 and 2024, German from 2024, English from 2026 and 2024.
• Subject-area lists ('Themenblätter') for biology, history, geography, German, English, French and Italian; none for mathematics, physics and chemistry.
• A literature list for the language examinations and a list of textbooks.
• The content of the reduced and of the comprehensive examination, as PDFs.

Pass rules, retakes and pass rates

The pass and retake rules of the ETH entrance examination are set in the Reglement über die Aufnahmeprüfung zur Zulassung an die ETH Zurich, published in German only; ETH's examination page does not summarise them, so read the regulation before you register. ETH Zurich publishes no pass rate for either examination, and the pass rates in older guides have no official source.

SAT and ACT at ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich's Bachelor admission pages, from the entrance examination page to the admission prerequisites and language pages, name no SAT or ACT requirement and no minimum score. The conditions for a foreign diploma, such as a US high school diploma, sit in the certificate-specific rules that ETH points to on swissuniversities and in its country list. Check the entry for your certificate there before you assume test scores play no part: the claim that ETH ignores the SAT and ACT at every level has no official source.

To start a Bachelor's at ETH Zurich in autumn 2027 you need German at level C1: unless a waiver applies, a German C1 language certificate must be in eApply by the application deadline of 31 March, and ETH rejects applications with an invalid, insufficient or missing certificate after 31 March on formal grounds. No English test is required for the Bachelor, though ETH Zurich calls a command of English indispensable.

German is the main teaching language in all Bachelor's degree programmes at ETH Zurich, though some individual courses may be conducted in English or French. ETH Zurich says the Bachelor's programmes begin in German and that some courses in the second and third years may take place in English. In Physics, English lectures may start from the second or third year, depending on the curriculum.

ETH Zurich's Bachelor admission pages ask for a certificate of proficiency in German, not for an English test. Plan for English anyway: ETH's degree programmes brochure calls a command of English essential, because individual courses are taught in English.

Recognised German certificates and waivers

ETH Zurich accepts only the German certificates on its own list: any certificate not listed, or one showing insufficient grades or points, is not accepted. A C1 certificate may be no older than 2 years at the start of the application period; the Goethe and ÖSD C2 certificates, no older than 5 years. Check the minimum grade for your test on ETH's list before you book it.

Two waiver rules catch applicants out. School certificates do not count: ETH Zurich does not accept school and matriculation certificates which document German language skills, even at level C2, in place of a language certificate. And by mother tongue ETH means the main language you acquired in childhood with no formal teaching, used with the greatest competence, level C2 and higher.

When the German certificate is due

If the German certificate was not uploaded with your application, it must be in eApply by 31 March at the latest, a deadline ETH Zurich calls fixed and non-negotiable. ETH's language page gives the day without a year. The only dated version on ETH's pages, 31 March 2026, was the deadline for applicants sitting the entrance examination in January 2027 to start in September 2027. It has passed, so confirm the date for your own cycle in eApply.

If you do not speak German yet

ETH Zurich publishes no estimate of how long reaching C1 takes, and it offers no preparation courses or German language courses before studies begin. Plan back from 31 March and leave time to retake a test if the result is insufficient. If you must sit the ETH entrance examination, it is in German too, subject terminology included.

Without German C1, the English route into ETH Zurich is the Master's: most Master's degree programmes at ETH Zurich are taught in English, while some require English and German and some are taught in German. For an ETH Master's, holders of a Bachelor's degree from EPF Lausanne and applicants whose Bachelor's was taught completely in English, confirmed by their university, need no English certificate. Tests and dates are in the Master's chapter.

For autumn 2027 entry to an ETH Zurich Bachelor's programme without an entrance examination, your complete application, German C1 certificate included, must be in eApply by 31 March 2027, and with a non-Swiss school-leaving certificate you pay a one-off application fee of CHF 150. The examination route to a 2027 start closed on 31 March 2026, so if ETH decides you must sit the entrance examination, you can no longer start in 2027.

ETH Zurich decides Bachelor admission from your documents: your school-leaving certificate against the swissuniversities conditions for your country, your German certificate and, only where ETH requires it, the entrance examination. ETH does not discuss your chances before your application in eApply is complete.

Timeline for autumn 2027 entry

The ETH Zurich timeline below covers admission without examination, the only route to an autumn 2027 start still open to a new applicant. ETH's Bachelor pages give no opening date, no decision date and no time of day for the deadline, so treat 31 March as the last day, not the target.

ETH Zurich calls the 31 March deadline for the German certificate fixed and non-negotiable. If the Anmeldebestätigung has not reached you when you apply for your visa, you may submit the Verfügung instead; the Zurich migration office then checks your file but keeps it pending until the Anmeldebestätigung follows.

