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ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)

  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
24 202  Arts & Humanities15  Natural Sciences
13  Engineering & IT160  Social Sciences
World Rankings67  Life Sciences & Biomedicine
42269  Arts & Humanities18  Natural Sciences
13  Engineering & IT170  Social Sciences
World Rankings57  Life Sciences & Biomedicine
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  • Profile
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  • Additional Info
  • Departments
  • Scholarships

Where Einstein Started his Career

Consistently ranked the top university in continental Europe, ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is a leading player in research and education in Switzerland and worldwide.

ETH Zurich's 16 departments offer Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes in engineering and natural sciences. The language of instruction in the Bachelor programmes is German, whereas English is the prime language on the graduate level. All degree programmes provide a solid scientific foundation combined with outstanding all-round skills, equipping ETH graduates with the abilities and flexibility needed for a career in industry, business or the public sector, as entrepreneur or scientist.

The international outlook - two-thirds of all professors are international - and the excellent teaching and research infrastructure make ETH Zurich the ideal place for creative personalities. The links with business and industry are very close, Zurich being the economic center of Switzerland and home to numerous international companies. And beyond world-class education, Zurich also offers many other quality-of-life highlights. Zurich has a metropolitan flair, excellent sports facilities, an extensive range of cultural and recreational offerings - and a very vibrant nightlife.

Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme

Under the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme ETH Zurich awards merit-based scholarships to excellent students wishing to pursue a Master's degree.

The scholarship covers the full study and living costs during the Master degree course. In addition, the programme offers students the opportunity to carry out a research or development project on a topic of their choice.

Who can apply?

Application for an Excellence Scholarship is open both to ETH students and students from other universities wishing to pursue their Master’s degree at ETH Zurich. The scholarship can be awarded to students with very good performance in their bachelor study who belong to the best of their class.

The application consists of

  • an application form, including
  • a proposal for a research or development project
  • letters of recommendation from two professors

If you are applying for more than one Master programme, please submit a separate application form for each degree programme for which you wish to be considered for an Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Award. 

Students who have already been admitted to a Master programme can no longer apply for the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme.

Research or development project

The research or development project is an integral part of the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme. The project is carried out during the Master studies and independently of the obligatory courses. It can be done at ETH Zurich, at an associated research unit or in a company.

The topic of the project is of your own choosing. As a rule, the project should be carried out during your Master studies at ETH Zurich, but it can build on earlier work.

Supervision and funding are provided by the unit where the project is carried out. For projects carried out externally, a co-supervisor is appointed from ETH faculty.

Scholarship amount and duration

The Excellence Scholarship consists of a grant covering living and study expenses (CHF 1,750 per month). The scholarship is awarded for the regular duration of study of the student’s Master programme (three or four semesters). It can be prolonged for one additional semester in justified cases.

The Excellence Scholarship is awarded independently of the scholarship holders’ financial situation.


Faculty
Number of Faculty Staff Headcount: 1,578 FTE: 1,319
Total number of academic faculty staff who are responsible for planning, directing and undertaking teaching only, research only or both teaching and research. Please include: vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, principals, professors, heads of school, associate professors, principal lecturers, tutors or postdoctoral researchers. Please exclude research assistants*, PhD students who contribute to teaching, hospital residents and exchange scholars or visiting faculty staff who are members of another university. * The important distinction for us is that staff counted as 'research only' should be academically involved in that research and should be likely to publish research outputs. A research assistant, in our understanding, is any individual who is not doing own research and is therefore not likely to publish own research outputs. Said individual is (only) involved in research in terms of operation execution , such as lab technician or equipment operator.
Number of International Faculty Staff Headcount: 821 FTE: 722
Number of academic faculty staff who are of foreign nationality. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even if from another EU state. In Hong Kong, this includes professors from Mainland China. Inclusion and exclusion mirrors those for academic faculty staff. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained.
Undergraduate Information
Number of Undergraduate Students Headcount: 7,161 FTE: 7,161
Number of students pursuing a Bachelor’s level or equivalent degree. This excludes certificates/diplomas and associate’s degrees.
Number of International Undergraduate Students Headcount: 1,012 FTE: 1,012
Number of undergraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if the language students take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'undergraduate degree program' they should be included under 'international undergraduate students' . Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'.
Average International Undergraduate Fees € EUR 810
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Domestic Undergraduate Fees € EUR 810
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for an undergraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Graduate / Postgraduate Information
Number of Graduate / Postgraduate Students Headcount: 6,838 FTE: 6,838
Students pursuing a higher-level degree (Master and Doctorate), including both taught and research postgraduates (e.g. PhD students)
Number of International Graduate/Postgraduate Students Headcount: 2,609 FTE: 2,609
Number of graduate / postgraduate students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained. Please exclude all exchange students. As for language students, if they take up a particular language course that is outlined as 'postgraduate degree program', they should be included under 'international postgraduate students'. Language students who take part in a course not contributing to a degree qualification should be counted under 'Total International Students'.
Average International Graduate / Postgraduate Fees € EUR 810
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that an international student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Average Domestic Graduate / Postgraduate Fees € EUR 810
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for a graduate / postgraduate program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Number of first year Postgraduate students Headcount: 2,597
Number of students pursuing a Master's level or equivalent degree in their first year of study, including both taught and research postgraduates.
Students
Total Students Headcount: 13,999
Total number of students. This includes ALL students, not only undergraduate and graduate/postgraduate students.
Total International Students Headcount: 3,621
Number of students who are foreign nationals. The term 'international' is hereby determined by citizenship. For EU countries, this includes all foreign nationals, even nationals of other EU states. In Hong Kong, this includes students from Mainland China. In case of dual citizenship, the 'deciding' criteria should be 'citizenship obtained through birth', basically first passport obtained.
Average International Student Fees € EUR 810
Average tuition fees per year that an international student would be expected to pay for any course
Average Domestic Student Fees € EUR 810
Average tuition fees per academic year (two semesters) that a domestic student would be expected to pay for any program, with ‘program’ referring to the complete range of courses contributing to a degree. FAQ: How do I calculate average fees?
Graduate Output
Proportion of Graduates Pursuing Further Study 22%
Proportion of graduates from undergraduate programs pursuing further study at your own institution or any other within 6 months after graduation.
Proportion of Graduates Employed 73%
Proportion of graduates (excluding those opting to pursue further study) in permanent employment within 6 months of graduation
Number of PhDs Awarded 572
Total number of PhDs awarded in the last 12 months
Main claims to international academic or non-academic excellence

