UNIGE admission for international students: diploma, French and deadlines for 2027

To start a Bachelor at the Université de Genève (UNIGE) with a foreign school-leaving diploma, you need a diploma of general education that UNIGE recognises and, in principle, French at level B2 of the Common European Framework (CEFR). UNIGE's study brochure for 2027-2028 gives 30 April 2027 as the Bachelor application deadline for all candidates and 28 February 2027 for candidates who need a visa by nationality; the detailed 2027-2028 enrolment conditions are not yet published.

UNIGE decides on enrolment from the school documents you hold: its FAQ states that enrolment is based only on the diplomas presented, which must meet the enrolment conditions. The conditions UNIGE has published are those for 2026-2027, the latest published; the 2027-2028 conditions are not yet published. The five points below are the ones to check first.

The UNIGE registration fee covers the processing of your file. According to UNIGE's enrolment steps page as of October 2026, it is paid once, even for several applications, and is not refunded whatever the reason. If UNIGE accepts you, the fee is deducted from the first semester, so you pay CHF 435 instead of CHF 500.

Students on the lawn in front of Uni Bastions, University of Geneva

UNIGE rules that catch applicants out

• General education: UNIGE expects a foreign certificate to be essentially equivalent in subjects, hours and duration to a Swiss maturité. If your diploma does not meet the conditions, UNIGE offers no bridge or upgrade course.
• ECUS: if your recognised diploma comes from a country that has not signed or ratified the Lisbon Convention, or is not a member of the Council of Europe, you must pass the ECUS, the complementary exam of Swiss universities, before you can enter a Bachelor. A second failure is final.
• French exam: unless you are exempt, UNIGE's French exam for the autumn semester is held on the Monday of week 36, according to UNIGE's French exam page as of October 2026.
• Medicine: the brochure 2027-2028 adds a specific pre-registration on the swissuniversities site by 15 February 2027 for the Faculty of Medicine.
• Visa: if you need a visa by nationality, the brochure 2027-2028 sets your Bachelor deadline at 28 February 2027. Under the 2026-2027 conditions, the deadline of 28 February 2026 applied both to candidates needing a visa and to candidates subject to the ECUS; the 2027-2028 conditions are not yet published.

Each of these UNIGE rules has its own chapter below: how admission works, diplomas by country, the ECUS, French, medicine, and the steps and deadlines for autumn 2027.

The Université de Genève (UNIGE) began as the Académie de Genève, created in 1559 on the initiative of John Calvin, and became a university in 1873, when a faculty of medicine was created. UNIGE has 9 faculties; the Graduate Institute (IHEID), HES-SO Genève and Webster University Geneva are separate institutions with their own admission rules.

UNIGE's history page describes the Académie de Genève as conceived, at the start, as a theological and humanist seminary. The university's presentation page gives the same founding year, 1559, as the first fact about UNIGE today.

UNIGE is not the Graduate Institute, HES-SO Genève or Webster

Several institutions in Geneva carry the city's name, and UNIGE's own pages name some of them as separate institutions. The UNIGE housing office lists students enrolled at the Université de Genève or at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Internationales et du Développement (IHEID, the Graduate Institute), and UNIGE's financial aid pages are run jointly by the Université de Genève and HES-SO Genève. Webster University Geneva is a separate institution too. Each of these schools has its own admission rules, fees and deadlines; everything below concerns UNIGE only.

UNIGE's nine faculties

UNIGE lists its faculties by their French names. Two of them also use a label of their own: the Faculty of economics and management presents itself as the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM), and the Faculty of translation and interpreting is known by its initials, FTI.

The faculty matters for your application: beside the general enrolment conditions, each faculty or programme sets its own admission conditions in its study regulations.

UNIGE's university networks

• LERU, the League of European Research Universities: 24 members, selected, according to UNIGE, for their scientific excellence.
• Coimbra Group: 40 members from across Europe.
• 4EU+ European University Alliance: 8 universities working on joint courses and international research projects.
• Triangle Azur: a cooperation network of the universities of Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel.
• G3 de la Francophonie: a network of three French-speaking universities.

These networks describe UNIGE's partners in teaching and research. Admission to a UNIGE Bachelor follows the enrolment conditions set out in the admission chapters below.