The application in eApply: documents and fee

ETH Zurich takes Bachelor applications through eApply, which shows you which documents to upload and which originals to send by post. The one-off application fee is CHF 150 with a non-Swiss school-leaving certificate and CHF 50 with a Swiss or Liechtenstein one. The Bachelor deadline is 31 March, not 30 November, which is ETH's Master's deadline, and the portal is eApply, not myapplication.ethz.ch.

• German C1 certificate. Upload it in eApply by 31 March unless a waiver applies, for example German as your mother tongue.
• Original school-leaving certificate. Swiss universities need it to issue your Swiss matriculation number; ETH returns all originals during your first Autumn Semester.
• Ask your embassy first. Some Swiss embassies inspect original certificates for the visa, so check with yours before you post the originals to the ETH Admissions Office.
• Translations for the visa. The visa file needs copies of your diplomas and school records with certified translations into German or English; before your diploma is out, a final transcript or a school confirmation can stand in, though the final diploma may be required before the visa is approved.

For an ETH Zurich Master's in autumn 2027 with a Bachelor's from outside Switzerland, the window is 1-30 November 2026, closing on 30 November 2026 at 11:59AM CET; there is no spring entry.

The examination route: closed for 2027

ETH Zurich's examination route to autumn 2027 is already under way for those who applied by 31 March 2026; only applicants whose decision requires the examination may register.

If you apply to ETH Zurich by 31 March 2027 and your decision requires the examination, you cannot start in 2027. ETH holds the examination in the third and fourth weeks of each year and admits candidates only in the following autumn, so on that pattern you would sit it in January 2028 and start in autumn 2028. ETH plans new entry requirements for all Bachelor's programmes from the autumn semester 2028 and publishes details from spring 2027. ETH offers no preparation courses.

Human Medicine and study achievements from another university

ETH Zurich's Bachelor in Human Medicine has its own procedure: swissuniversities coordinates applications, due by 15 February of the relevant academic year, and in German-speaking Switzerland you currently must also pass the aptitude test for medical studies. The programme is open only to students with a Swiss passport or Swiss settlement permit, apart from exceptions in an ETH ordinance.

If you have already studied at another university, ETH Zurich assesses recognition of those study achievements in a separate procedure; the Bachelor Admissions Office gives no advice on it at the desk and takes such questions by appointment only.

For autumn 2027 entry, ETH Zurich offers Bachelor's programmes in architecture and civil engineering, engineering sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, system-oriented natural sciences and public policy, each taking 6 semesters and 180 credits, usually three years, and taught mainly in German. You study one major and no minors, and Human Medicine and Public Policy are closed to most international applicants.

The first year at ETH Zurich, the Basisjahr, is worth 60 credits of mathematics, science and the basics of your programme. The second and third years form the higher Bachelor's programme, worth 120 credits of programme subjects, electives, project work and the Bachelor's thesis.

ETH Zurich states that its Bachelor's degree is not a professional qualification and that this level is reached only with the Master's degree, so plan an ETH degree as a Bachelor's plus a Master's. The maximum permitted duration of the Bachelor's is five years, rising to six years as of the Autumn Semester 2028.

Every ETH Zurich Bachelor's also includes Science in Perspective, humanities and social science courses worth six credit points at Bachelor's level. The programmes begin in German, some courses may be in English in the second and third years, and ETH calls a command of English indispensable.

The full list of ETH Zurich Bachelor's programmes

ETH Zurich describes its Bachelor's studies as an education in a technical or scientific field and lists the programmes by area. You apply to a single programme from this list.

Chemistry and Chemical and Bioengineering at ETH Zurich share combined teaching in the first two years, and you can transfer between them without additional requirements during or after the first two years. Physics and Mathematics share a nearly identical first year.

Computer Science

Computer Science at ETH Zurich spends the first year on mathematics and systematic programming, with data structures, algorithms and parallel programming. The second year covers the core areas Computer and Software Systems, Theoretical Computer Science and Computational Science; in the third year you deepen selected areas and write the Bachelor's thesis. The Department of Computer Science runs the programme, and teaching starts in German. Its Master's is listed in English, with specialisations such as Information Security, Distributed Systems and Visual Computing.

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering at ETH Zurich keeps the first four semesters compulsory, from mathematics and physics to control engineering and thermodynamics. In the fifth and sixth semester you take electives and choose a focus specialisation or a focus project, and you write the Bachelor's thesis in the sixth semester. The focus specialisations are Design, Mechanics and Manufacturing; Engineering for Health; Micro- and Nanosystems Technology; Robotics, Systems and Control; and Sustainable Energy and Processes. Teaching starts in German. If robotics brings you to ETH, Robotics, Systems and Control is the focus to aim for.

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at ETH Zurich builds theoretical foundations in compulsory subjects in the first two years, with practical sessions and small group projects from the very first semester. In the third year you specialise in a focus area such as Communication, Electronics and Photonics, Energy and Power Electronics or Biomedical Engineering, add electives and write the Bachelor's thesis. The Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering runs the programme, which starts in German.

