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Switzerland

The cheapest tuition of any destination here, at two of the best universities in Europe — taught in German and French.

Figures are for 2027 entryLast checked

At a glance

Who it suitsStudents who already read German or French, or are willing to spend a year getting there, and whose family can carry Swiss living costs.

Language of instruction
⚠️ German at ETH, French at EPFL — and ETH wants the German certificate by the 31 March application deadline, not later [5]
Tuition, ETH Zurich
CHF 2,190 a semester for international students since autumn 2025, against CHF 730 for Swiss students — CHF 4,380 a year [2]
Tuition, University of Geneva
CHF 500 a semester, with no higher rate for foreign students on the page [1]
Living costs
CHF 22,100 a year on ETH's own budget, of which CHF 11,300 is a room in the canton of Zurich [3]
Work during study
15 hours a week in term — but bachelor's students must wait 6 months after arriving before working at all [8]
Stay and work after
6 months from the date of graduation, needing CHF 10,500 in the bank, and it cannot be extended [9]

Which qualification leads where

  • IB DiplomaGood route

    The only one of these four that can avoid an entrance examination: 38 of 42 points without bonus points, with Higher Level mathematics, a science and a language A. [12]

  • A-LevelPossible

    Three A-Levels in mathematics, a science and a language at grade A, plus four more AS or GCSE subjects, can admit you without the examination — but ⚠️ A-Levels taken alongside another school system instead of the British one send you to the comprehensive entrance examination. [12]

  • AP and a US high-school diplomaPossible

    At best the reduced entrance examination: a diploma plus three APs scoring at least 3 in mathematics, a science and a language. Otherwise the comprehensive one. [12]

  • GaokaoPossible

    ⚠️ ETH asks for the gaozhong certificate AND a place at a recognised Chinese university in the same subject, AND the reduced entrance examination. Without the university place, the comprehensive examination. [12]

  • Chinese high-school diploma onlyHard

    The comprehensive entrance examination — eight subjects, in the teaching language. [12]

Universities to look at

  • ETH Zurich Zurich

    Accepts The main teaching language in every bachelor's programme is German, and you must meet the language requirement by the 31 March deadline. ETH decides which entrance examination you face only after your application is in.

    Tuition a year CHF 4,380 a year, or CHF 4,528 with the compulsory semester fees

    Admissions page → [2]

  • EPFL Lausanne

    Accepts French at B2 is required and C1 recommended. Non-EU applicants enter through the foundation year or the entrance examination.

    Tuition a year CHF 2,190 a semester for international students, plus about CHF 50 in association and sports fees

    Admissions page → [13]

  • University of Zurich Zurich

    Tuition a year CHF 720 a semester, plus a CHF 500 surcharge for foreign students at bachelor level

    Admissions page → [14]

  • University of Geneva Geneva

    Accepts Teaching is in French.

    Tuition a year CHF 500 a semester — CHF 65 fixed and CHF 435 for supervision

    Admissions page → [1]

Your checklist

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The language, first and above everything

The entrance examination

Apply

Money and permit

Timeline

  1. Sep 2025 24 months before passed

    Start German or French. This is the step that decides whether Switzerland is possible at all. [5]

  2. Sep 2026 12 months before passed

    Work out which entrance examination your qualification leads to, and prepare for it. [12]

  3. Dec 2026 9 months before

    The ETH application opens on 1 December. [11]

  4. Mar 2027 6 months before

    Submit by 31 March, with the language certificate already in hand. [11]

  5. Jun 2027 3 months before

    Arrange the bank confirmation of CHF 21,000 and apply for the residence permit. [15]

  6. Aug 2027 1 month before

    Find a room — CHF 11,300 a year is the Zurich average, and rooms go early. [3]

Money

Compare all destinations →
A year
¥190,000 – ¥230,000
Whole degree
¥560,000 – ¥680,000 over 3 years

Converted to RMB at two significant figures — the rate moves and the ranges are wide. Rate: European Central Bank: euro foreign exchange reference rates, 18 September 2026, checked .