UNIGE's presentation page reports 18'241 students, 63% of them women, 6'624 staff and 652 programmes; its Bachelor and Master site gives other counts, 17 886 students and 569 programmes. On rankings, UNIGE states that it is among the 100 best universities in the world, without naming a ranking; its pages do not list an overall position in any ranking table.

For an overall position, the publishers' own sites are the reliable source: QS, Times Higher Education and ShanghaiRanking each publish their tables with an edition year. The ranking statement on UNIGE's presentation page is the university's own description, not a figure from a named table.

UNIGE's Bachelor and Master site adds that its research and teaching place the university among the 100 best universities in the world, and links them to a double Nobel Prize in physics in 2019 and a Fields Medal in 2022. These are UNIGE's own claims, attributed to the university.

UNIGE in numbers, page by page

UNIGE prints its key figures on three pages, and none of them names a reference date. The presentation page and the brochure 2027-2028 give 18 241 students; the Bachelor and Master site gives 17 886. The programme counts also differ, because the Bachelor and Master site counts 569 programmes across Bachelor, Master, MAS, CAS, DAS and certificates.

These UNIGE figures describe the size of the university. They are context for your decision, not an admission target or a quota.

Admit rate and international students

UNIGE does not publish an admit rate for Bachelor entry, and it does not publish the share of international students among new Bachelor students. For most Bachelors, what decides your entry is whether your diploma meets the enrolment conditions, which UNIGE bases only on the diplomas presented; the next chapters set those conditions out country by country.

UNIGE admits a Bachelor applicant with a foreign diploma when that diploma is essentially equivalent in subjects, hours and duration to a Swiss maturité and is of general education: six subjects followed, in principle, in each of the last three years of upper-secondary school. The enrolment conditions for 2026-2027, the latest published, set the exact diploma and any extra condition country by country; the 2027-2028 conditions are not yet published.

The six subjects of general education

UNIGE's general-education rule names six subject areas that your last three school years must cover. Computer science and philosophy can only be chosen as the sixth subject, the free choice.

UNIGE also expects the foreign diploma to give general access to university studies in the country that issues it, and to have been obtained through a course that was not shortened, generally completed at a school. The burden of proof is yours: according to UNIGE, it is up to the applicant to prove that the enrolment conditions are met.

Extra conditions UNIGE can set

In some cases UNIGE adds requirements on top of the diploma, to secure a better equivalence. The enrolment conditions name them per country. According to UNIGE's general-education page as of October 2026, they can be:

• a specific average and/or a mention (a grade distinction);
• an admission certificate for the same programme from a university recognised by UNIGE in the country where you obtained your diploma, for the same application year as at UNIGE; a certificate for distance study does not count;
• two years of successful study at a university and programme recognised by UNIGE in a country that has signed or ratified the Lisbon Convention;
• a pass in UNIGE's French exam;
• a pass in the ECUS, the complementary exam of Swiss universities.

The Lisbon Convention matters here. Holders of certain diplomas from countries that have signed or ratified the Lisbon Convention, diplomas which on their own do not give access to UNIGE, can be enrolled under certain conditions: the same list of averages, admission certificates, university years and exams.

If your diploma does not meet the UNIGE conditions

The 2026-2027 conditions state that, if none of the conditions is met, a first university degree from a university and programme recognised by UNIGE allows enrolment; a special procedure for applicants without a recognised Swiss upper-secondary title is possible in some cases. UNIGE offers no bridge or upgrade course: enrolment rests only on the diplomas presented.

UNIGE may also ask foreign applicants to prove that they were not dismissed from another university or higher education school after failing exams or for any other reason.

No UNIGE assessment before you apply

UNIGE does not assess a case in advance. Its FAQ answers no to applicants who ask whether they would be admitted, and decides only on complete applications received through the procedure and within the deadlines.

Programme admission is a second layer. Beside the general enrolment conditions, the admission conditions of each programme are set by the study regulations of the faculty or programme, on its own pages. Medicine adds special admission conditions, and the Bachelor in multilingual communication requires a pass in its own admission exam; both have their own sections below.

UNIGE sets a separate condition for each foreign diploma in its enrolment conditions for 2026-2027, the latest published; the 2027-2028 list is not yet published. Under the 2026-2027 conditions, the French baccalauréat général needs an average of 12/20, the IB at least 32 points without bonus points, the Abitur an average of 2,5 or an admission certificate, a US High School Diploma 6 AP exams with a minimum of 3 in each, and the Polish matura an admission certificate from a Polish university.