Physics

Physics at ETH Zurich has a first year nearly identical to Mathematics, so you can consider switching at the end of it. In the second and third years you take more specialised lectures in experimental and theoretical physics, such as quantum mechanics and solid-state physics, with practicals; in the final semester you write semester papers or take a theoretical proseminar. ETH states that the Physics Bachelor is taught in German and that English lectures may start from the second or third year, depending on your curriculum. ETH's Department of Physics points to its access to large-scale research facilities and international research networks.

Mathematics

Mathematics at ETH Zurich dovetails with Physics: after the first year you can switch in either direction. The first two years cover the fundamentals of mathematics, physics and computer science plus advanced mathematics such as algebra and topology. From the third year there are no compulsory courses; you choose core subjects, electives and seminars in pure and applied mathematics. Teaching starts in German. The Master's offers Mathematics or Applied Mathematics, and you choose the degree title only at the end.

Architecture

Architecture at ETH Zurich runs three areas through the whole programme: architectural design and construction as the main focus, the scientific and technical disciplines, and the humanities, social sciences and mathematics. The first year trains your perceptive and creative faculties and the method of architectural design, and the second and third years expand that base, with teaching starting in German. The Bachelor's degree also requires six months of work experience in architecture, and the Master's at least six months of external work experience again.

Human Medicine and Public Policy: closed to most international applicants

The Human Medicine Bachelor at ETH Zurich is only open to students with a Swiss passport or a Swiss settlement permit, with exceptions listed in an ordinance published only in German. It also requires German at level C1, an application through swissuniversities by 15 February of the relevant academic year, the aptitude test for medical studies and a four-week healthcare placement. After six semesters you hold the Bachelor of Science ETH in Medicine and move to a Master's at a partner university.

Public Policy (Professional Officer) at ETH Zurich is a six-semester programme run by the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences with the Military Academy (MILAC), open only to professional officer candidates employed by the Swiss Army, with requirements such as the title of Lieutenant. It leads to the Bachelor of Arts ETH in Public Policy. Human Medicine needs a Swiss passport or settlement permit and Public Policy needs a Swiss Army officer candidacy, so most international applicants should plan around both.

Common misconception: "ETH is just engineering"

ETH Zurich is not just engineering, but it is all science and technology. The official list includes Human Medicine, Health Sciences and Technology, Earth and Climate Sciences, Food Science and Nutrition, Agricultural Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biology, Mathematics and Architecture. It has no Bachelor's in economics, business, law or the humanities; the only programme outside science and technology is Public Policy for Swiss Army officer candidates.

ETH Zurich is also demanding in time: about 30 hours of presence per week plus about 10 to 15 hours of self-study, and the first-year examination has its own chapter in this report. Subject rankings for individual ETH departments are in the rankings chapter.

If you start an ETH Zurich Bachelor's programme in autumn 2027, your first year is the Basisjahr: the first two semesters, worth 60 credits of the 180 in the degree, with every subject compulsory. As an international student you become eligible for an ETH scholarship for living and study costs only after you pass the first-year examination, the Basisprüfung, in all parts.

The general basic courses of the ETH Zurich Basisjahr are mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science and biology, plus internships and the fundamentals of your programme; which sciences you take depends on the programme. Each credit stands for 25 to 30 working hours of course work.

An ETH Zurich Bachelor's programme usually takes three years. The maximum permitted duration is five years, and six years as of the Autumn Semester 2028; ETH does not say whether the longer limit covers students who started earlier, so count on five years.

What the Basisjahr covers in five programmes

The first year of Mathematics and the first year of Physics at ETH Zurich are nearly identical, and after it you can switch in either direction. Computational Science and Engineering lets you complete its first year in another ETH programme or at another university, except Architecture, Materials Science and the Public Policy programme.

How the first-year examination works

ETH Zurich holds examinations during the semester and/or in the examination period in the lecture-free period; the academic calendar gives the exact dates. ETH's scholarship rules speak of passing the first-year examination in all parts, but the English ETH pages this report draws on do not say how the parts are grouped, what pass mark applies, how many attempts you get or what follows a failure. Read your programme's rules once you are admitted.

None of the ETH Zurich study pages this report draws on gives a pass or failure rate for the Basisprüfung, and the figure of a third to a half of a cohort failing has no source on them. What ETH Zurich does say, on its Master application page, is that only the very best students pass the rigorous exams in the first years of its Bachelor's programmes.

From the autumn semester 2028, ETH Zurich moves to two semesters of practically the same length, each with the same exam preparation period and exam period, so if you start in autumn 2027 your second year runs on the new calendar.

Why the first year matters for international students

ETH Zurich asks international students to look first in their home country for financial support or scholarships. A Bachelor student becomes eligible for an ETH scholarship for living and study costs only after passing the first-year examination in all parts, so plan to fund the Basisjahr without an ETH scholarship. If illness keeps you from an examination, the Financial Aid Office wants a medical certificate issued no later than one day after the planned exam.