For over 150 years, ETH Zurich has been a leader in science and engineering education and research. Twenty-one Nobel laureates, from Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen (1901) and Albert Einstein (1921) to Kurt Wüthrich (2002) have been associated with ETH Zurich over the years.

Range of Fees

Tuition and student fees: 644 Swiss francs (approx 450 euro) per semester. The same fee applies for Swiss and international students.

Basic TOEFL/IELTS requirements

Master programs: Skills corresponding to level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for languages is required for the language(s) of instruction (English and/or German).
Corresponding test scores:
IELTS: 6.0
TOEFL
- Paper-based 550
- Computer-based 213
- Internet-based (new) 80

Accommodation

- Dormitory accommodation managed by the Student Housing Association Zurich.
- University Housing Office acts as broker for private accommodation.

Accommodation Range

450-600 Swiss francs (330-440 euro) per month for a room in shared accommodation.

Finance and Scholarships

Education at ETH Zurich is government funded, so all students - Swiss and foreign - pay the same modest tuition fees. For living costs, including accommodation, food, health insurance, local transport, students need to budget a minimum of 1750 Swiss francs (1300 euro) per month.
ETH Zurich's Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Program offers full scholarships for outstanding students.

Doctoral students are usually employed as research assistant.

ETH Zurich does not offer scholarships for international Bachelor students.

Entry Requirements

Master programs: the equivalent of an ETH Bachelor degree from a recognized university. Students with degrees that only partially corresponds to an ETH Bachelor, may be admitted with the additional requirement to complete up to 60 credits (two semesters) from the corresponding Bachelor program.
See www.admission.ethz.ch/master.

Doctoral study: the equivalent of a Master degree from ETH Zurich.
See www.phd.ethz.ch.

Bachelor programs: Swiss matriculation (upper secondary school) certificate or an equivalent qualification.
See www.admission.ethz.ch.

Language Support

Language courses offered by the Language Centre of ETH and the University of Zurich.

Non-English Language Requirements

For Bachelor programs:
German skills corresponding to level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. Accepted tests:
- Goethe-Institut: ZOP Zentrale Oberstufenpruefung, KDS Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom, GDS Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom
- KMK II (Level II of the Language Certificate/Diploma of the German "Kultusministerkonferenz"
- TestDaF Level 5

  • Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences
  • Department of Architecture
  • Department of Biology
  • Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering
  • Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences
  • Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
  • Department of Computer Science
  • Department of Earth Sciences
  • Department of Environmental Sciences
  • Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences
  • Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
  • Department of Management, Technology, and Economics
  • Department of Materials
  • Department of Mathematics
  • Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
  • Department of Physics
Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme. 30 available @ EUR 20,700

Under the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme, ETH Zurich awards merit-based scholarships to excellent students wishing to pursue a Master's degree. The scholarship covers the full study and living costs during the Master degree course. In addition, the programme offers students the opportunity to carry out a research or development project on a topic of their choice.

Specialisation
All disciplines represented at ETH Zurich

Application Process
Application for an Excellence Scholarship is open to students wishing to pursue their Master's degree at ETH Zurich. The scholarship can be awarded to students with very good performance in their bachelor study who belong to the best of their class.
The application consists of
- an application form, including
- a letter of motivation
- a pre-proposal for a Master's thesis
- two letters of recommendation from professors

Application URL
http://www.rektorat.ethz.ch/students/finance/scholarship/excellence/index_EN

Deadline
15th December 2009

Scholarships of the Swiss Confederation (ESKAS). 30 available @ EUR 20,700

Scholarships provided by the Swiss federal government for Master or doctoral programmes.

Specialisation
All disciplines represented at ETH Zurich

Application Process
Application forms can be obtained from the ministry of education or institution in charge of scholarships in the country of origin of the candidate or from the Swiss diplomatic representations.

Application URL
http://www.mobilitaet.ethz.ch/incomings/gov_scholarship/index_EN

Deadline
30th September 2010

Map: ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)

School Information

Country
Switzerland
Address
Raemistrasse 101 Zürich 8092
Website
Switchboard
41 44 6321111
Fax
+41 44 632 1010
Email
info@ethz.ch

Admissions Contact

Name
Graduate Admissions Officer
Position
Admissions Office
Email
master@ethz.ch