The UNIGE country table gives, for each country, the recognised diploma and three columns of extra conditions: an average, other conditions, and exams. Where the exams column says French exam, you must pass UNIGE's French exam unless an exemption applies, for example a DELF B2 with the required points; the French chapter lists every exemption. Where an average is required and your diploma has no overall average from a final exam, UNIGE calculates the average from your grades in the last three years of upper-secondary school.

These are the 2026-2027 UNIGE conditions, and the deadlines that went with them have passed. UNIGE has not yet published the 2027-2028 country table, so check the new list before you apply for autumn 2027.

French baccalauréat at UNIGE

For the baccalauréat général since 2021, the 2026-2027 conditions ask for an average of 12/20 and two subject choices: spécialité mathématiques in première plus spécialité mathématiques or option mathématiques complémentaires in terminale, and spécialité sciences de la vie et de la Terre or physique-chimie in both première and terminale. If you miss the average, UNIGE accepts two years of study instead: an L2 with 120 crédits ECTS at a recognised university and programme in a Lisbon Convention country. The Faculty of translation and interpreting has its own conditions.

IB and European Baccalaureate at UNIGE

The IB and the European Baccalaureate must both be of general education. On top of that, the 2026-2027 conditions require the IB to have been followed continuously over the last two years, with three higher-level exams, one of them in a science (mathematics, chemistry, biology or physics), and three standard-level exams from UNIGE's list of subjects, and a total of at least 32 points without bonus points. The European Baccalaureate must have been followed continuously during the last three years.

Abitur, Polish matura and Italian diploma at UNIGE

For the Abitur, the UNIGE table prints an average of 2,5; if you do not reach it, you need an admission certificate for the same programme from a German university recognised by UNIGE. For the Polish matura, the table prints no average but always asks for an admission certificate for the same programme from a Polish university recognised by UNIGE, valid for the same application year. For the Italian diploma, the table lists the accepted liceo types and prints no average. All three rows carry the French exam in the exams column.

A-levels and the US High School Diploma at UNIGE

For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, UNIGE wants 6 subjects of general education: three at GCSE or AS level and three at A level, one of the A levels in mathematics, biology, chemistry or physics. For the United States, the High School Diploma counts only with 6 AP exams of general education at a minimum of 3 each. The 2026-2027 list names AP exams that are not recognised, among them Art History, Environmental Science, Psychology, Statistics, Music Theory, Studio Art, Art and Design, Comparative Government and Politics, and US Government and Politics. The US row does not name the SAT or the ACT; the AP exams are what it lists.

If your recognised foreign diploma comes from a country that has not signed or ratified the Lisbon Convention, or that is not a member of the Council of Europe, UNIGE admits you to a Bachelor only after you pass the ECUS, the complementary exam of Swiss universities, and a second failure is final. UNIGE's French ECUS page sets the registration fee at CHF 1'050, while its English page still prints CHF 870 next to the 2025 schedule.

The ECUS concerns applicants to a Bachelor, or to the Diplôme de français langue étrangère (DEFLE), whose foreign diploma UNIGE recognises but which was issued outside the Lisbon Convention area or the Council of Europe. UNIGE's country table shows, diploma by diploma, whether the ECUS applies. You do not register for the exam on your own: UNIGE informs applicants by postal mail after examining their enrolment application, with the instructions for registering.

What the ECUS covers

The ECUS has four compulsory subjects and one option, and UNIGE allows no exemption from any subject. If you aim for the Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Medicine, your option must be physics, chemistry or biology.

Because French is one of the subjects, the ECUS includes a French exam at level C1 of the CEFR. UNIGE therefore exempts ECUS candidates from its own French exam, both the general and the complementary tests.

ECUS fee and dates

UNIGE's French and English ECUS pages give different fees. The French page, as of October 2026, gives CHF 1'050; the English page gives CHF 870 under a 2025 schedule of written exams on 6-8 August 2025. The French page, under the heading Calendrier 2025, gave written exams from 6 to 8 August 2026 and oral exams from 10 to 13 August 2026. Those dates have passed, and UNIGE has not yet published the ECUS dates for 2027.