Support in the first year

• Before you start. ETH Zurich runs prestudy and onboarding events where you meet fellow students and learn about your programme and your contact persons.
• Coaching. The Counselling & Coaching Centre offers coaches and handles questions about studying with a disability, elite sport alongside your studies and studying as a parent.
• Choosing a programme. The ETH Zurich Study Advisory Service gives free personal consultations, Monday to Friday, on choosing between its Bachelor's programmes; it does not answer admission questions.
• Workload. For full-time studies ETH Zurich gives approx. 30 hours of presence per week plus approx. 10 to 15 hours of self-study. That is ETH's figure for full-time study in general, not for the first year alone.

An ETH Zurich Master's is a postgraduate degree that requires a Bachelor's: for entry in autumn 2027, applicants with a Bachelor's from outside Switzerland apply between 1 and 30 November 2026. Most Master's programmes at ETH Zurich are taught in English and run 90 credits over 3 semesters or 120 credits over 4 semesters.

ETH Zurich admits Master's students on their first degree: the basis for admission is always your Bachelor's degree, even if you already hold a Master's. School leavers start with the German-taught Bachelor's (see the language chapter).

ETH Zurich calls Master's admission highly selective. Meeting a programme's requirement profile, with its mandatory minimum percentages in prerequisite subjects, does not guarantee admission: the committee also weighs your grades, your university's ranking, test scores such as the GRE where required, and your motivation and recommendation letters.

Consecutive and specialised Master's programmes

A specialised Master's addresses one particular topic from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. ETH Zurich's Master's pages give no total count and no list of the programmes international applicants choose most, but on its faculty lists for engineering, natural sciences, system-oriented sciences and architecture, every programme is marked English except Architecture, taught in German, and Pharmacy, taught in German and English.

Application dates for autumn 2027

ETH Zurich has two Master's application windows for autumn 2027. The November window is mandatory for students with a Bachelor's degree from outside Switzerland and for ESOP scholarship applicants. The April window cannot consider candidates with a Bachelor's from outside Switzerland.

The ETH Zurich deadline is 11:59AM CET on Monday, 30 November 2026, in the morning, not at midnight, and late or incomplete applications cannot be processed. The one-off application fee is CHF 150 if your school-leaving certificate is not Swiss.

English certificates for an ETH Zurich Master's

ETH Zurich names TOEFL, IELTS, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency for Master's admission; other certificates are not accepted, and an invalid, insufficient or missing one means rejection on formal grounds. Check the minimum score for your test in ETH's list before you book it.

If English was not your Bachelor's only language, send a test certificate, as ETH Zurich strongly recommends: a confirmation that falls short means direct rejection.

Tuition and the ESOP scholarship

Unless you meet ETH Zurich's criteria for the simple fee, you pay the threefold tuition fee of CHF 2190 per semester, in force from the Autumn Semester 2025, against CHF 730 in the simple group. Semester fees and living costs are in the cost chapter.

ESOP, ETH Zurich's excellence scholarship for Master's students, pays 13'500 CHF per semester from HS27 (autumn semester 2027) plus a tuition fee waiver for the regular three or four semesters, with approximately 60 awards for 2027/28. You apply in the November window with a pre-proposal for your Master's thesis, and ETH expects a top 10% Bachelor's result, by self-assessment. Details are in the scholarships chapter.

ETH Zurich's published graduate outcome is that 97% of its Master's graduates have a job a year after graduating, a figure from its brochure dated July 2025 that gives no survey year, sample or salary. That Master's figure is the one to plan on if you start a Bachelor's in autumn 2027: ETH Zurich states that the Bachelor's degree is not a professional qualification; that level comes only with the Master's.

Salary ranges and sector percentages quoted for ETH Zurich graduates elsewhere could not be matched to an ETH source. The Master's chapter covers the step from Bachelor's to Master's.

Where ETH Zurich says its graduates work

ETH Zurich describes careers by field, not by employer or share, in the career profiles on its Bachelor programme pages. The fields below are ETH's own, shortened.

ETH Zurich puts no numbers on these profiles: read them as where a degree can lead, not as placement data.

Spin-offs and start-ups from ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich counts 37 spin-off companies founded in 2024. ETH Zurich's brochure gives no running total of active spin-offs, so this report quotes none.

In October 2026 ETH Zurich launched AI Foundry, its first programme for AI spin-offs, aimed at founders building "frontier labs", new AI architectures or IP-intensive AI. The terms of the ETH Pioneer Fellowship are not on the pages checked for this report; confirm them with ETH.

Rankings, Nobel Prizes and alumni

ETH Zurich says that, by specialist area, it is in the first twelve for Science and Engineering in the THE and QS listings. That is a subject ranking, not a measure of graduate jobs; see the rankings chapter.

ETH Zurich counts 22 Nobel Prizes awarded to researchers who have or have had an association with ETH. That is a count of associated researchers, not of graduates; this report gives no alumni figures.