Tuition
CHF 1,000 a year at Geneva, CHF 4,380 at ETH, CHF 2,440 at Zurich with the foreign-student surcharge [1]
The fee tripled
⚠️ Since autumn 2025, ETH and EPFL charge international students CHF 2,190 a semester where Swiss students pay CHF 730. Any figure you read from before that date is wrong [2]
Living costs
CHF 22,100 a year: CHF 11,300 rent, CHF 7,200 food, CHF 1,320 health insurance, CHF 586 transport, CHF 1,680 personal [3]
Study and living, all in
CHF 28,100 a year on ETH's own total for an international student, or CHF 31,400 for architecture [3]
Money you must show
CHF 21,000 a year, confirmed by a bank on FINMA's authorised list, in your own name — lower than the real cost of living [15]
The other Switzerland
A private hospitality school is a different country financially: EHL's compulsory fees total CHF 183,874 over a preparatory year and three years [16]

Scholarships and funding

  • The famous scholarships are for master's students [17]

    The ETH Excellence Scholarship is CHF 12,000 a semester plus a tuition waiver, and EPFL's Excellence Fellowships CHF 10,000 a semester.

    Both require a completed bachelor's degree and are closed to undergraduates. Do not plan a Swiss bachelor's around them.

  • Need-based social scholarships [19]

    ETH offers need-based social scholarships at bachelor and master level.

    This is the honest answer for an incoming international undergraduate: no merit scholarship for new bachelor's students was found at either federal institute.

Visa

  • The migration office of your canton issues the permit, and it wants a bank confirmation that you can reach CHF 21,000 a year. [15]
  • The account must be in your own name, in Swiss francs, euros or US dollars, at a bank on FINMA's authorised list. A guarantee declaration from a solvent Swiss resident is the alternative. [15]
  • Cantons set their own figures, so check the one you are moving to rather than assuming Zurich's. [15]

Work during and after studies

  • ⚠️ Bachelor's students from outside the EU may not work for the first 6 months after arriving. [8]
  • After that, up to 15 hours a week during the semester, and full time in the lecture-free periods. [8]
  • After graduating you may extend the permit by 6 months to look for work, counted from the date of graduation rather than from when the permit expires. [9]
  • Those 6 months cannot be extended, the 15-hour cap still applies during them, and you need CHF 10,500 in the bank to be granted them. [9]

When you arrive

  • Register with the commune and the cantonal migration office to collect your residence permit. [15]
  • Take out Swiss health insurance: ETH budgets CHF 1,320 a year for a non-EU student. [3]
  • Remember the 6-month waiting period before you may take any paid work. [8]

Common mistakes

  • The single biggest mistake is assuming the bachelor's is in English because the master's is. ETH says in its own words that the main teaching language in all bachelor's programmes is German. [5]
  • Cheap tuition is not a cheap degree. CHF 4,380 of tuition sits beside CHF 22,100 of living costs — the fee is a sixth of the bill. [2]
  • The permit figure of CHF 21,000 is below ETH's own living-cost estimate. Meeting the permit threshold does not mean you can afford the year. [15]
  • Almost every Chinese applicant sits an ETH entrance examination. Only the IB, at 38 of 42 with the right Higher Level subjects, avoids it. [12]
  • You cannot work your way through the first year. Six months of no work, then 15 hours a week, against CHF 22,100 of costs. [8]

Sources

  1. University of Geneva: registration fees checked
  2. ETH Zurich: tuition fees checked
  3. ETH Zurich: cost of living, the student budget checked
  4. EPFL: the bachelor's degree checked
  5. ETH Zurich: bachelor's degree programmes checked
  6. EPFL: bachelor's admission checked
  7. ETH Zurich: admission prerequisites with a non-Swiss certificate checked
  8. ETH Zurich: employment for non-EU students checked
  9. ETH Zurich: residence permit for job-seeking checked
  10. EPFL: immigration and the law on foreigners checked
  11. ETH Zurich: how to apply checked
  12. ETH Zurich: admission requirements by country, 2026/27 checked
  13. EPFL: tuition fee and other fees checked
  14. University of Zurich: fees checked
  15. University of Zurich: entry and residence guidelines checked
  16. EHL Hospitality Business School: tuition fees checked
  17. ETH Zurich: Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme checked
  18. EPFL: master's Excellence Fellowships checked
  19. ETH Zurich: financial matters checked

Rules and fees change. Everything here was checked against the official pages on the date shown. Confirm on those pages before you apply or pay.

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