The ECUS also moves your application deadline. Under the 2026-2027 conditions, candidates subject to the ECUS had to apply by 28 February 2026, like candidates needing a visa. The brochure 2027-2028 names only the visa group for 28 February 2027, and the 2027-2028 conditions are not yet published, so plan on the earlier date if the ECUS applies to you.

Who is exempt from the ECUS

• Holders of a first university degree (a bachelor or a title judged equivalent) from a university and programme recognised by UNIGE, after at least three years and 180 ECTS credits: UNIGE may exempt them after an in-depth review of the file.
• Applicants to the Bachelor in multilingual communication of the Faculty of translation and interpreting: exempt, but the enrolment is then valid only for that programme, with no change of programme possible.

UNIGE expects good French, in principle at level B2 of the CEFR; if your programme requires French and you hold no exemption, UNIGE calls you to its own French exam, which costs CHF 100 and is held for the autumn semester on the Monday of week 36. A recognised certificate such as a DELF B2 with at least 60 points, 15 of them in written production, exempts you from the general test if you obtained it within the 4 years before the start of your studies.

French is, as a rule, the language of teaching at UNIGE, in particular at Bachelor level. Everything in this chapter follows UNIGE's French exam page as of October 2026, which names no academic year. UNIGE strongly advises applicants to sit one of the recognised French diplomas in their country of residence, and to claim the exemption you upload the diploma, or a pass certificate, on the UNIGE application portal within the deadline you are given.

Who sits the UNIGE French exam

If the programme requires French, anyone who has no exemption, lacks the skills or cannot certify them is called to the exam. The exam is a general test. Every candidate to the Faculté des lettres, including the École de langue et de civilisation françaises (ELCF), also sits a compulsory written complementary test. UNIGE tells you whether you must sit the exam in the decision on your application, sent by e-mail.

French certificates that exempt you from the general test

The certificate must have been obtained within the 4 years before the start of the semester you apply for: the Monday of week 38 for the autumn semester. These certificates exempt you from the general test only; UNIGE grants no exemption from the complementary test of the Faculté des lettres, including the ELCF.

Exemptions from the whole UNIGE French exam

A second list of exemptions covers the whole exam, general and complementary tests. According to UNIGE, you are exempt if you:

• hold Swiss or Liechtenstein nationality;
• hold a Swiss or Liechtenstein school-leaving diploma that meets UNIGE's enrolment conditions;
• hold a foreign school-leaving diploma that meets UNIGE's enrolment conditions and whose official language of instruction is French;
• hold a first university degree taught in French, from a recognised university and programme, after at least three years and 180 ECTS credits;
• passed the Année propédeutique or the Diplôme d'études de français langue étrangère (DEFLE) at the ELCF of UNIGE;
• hold the certificate or diploma of the Institut de langue et civilisations françaises of the University of Neuchâtel (UNINE);
• hold the UNIGE Certificat de français langue étrangère B2-C1;
• hold the UNIL Certificat de qualification en français (CQF) at least at level B2;
• are subject to the ECUS, which tests French itself;
• passed the French test of the FTI admission exam for the Bachelor in multilingual communication.

UNIGE French exam dates, fee and validity

UNIGE holds the exam for the autumn semester on the Monday of week 36 and for the spring semester on the Thursday of week 6. Registration costs CHF 100, paid as the application portal instructs. Results come a few days after the exam. A pass is valid for 4 years; after a fail, including an admission to the Année propédeutique or to DEFLE parcours A, you must sit the exam again.

If you fail the UNIGE French exam

A candidate who fails the general test narrowly is offered, if places allow, the Année propédeutique (AP) of the ELCF; passing it opens the chosen programme the following year. The AP starts only in the autumn semester. A candidate below the AP level cannot start studies in the semester applied for and must apply again for a later semester, within the deadlines, once the level is reached.

One Bachelor works differently. For the Bachelor in economics and management, the exam is only indicative if you meet the English-level conditions of the Faculty of economics and management (GSEM): with an insufficient result you can still start, but only in that programme, and you must take a French course of at least 2 hours a week in your first year. The French exam page refers to the GSEM English conditions without stating them.

Most UNIGE Bachelors have no admission test of their own: the 2026-2027 enrolment conditions, the latest published, base the US route on a High School Diploma with 6 AP exams at a minimum of 3 each and name no SAT or ACT, and UNIGE's enrolment conditions set no English-level requirement. The exceptions are the Bachelor in multilingual communication, which has its own admission exam, and human medicine, where a competition decides who enters the second year in 2026-2027.