Staying to work in Switzerland after ETH Zurich

The Swiss student visa application, as ETH Zurich describes it, asks you to outline your plans after completing your studies. If you need a visa, note that Switzerland's State Secretariat for Migration lists gainful employment among long-term stays (more than three months) subject to authorization.

The permit rules for working in Switzerland after graduation are not on the ETH pages checked for this report. The visa chapter covers the student visa and residence permit.

ETH Zurich charges tuition of CHF 2190 per semester if you move to Switzerland to study as a foreign student and CHF 730 per semester if you qualify for fee group 1, under the two-group system in force since the Autumn Semester 2025. ETH's fee pages show no separate rates for the 2027 to 2028 academic year, so these are the figures to plan with for autumn 2027 entry. On top of fees, ETH recommends budgeting CHF 20'000 to 26'000 a year for living and study costs in Zurich.

ETH Zurich's study fees are tuition plus compulsory semester fees. ETH checks during the admission procedure which of the two tuition fee groups you belong to, and a foreign student who finished school abroad pays the threefold fee unless a group 1 criterion below already applies before studies start.

Tuition: the simple fee and the threefold fee

ETH Zurich charges the simple fee of CHF 730 per semester to these students, provided the condition is met before studies start:

• Swiss or Liechtenstein citizens.
• Anyone resident in Switzerland or Liechtenstein when they obtained their school-leaving certificate, whatever their nationality.
• EU/EFTA citizens with a B, L or G permit carrying the remark 'right to gainful employment', or with a C settlement permit. The remark 'right to gainful employment up to 15 hrs/week' is not enough.
• Children of EU/EFTA citizens whose parent holds a B or L permit with that remark or a C permit, if the student already holds a Swiss residence permit, and students entitled to family reunification under EU/EFTA free movement.
• Refugees with an F, S or B (refugee) permit.

All other students pay the threefold fee of CHF 2190 per semester. ETH Zurich assigns your fee group once before the start of studies. If ETH places you in group 2 and you meet a group 1 criterion, your complete reallocation request, qualifying residence permit included, is due by the Sunday before semester start. ETH Zurich does not reallocate you later, not even when you move from a Bachelor's to a Master's programme.

Semester fees on top of tuition

ETH Zurich adds three compulsory semester fees to tuition in both groups, due even during a leave of absence. ETH's Financial page gives CHF 804 per semester for tuition and semester fees together; that total is built on the simple fee, so in group 2 the same three fees come on top of CHF 2190.

Voluntary contributions are optional, for example VSETH membership at CHF 10 a semester. ETH Zurich's fee list includes examination fees in tuition; departments invoice materials and excursions separately.

One-off costs before you start

Beyond the semester bill, ETH Zurich charges a one-off fee when you apply and, only if it requires the examination of you, a fee for the entrance examination.

If you need a visa, the embassy fee, the Canton of Zurich fee and the registration fee after arrival come on top; they are listed in Visa, residence permit and arrival.

Living costs: ETH's estimate for a year in Zurich

ETH Zurich recommends planning CHF 20'000 to 26'000 a year for average student living and study costs, and it warns of the high living costs in the city and area of Zurich. ETH links a breakdown, Living and study costs (international students), from its tuition fees page in the student portal. For rents in student residences and shared flats, see Housing in Zurich.

Health insurance in the Canton of Zurich

Swiss health insurance is compulsory, and ETH Zurich's tuition fees page mentions a Swiss health insurance for international students. ETH's fee and visa pages do not state its monthly premium, so get a quote before you arrive and add it to your monthly budget.

ETH Zurich adds a warning next to the group 1 permit rules. If the purpose of your stay changes from study to gainful employment, you lose access to the Swiss health insurance for international students, and your health insurance costs at least CHF 250 to 300 more a month. You cannot switch back even after the job ends, the Canton of Zurich will not grant an exemption from the insurance obligation, and you may no longer meet the conditions for a European Health Insurance Card.

Proof of funds: the floor of your budget

If you need a visa, the Canton of Zurich Migration Office wants a bank statement showing CHF 21,000 available, or proof of a scholarship decision. The money must sit in your own account at a bank in Switzerland, either a Swiss bank or a foreign bank with a Swiss branch.

Treat CHF 21,000 as the floor of your first-year budget, not the budget itself: ETH's own estimate for living and study costs runs up to CHF 26'000 a year. Fund your first year yourself: ETH's scholarships for living costs open to international Bachelor students only after they pass the first-year examination in all parts. The funding options are in ETH Zurich scholarships and financial aid.

If you start an ETH Zurich Bachelor's from abroad in autumn 2027, plan to fund the whole first year without ETH money: international Bachelor students become eligible for ETH's need-based scholarships only after passing the first-year examination in all parts. ETH's main merit award, ESOP, is for Master's students: CHF 12'000 per semester, rising to 13'500 CHF from HS27, plus a tuition fee waiver, with approximately 60 awards for 2027/28.

ETH Zurich says that it is primarily the responsibility of students and their families to finance studies, and that international students should look in their home country first. ETH's own awards are need-based social scholarships for Bachelor and Master studies and a short list of merit-based excellence scholarships.

Need-based social scholarships and the first-year gap

International students apply for ETH Zurich's need-based scholarships in eSTIP, ETH's scholarship portal. Because Bachelor students are eligible only after passing the first-year examination in all parts, a Bachelor's student who starts in autumn 2027 cannot get one in the first year. Master's students without an ETH Bachelor may apply after a minimum of 40 ECTS in the preceding Master study year. How the first-year examination works is in the first-year chapter.

The latest eSTIP window ETH Zurich has published runs from 1 September to 31 October 2026, for 2026/27; the window after your own first-year examination is not dated yet. The ETH scholarship page for international students states no amounts, so ask the Financial Aid Office before you budget around one.

Merit scholarships for first-year Bachelor students

None of the merit scholarships on ETH Zurich's financial page is described as open to first-year Bachelor students. Besides ESOP, the page names four departmental awards: the D-BAUG Giorgio Pegoraro, D-CHAB Oskar Jeger and D-CHAB H Günthard scholarships, and the Nizzola Excellence Scholarship of D-BAUG, D-ITET and D-MAVT. ETH gives no amount or eligibility rule for any of the four, so ask the department before you count on one.

ESOP: the Master's excellence scholarship

The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) is only for incoming Master's students: not for MAS students, and not for anyone already enrolled in an ETH Master's or holding a Master's degree. ESOP pays CHF 12'000 per semester, rising to 13'500 CHF from HS27, the autumn semester 2027, plus a tuition fee waiver, for three or four semesters. It also brings mentorship and a network of the ETH Foundation.

ESOP asks for a very good Bachelor result: the top 10% of your programme, grade A, self-assessed. ETH's ESOP page sets no top 3% cut-off. You apply through eApply, with the Master's application, in the first application window only, and upload a Master's thesis pre-proposal you developed yourself. If your programme asks for no references, name two professors.

ETH Zurich plans approximately 60 ESOP scholarships for 2027/28, but the exact number depends on the availability of funds. The rest of the Master's application is in the Master's chapter.

Funding from outside ETH Zurich

A scholarship from your home country, where ETH Zurich tells international students to look first, counts for the visa too: ETH says you can prove your finances with a bank statement or proof of a scholarship decision. The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships, Canton of Zurich grants and the ETH Pioneer Fellowship are not on ETH Zurich's scholarship pages for students, so this report gives no amounts or rules for them; check each with its own funder.

A funding plan for a Bachelor's start in 2027

Start with your fee group, which ETH Zurich assigns once, before the start of studies: ETH checks during admission whether you pay the threefold tuition fee of CHF 2190 per semester instead of CHF 730. EU/EFTA citizenship alone does not get you the lower fee. One of ETH's criteria is a B, L or G permit marked 'right to gainful employment', or a C permit, held before starting studies, and a remark of 'right to gainful employment up to 15 hrs/week' is not sufficient. If you qualify, request reallocation by the Sunday before semester start: it is not possible later, not even from Bachelor's to Master's.

Work rules come with your residence permit; see the visa chapter. Before you take on a job, note that if the purpose of your stay changes from study to gainful employment, you lose access to the Swiss health insurance for international students and pay at least CHF 250 to 300 more a month.

No ETH Zurich page we checked guarantees or allocates a room to students starting in autumn 2027; the ETH Housing Office keeps a list of rooms and apartments that are currently available instead. ETH tells you to inquire well in advance because accommodation in and around Zurich is scarce, and the hard deadline comes after you land: as an EU/EFTA citizen you register at your new place of residence within 14 days of your arrival in Switzerland.

The ETH Zurich Housing Office is the official place to start. None of the ETH Zurich pages behind this report mentions a room that comes with admission, a quota for first-year students or a priority for new international arrivals, so plan your search as if you are on your own.

Student residences and rooms in shared flats (WG)

The ETH Zurich pages behind this report give no rent for a room in a student residence or in a shared flat (Wohngemeinschaft, WG), no waiting time for a residence and no warning about rental scams. Treat rent figures on other sites as unofficial, and ask the Housing Office for current prices before you set your budget.

ETH Zurich's Financial page gives one overall budget instead. ETH points to the high living costs in the city and area of Zurich and recommends calculating 20´000 to 26´000 CHF a year for average student living and study costs. That page does not say how much of the figure is rent.

When to start looking: visa, entry and registration

You do not need a room to apply for a Swiss student visa. If you need a visa, you apply in person at the Swiss embassy or consulate general at least 3 months before you plan to enter Switzerland, and ETH Zurich says it is not required to hand in a rental contract at the time of the visa application. The Zurich Migration Office asks for a rental contract only from students from certain few countries, and tells those nationals once it has checked the visa application.