SAT, ACT and the US route at UNIGE

UNIGE does not publish a SAT or ACT requirement or a minimum score for Bachelor entry. For US applicants, the UNIGE country table asks for a High School Diploma of general education with 6 Advanced Placement exams, each at a minimum of 3, plus the French exam column. The AP exams are the published route; the US row does not name the SAT or the ACT.

On English, UNIGE's FAQ, as of October 2026, states that the enrolment conditions define no requirement on the English level of applicants. The same answer adds that some Master programmes ask for a level, through GMAT or GRE tests, or TOEFL, IELTS or CAE, and sends you to the programme's director for those rules.

One group does sit an exam for entry: applicants subject to the ECUS. The ECUS has four compulsory subjects, among them English, written and oral, and the ECUS chapter above explains who takes it.

UNIGE Bachelors with their own selection

The FTI admission exam includes a French part, and a pass in that French test (active and passive language) exempts you from the UNIGE French exam. For medicine, the selection happens through the competition at the end of the first year, which the medicine chapter below explains with its 2026-2027 place numbers.

Does UNIGE interview Bachelor applicants?

UNIGE does not publish an interview for Bachelor admission. The enrolment steps it publishes run from the online application to the decision, with no interview stage named, and its pages neither require nor rule out an interview for a given programme. Each programme's own admission conditions sit in the study regulations of its faculty, published on the faculty's pages.

To start the Bachelor in human or dental medicine at UNIGE, you must also pre-register with swissuniversities between the beginning of December and 15 February before the autumn start; UNIGE's brochure 2027-2028 gives 15 February 2027 for this pre-registration. For 2026-2027 UNIGE capped the second year of human medicine at 160 places, allocated by first-year ranking.

Pre-registration with swissuniversities

An application to the Bachelor in human medicine or in dental medicine at UNIGE needs a second step beside the UNIGE application: a compulsory online pre-registration with swissuniversities. A pre-registration for a later academic year cannot be taken into account, and if the pre-registration is not made in time, or is refused, UNIGE gives no follow-up to your enrolment application for these programmes. The Bachelor in biomedical sciences is not concerned by this procedure.

Under the 2026-2027 conditions, the swissuniversities registration closed on 15 February 2026. For autumn 2027, the date printed in the brochure 2027-2028 is 15 February 2027. All required documents must be valid on 15 February before the autumn start, according to UNIGE's 2026-2027 conditions page.

Which foreign nationals UNIGE treats like Swiss applicants

Medicine has its own nationality rule. Under article 10 of the faculty's study regulations, as quoted on UNIGE's 2026-2027 conditions page, a candidate admitted without conditions must meet the enrolment conditions and, in addition, be Swiss or have a right to be treated as a Swiss citizen under article 12. Article 12 treats a foreign national who meets one of these conditions like a Swiss candidate:

• being a national of Liechtenstein;
• holding a C settlement permit in Switzerland or Liechtenstein;
• being a national of an EU member state, Iceland or Norway with a Swiss EU/EFTA residence permit for gainful activity and a job closely related to medical studies that has lasted at least one year without interruption;
• being the child of nationals of the EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein, with a Swiss residence permit as a family member of an EU citizen;
• living in Switzerland with a B permit and either a parent with a C permit, a Swiss spouse or a spouse with a C permit for at least five years, or a work permit held for at least five years;
• living in Switzerland with a B permit and a Swiss maturité after all schooling in Switzerland, or a Swiss bachelor's degree after all studies in Switzerland;
• being the child or spouse of a person with diplomatic privileges and immunities in Switzerland;
• being a refugee recognised by Switzerland or holding an F permit;
• holding, yourself or through a parent, a Geneva G cross-border permit for at least five years.

You must prove the condition by the last day of the swissuniversities registration period. The conditions page quotes article 10 only in part and states that the faculty's study regulations prevail; it does not spell out what applies to a foreign applicant who meets none of the article 12 conditions.

The second-year cap in UNIGE medicine

UNIGE's medicine regulation explains the cap: the number of students enrolled in the first year of human medicine exceeds the capacity of the following years. For 2026-2027, admission to the second year by competition was authorised, the capacity was 160 places, and the faculty may admit more than 160 students if needed for the groups the regulation names.