The student visa is usually valid for entry into Switzerland 2-3 weeks before the start of the semester, which leaves little time to view rooms in person, so plan to do most of the search from home. If you want to arrive earlier to find a room, ETH Zurich says you must mention this in your visa application and provide detailed reasons.

Registration is the step tied to your address. As an EU/EFTA citizen you register with the Residents' Registration Office (Einwohnerkontrolle) at your new place of residence within 14 days of your arrival in Switzerland; as a visa-free national you apply for your residence permit there within 14 days of your arrival. If you come on a visa, registering at the Personenmeldeamt in Zurich costs CHF 182: a CHF 40 registration fee and a CHF 142 document fee for the residence permit. ETH Zurich's pages do not say what proof of address the office asks for, so check with the registration office of your municipality before you arrive.

As a Bachelor's or Master's student at ETH Zurich you pay two compulsory semester fees that fund student life: CHF 35 for the ASVZ sports association and CHF 32 for the VSETH student union, per ETH's latest fee schedule (state 5 December 2024); check it again before autumn 2027. VSETH runs a first-semester party that 5000 students attend, and ETH briefs newly admitted international students on visas and entry at online info events, held in 2026 on 6 May and 17 June.

VSETH is the umbrella association of the students at ETH Zurich. VSETH represents students' concerns in ETH committees and writes position papers, for example to improve students' mental health.

VSETH, the Fachvereine and student projects

The Fachvereine are ETH Zurich's subject associations. ETH Zurich's brochure lets you join VSETH or one of the subject-specific organisations, and VSETH says it enables the work of Fachvereine, commissions and student organisations.

VSETH also says it organises the biggest events at ETH. Its Erstsemestrigenfest, the party for first-semester students on the Höngg, draws 5000 students. The Summerbar and Nik's Hütte serve beer, mulled wine and everything in between, and VSETH's Conquering shows you Zurich from a different side.

For your own projects, ETH Zurich's brochure points to the Student Project House, a think- and makerspace where students from all disciplines exchange ideas.

Sport with ASVZ and what student life costs

The sports list on asvz.ch runs from Aerial Yoga to Zumba and includes bouldering, climbing, sailing, rowing, skiing and snowboarding and surfing.

ETH Zurich bills these contributions with your semester fees. The compulsory ones are due even during a leave of absence; the voluntary ones you may decline.

ETH Zentrum and ETH Hönggerberg

ETH Zurich has two campuses, ETH Zentrum and ETH Hönggerberg. ETH Zurich began building Hönggerberg, its second site on the outskirts of Zurich, in 1961.

ETH Zurich's degree brochure does not say which departments sit on which campus. ETH's campus pages list addresses, opening hours, routes and maps: check where your programme's courses take place before you choose where to live.

Zurich as a place to live and study

Plan on German beyond the lecture hall: German is the main teaching language in all Bachelor's degree programmes at ETH Zurich, and even the Zurich Migration Office takes questions through a contact form only in German.

Support for international students

ETH Zurich's immigration pages name the International Student Office as your contact. Before you travel, ETH holds an online info event on visa and entry into Switzerland; it has not yet posted the 2027 dates.

Once you study, coaches of the Counselling & Coaching Centre help you, and the same centre handles studying with a disability, studies and elite sport and studying as a parent. Its phone number is +41 44 632 63 40.

To start at ETH Zurich in autumn 2027, citizens of EU and EFTA countries and of Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK need no visa; other students apply in person for a national type D visa at least 3 months before entry. For the Canton of Zurich, that application needs proof of funds: CHF 21,000.00 in your own account at a bank domiciled in Switzerland, a scholarship decision or a declaration of commitment.

ETH Zurich calls the website of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) binding, because entry requirements can change at any time, and the visa procedure on its pages is the one for the Canton of Zurich; other cantons have different requirements. Never enter Switzerland on a tourist visa: ETH Zurich warns that it cannot be converted into a residence permit.

Citizens of the visa-free countries still send a file: for the Canton of Zurich, ETH Zurich recommends requesting the assurance of the residence permit (Zusicherung zur Aufenthaltsbewilligung) with the same documents as visa applicants, through a contact form that is only in German.

The D visa for the Canton of Zurich: where, when and what to send

You submit the ETH Zurich student visa application in person at the Swiss embassy or consulate general, not a consulate, where you live, at least 3 months before you plan to enter Switzerland; most missions require an appointment. ETH Zurich warns that one missing document can lead to delays of several weeks.