UNIGE gives its first-year places to the best-ranked students, from the top down until the capacity is filled, and admits everyone tied at the last admitted rank. The regulation applies only to 2026-2027; the 2027-2028 capacity is not yet published. Joining medicine in the second or third year from another university is possible only after a pre-registration in time, and UNIGE warns that the chances of such an outside application are extremely low.

For autumn 2027, UNIGE's brochure 2027-2028 gives two Bachelor deadlines: 28 February 2027 if you need a visa by nationality, and 30 April 2027 for all other candidates. You apply online in six steps, from a Switch edu-ID account to the confirmation of your enrolment, and holders of a foreign diploma pay a CHF 65 registration fee that is not refunded.

UNIGE deadlines for autumn 2027

The brochure Étudier à l'UNIGE 2027-2028 is the only UNIGE document that prints 2027 dates; the detailed 2027-2028 enrolment conditions are not yet published. Under the 2026-2027 conditions, the latest published, the deadline of 28 February 2026 applied to candidates subject to the ECUS by the country of their diploma, and to candidates who, by nationality, need a visa for a stay of more than 90 days, whatever their current home, unless they held a Swiss residence permit valid beyond 30 April. All others had until 30 April 2026. Those dates have passed.

If the ECUS applies to you, plan on 28 February 2027: the brochure 2027-2028 names only the visa group for that date, but the 2026-2027 conditions put ECUS candidates on the same early deadline. UNIGE's FAQ gives the autumn windows as 15 January to 28 February or 15 January to 30 April, depending on your profile and situation.

The six UNIGE application steps

The UNIGE registration fee is not refunded for any reason, refusal, withdrawal or an unfinished application included. If you are accepted, it is deducted from your first semester, so you pay CHF 435 instead of CHF 500. Holders of a Swiss or Liechtenstein diploma skip this step.

Starting a UNIGE Bachelor in the spring semester

UNIGE also has spring windows: the steps page gives 30 September or 30 November as the spring deadlines, and the FAQ windows from 15 September, depending on your case. Not every programme opens in the spring: UNIGE publishes a separate list of programmes open in the spring semester on its website. The swissuniversities pre-registration for medicine is made to start in the autumn, and the Année propédeutique in French starts only in the autumn semester.

A UNIGE Bachelor carries 180 ECTS credits and in principle lasts 3 years, or 6 semesters, according to the brochure 2027-2028, and the autumn semester starts on the Monday of week 38. UNIGE counts 652 programmes on its presentation page and 569 on its Bachelor and Master site, both across all levels, in 9 faculties.

How a UNIGE Bachelor is built

UNIGE measures all study work in ECTS credits. One full-time year equals 60 ECTS credits, and one credit stands for 25-30 hours of work, lectures, seminars, practical work and personal study included. The two programme counts above come from two UNIGE pages and both include Masters and continuing education; UNIGE does not give a separate count of its Bachelors on those pages.

UNIGE Bachelors by faculty

UNIGE's Bachelors sit in its nine faculties, listed in the chapter on who is who, and in institutes such as the Global Studies Institute (GSI). Examples named on UNIGE's own pages:

• Science: the Bachelors in chemistry, in biochemistry and in pharmaceutical sciences.
• Medicine: the Bachelors in human medicine and dental medicine, with their own swissuniversities procedure, and the Bachelor in biomedical sciences, which is outside that procedure.
• Economics and management (GSEM): the Bachelor in economics and management.
• Translation and interpreting (FTI): the Bachelor in multilingual communication, with its own admission exam.
• Global Studies Institute: two Bachelors, one in international relations and one in computational sciences and international relations.

Each UNIGE faculty or institute has its own study office or student secretariat, which handles course registration, exams and changes of direction within the faculty, and each programme sets its admission conditions in its study regulations. Check the regulations of the Bachelor you want before you apply.

Uni Dufour, a University of Geneva building in Plainpalais

The UNIGE academic year

According to UNIGE's FAQ as of October 2026, which names no year, the autumn semester starts on the Monday of week 38 and the spring semester on the Monday of week 8. The academic calendar for 2026-2027 runs the autumn semester over weeks 38 to 51 and the spring semester over weeks 8 to 22; the 2027-2028 calendar is not yet published.