• Passport and photos. A copy of a passport valid at least 3 months beyond your planned stay, and 3 passport photographs.
• Admission. For a Bachelor, the Anmeldebestätigung showing every requirement met, language certificate included, or the passed-exam confirmation issued on the Friday in calendar week 4. For a Master, the Confirmation of Registration and the Matriculation Confirmation, in eApply from mid-May.
• About you. Your reasons for choosing ETH, the planned duration of your studies, a CV in table form, diplomas with certified translations into German or English, and a short outline of your plans after your studies.
• Money. CHF 21,000.00 in your own account, not your parents', at a bank with a branch in Switzerland; or a scholarship decision; or a declaration of commitment by a Swiss citizen or B or C permit holder covering up to CHF 21,000.
• Tuition proof, if your embassy asks. Fees cannot be paid in advance, so Bachelor applicants enclose ETH's letter saying the bill arrives approx. five weeks after the semester starts.

The Zurich Migration Office is extremely strict about the money, and ETH Zurich says this is where students make most mistakes. Letters from parents and statements from banks without a branch in Switzerland are not accepted, and Raiffeisen Bank has never been accepted although it is on the list.

Visa fees and processing time

The ETH Zurich visa fee paid at the embassy is not refunded if your visa is refused. ETH Zurich publishes no processing time: the cantonal Migration Office decides irrespective of your admission to ETH Zurich, ETH cannot speed up the process, and if you applied more than 6 weeks ago and have questions, you contact the Zurich Migration Office directly. Visas are usually refused when you already hold a degree at that level or the file is incomplete.

Arrival, residence permit and health insurance

An ETH Zurich student visa is usually valid for entry 2-3 weeks before the semester starts and within 3 months of its issue date; earlier entry needs detailed reasons in the visa application. EU/EFTA citizens and visa-free nationals register at their new municipality within 14 days of arrival and apply for a residence permit there.

ETH Zurich's pages do not name the residence permit category or its validity; the cantonal migration office or your municipality issues the permit. Health insurance in Switzerland is compulsory, and while you are in Switzerland to study you can take out a Swiss health insurance for international students.

Working during your studies

ETH Zurich's immigration and fee pages do not state how many hours students may work, whether non-EU students must wait before taking a job, or how student jobs at ETH such as teaching assistant posts work; check those rules with SEM and the Migration Office of the Canton of Zurich before you count on earnings. A job will not lower your tuition: ETH Zurich assigns your fee group once before the start of studies and does not reallocate it during your studies.

ETH Zurich does warn about one cost of working. If the purpose of your stay changes from study to gainful employment, you can no longer take out the Swiss health insurance for international students and pay at least CHF 250 to 300 more a month. You cannot switch back when the job ends, and the Canton of Zurich does not grant an exemption from the health insurance obligation.

Staying in Switzerland after you graduate

ETH Zurich's immigration pages stop at your arrival: they say nothing about a job-search permit for non-EU graduates, turning a student permit into a work permit, or EU/EFTA graduates. ETH Zurich points to the SEM website for legally binding information, so read the rules there before you plan a career in Switzerland.

ETH Zurich suits you for autumn 2027 entry if you are strong in mathematics and science, can have a German C1 certificate in eApply by 31 March 2027, and can pay the threefold tuition fee of CHF 2190 per semester that ETH charges foreign students outside its Swiss residence criteria. ETH Zurich does not suit you if you will have no C1 German by then, need a scholarship in your first year, or want a broad liberal-arts degree.

ETH Zurich describes its Bachelor's studies as "a comprehensive and challenging fundamental education in a technical or scientific field of study". The first year, the Basisjahr of 60 credits, covers mathematics, the sciences your programme needs and its fundamentals, taught mainly in German; ETH calls a command of English indispensable.

ETH Zurich versus EPFL and TU Munich

ETH Zurich is ranked =8 in the QS World University Rankings 2027, after #7 in the 2026 edition, and teaches its Bachelor's programmes mainly in German and most Master's programmes in English. We have not verified EPFL's or TU Munich's teaching languages, fees for non-EU students or QS positions on their own pages, so this report quotes none of them; take those three figures from EPFL and TUM before you compare.

ETH Zurich costs next to tuition-free universities

ETH Zurich's side of the cost comparison is in the ladder below; take a German university's fee for your nationality from its own fee page. ETH's simple fee of CHF 730 per semester applies if you are a Swiss or Liechtenstein citizen, finished school while living in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, or meet one of ETH's residence criteria for foreign students, such as EU/EFTA citizenship with a qualifying Swiss permit before your studies.

Next steps

These ETH Zurich steps cover admission without an entrance examination, the only Bachelor's route to autumn 2027 still open: the examination route needed an application by 31 March 2026. ETH runs no German or preparation courses before studies begin.

If you will not have C1 German by 31 March 2027, the ETH Zurich Master's is the later way in: most ETH Master's programmes are taught in English, some need both English and German, and some are taught in German. For autumn 2027 entry with a Bachelor's from outside Switzerland, your application window is 1-30 November 2026. The same window takes applications for ESOP, ETH's merit scholarship covering full study and living costs: CHF 12'000 per semester, CHF 13'500 from autumn 2027, plus a tuition fee waiver.

Official pages of ETH Zurich, UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

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