UNIGE teaches its Bachelors in French as a rule: French is the language of teaching in particular at Bachelor level, and UNIGE's enrolment conditions set no English-level requirement for applicants. UNIGE does not publish a list of Bachelors taught in English; the one English-related route its French exam page names is for the Bachelor in economics and management at the GSEM.

For a UNIGE Bachelor, plan your French before anything else. UNIGE expects French at level B2 in principle, and the French chapter above sets out the exam and every exemption. English is tested for entry only inside the ECUS, where it is one of the four compulsory subjects, written and oral.

The English route at the GSEM

For the Bachelor in economics and management, the UNIGE French exam has only indicative value if you meet the English-level conditions set by the Faculty of economics and management. With an insufficient French result you can still start normally, but you are limited to that programme, with no change of direction, and in your first year you must attend a French course at your level for at least 2 hours a week, certified by UNIGE's Maison des langues.

The French exam page refers to the GSEM's English-level conditions without stating them, so the score or certificate the GSEM accepts is set on the faculty's side. The GSEM describes its Bachelor programmes as preparing students for an international and constantly changing professional world; that page does not name a language of teaching.

Languages at the FTI

The Faculty of translation and interpreting offers Arabic, German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and sign language, according to the brochure 2027-2028. Its Bachelor in multilingual communication has an admission exam of its own, and a pass in the French part of that exam exempts you from the UNIGE French exam.

UNIGE charges CHF 500 per semester, made of CHF 65 in fixed fees and CHF 435 in supervision fees, and its FAQ states that this amount applies regardless of the student's nationality and of the programme; the brochure 2027-2028 gives the same CHF 500 per semester. Fees for the autumn semester are due by 30 September.

The CHF 500 figure on UNIGE's fees page and FAQ names no academic year; the brochure 2027-2028 prints the same amount. International students pay the same semester fee as Swiss students at UNIGE. What adds to the bill for an applicant from abroad are one-off charges at the application stage, set out below.

When UNIGE fees are due

UNIGE's semester fee deadlines are 30 September for the autumn semester and 28 February for the spring semester. You cannot pay before you are enrolled: the enrolment office sends the payment details only after confirming your enrolment. You then pay through the UNIGE portal, and UNIGE asks you to check after about 10 days that the payment has gone through.

If UNIGE accepts you, the CHF 65 registration fee you paid at the application stage is deducted from the first semester, so the first bill is CHF 435 instead of CHF 500. Students in financial difficulty can ask to be exempted from the CHF 435 supervision fee; the scholarships chapter explains who qualifies.

The cost of living in Geneva

UNIGE's housing page warns that rents and the cost of living in Geneva are relatively high and asks you to build this into your planning. UNIGE does not give a monthly budget figure on that page, so build your budget from the housing options in the housing chapter and from the rents you find for your own situation.

UNIGE's financial aid is need-based: UNIGE and HES-SO Genève can help students in difficulty, under set criteria, through grants, emergency aid and a fee exemption, and UNIGE does not publish a merit scholarship for international Bachelor applicants. For a new student the clearest lever is the exemption from the 435 francs supervision fee, requested between 15 and 30 September.

UNIGE's aid serves students who are already enrolled; there is no aid stage in the application itself. Applying for financial aid is free, and UNIGE states that applying does not guarantee that you receive aid. The financial aid pages are shared by UNIGE and HES-SO Genève; only the UNIGE rules apply to UNIGE students.

The UNIGE fee exemption

The semester fee of 500 francs is made of 65 francs of administrative fee and 435 francs of supervision fee, and the exemption covers the supervision part only. You still pay the administrative fee so that you are not removed from enrolment. To apply, you must:

• be enrolled at UNIGE;
• be in a difficult financial situation, as defined by UNIGE's directive on the exemption from supervision fees;
• not hold a cantonal grant or a study loan.

According to UNIGE's fee exemption page as of October 2026, the online form is available between 15 and 30 September each year. UNIGE then e-mails you to book a slot at the exo-taxes stands, where attending in person is compulsory. If you enrol late, after 30 September, you must come forward as soon as you receive your enrolment confirmation and within 7 working days; if you enrol for the first time in the spring semester, the deadline is 3 weeks after the date on the QR invoice.

Merit scholarships for international Bachelor applicants

UNIGE does not publish a merit scholarship for international Bachelor applicants on its financial aid pages; the aid it lists goes to enrolled students in financial difficulty, according to its criteria. Beside the semester fee of CHF 500, budget for living costs: UNIGE warns that rents and the cost of living there are relatively high. Plan your funding before you arrive.

UNIGE does not allocate student housing automatically, and registering with its housing office does not guarantee a room; the Bureau des logements de l'Université (BLOG) manages nearly 800 furnished rooms and studios and offers them in order of registration. A home address in Switzerland is needed for the student residence permit, so UNIGE advises you to start looking as soon as you decide to come to Geneva.

UNIGE says plainly that it has no automatic allocation of student housing, and that rents and the cost of living in Geneva are relatively high. The BLOG rooms are one option among several, and UNIGE points you to its partners as well.

Who can apply for BLOG housing

According to UNIGE's housing page as of October 2026, BLOG housing for students is reserved for students who are:

• adults, in a Bachelor or a Master, enrolled at UNIGE or at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Internationales et du Développement, or registered at UNIGE on an exchange run by its academic mobility service;
• on a gross income of no more than CHF 32'500 gross a year for a 100% activity rate;
• with parents, or one parent, who do not live in the Grand Genève area.

The same UNIGE page gives two different income figures. The eligibility list states the cap of CHF 32'500 gross a year, while the documents list asks students for a sworn statement that their income does not exceed CHF 2'500.00 a month. With the sworn statement you upload proof of enrolment valid for the period you request housing for.

How and when to register for UNIGE housing

You register online on the portal shared by UNIGE, the Cité universitaire de Genève and the Résidence universitaire internationale. For the year 2026, registrations run continuously, and from 16 to 30 November the list is updated: if you registered before 1 October, you must answer a renewal e-mail to stay on the waiting list; from 1 October, renewal is automatic. From 1 December 2026, registrations open each year from 1 December to 15 November of the following year.

Housing beyond the BLOG

UNIGE strongly encourages you to look at its partners as well: AGLAE, the Association genevoise pour le logement des étudiants, and 1h par m2, which offers housing in exchange for help. UNIGE also points to listings placed by private individuals. Its enrolment steps page adds that, once accepted, you should make sure you have housing booked before you arrive.

If you need a visa to enter Switzerland, UNIGE's brochure 2027-2028 sets your Bachelor application deadline at 28 February 2027, and once UNIGE confirms your choice of programme you must contact the Swiss representation for your place of residence at least 3 months before you enter Switzerland. Even if you do not need a visa, UNIGE states that you must hold a residence authorisation; with a study visa, you obtain the permit after arrival through an arrival declaration.

If you need a visa for Switzerland

According to UNIGE's entry page as of October 2026, a foreign applicant to a Bachelor who needs a Swiss entry visa applies for it, in principle, from the home country. You must hold the study entry visa before you come to Switzerland: entering on a tourist visa and then applying for a study stay is not admissible. UNIGE's FAQ applies this to applicants from countries with a visa obligation for a stay of more than three months, and UNIGE links to the federal rules on travel documents and visas by nationality.

The visa procedure takes time, so the FAQ strongly recommends contacting the Swiss consular authorities at the latest when you receive your pre-enrolment certificate. UNIGE itself cannot support your visa application. The study visa allows entry into Switzerland during its period of validity.

After you arrive in Geneva

Once in Switzerland, you file an arrival declaration with the communal or cantonal authorities to obtain the residence permit for study, and UNIGE recommends doing so without delay. The permit has a limited validity, and you must ask for its extension before it expires. For the permit you need a home address in Switzerland, which is why the housing chapter matters early.

If you do not need a visa

Nationals of countries without a visa obligation skip the visa steps, but UNIGE states that they too must hold a residence authorisation. Under the 2026-2027 conditions, the early application deadline depended on whether, by nationality, you need a visa for an entry of more than 90 days; if you do not, the brochure 2027-2028 gives the general deadline of 30 April 2027. If the ECUS applies to you, read the steps chapter first: the 2026-2027 conditions put ECUS candidates on the early date.

Official pages of Université de Genève (UNIGE), UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

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Photos: The main building of the University of Geneva (Uni Bastions) seen from the Promenade des Bastions: photo Dmitry A. Mottl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Students on the lawn in front of Uni Bastions, University of Geneva: photo JacquesE, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Uni Dufour, a University of Geneva building in Plainpalais: photo Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons