Entries stabilising at a high level
The autumn semester at ETH Zurich begins on 15 September. Whereas the number of new Bachelor’s degree students remains flat, the number of Master’s degree students has seen a slight increase.
In brief
- The latest figures show that around 3,650 new Bachelor’s degree students have registered for a degree programme – roughly the same number as in the previous year. After strong growth in preceding years, entries are stabilising at a high level.
- Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science continue to be the most popular Bachelor’s degree programmes, followed by Architecture, Health Sciences and Electrical Engineering.
- There has been a slight increase in the number of new Master’s degree students compared to the previous year.
Around 3,650 – that is how many bachelor's students have registered for a degree programme – roughly the same number as in the previous year. However, this figure may still change, as not all those who enrol also start their study programme. After strong growth in the previous year (up 13 percent), the number of new Bachelor’s degree students is stabilising at the high level of 2024.
“The number of students at ETH Zurich has grown strongly over the past 10 years – which speaks in favour of the attractiveness of an ETH study programme. Our aim is to maintain the quality of teaching even in a situation of greater budget constraints,” says ETH Rector Günther Dissertori.
As in the previous year, about 35 percent of new Bachelor’s degree students are women. 80 percent of new Bachelor’s degree students completed their Matura in Switzerland. The remaining 20 percent are international students, most of which from Germany or Austria.
Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science remain popular
Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science continue to be among the most popular Bachelor’s degree programmes. They are followed by Architecture, Health Sciences and Electrical Engineering. However, the traditional Bachelor’s degree programmes in Physics and Mathematics also continue to attract a lot of interest. ?
For new Bachelor’s degree students with a foreign university entrance qualification, tuition fees from CHF 730 to CHF 2,190 will be charged for the first time in the autumn semester. Despite this three-fold increase, roughly the same number of international students enrolled for a Bachelor’s degree programme as in the previous year.
“It’s not yet possible to say so soon what effect the higher tuition fees will actually have. We are therefore monitoring closely whether more or fewer students with a foreign university entrance qualification decide to study at ETH in the coming years,” explains Dissertori.
Slight increase in Master’s degree entries
The precise number of entries at Master’s degree level will not be known until after the start of the semester, as enrolment has not yet been completed. However, it is already becoming apparent that slightly more students will start their Master’s degree programme at ETH than in the previous year.
The majority of ETH Bachelor’s degree graduates continue their studies at the Master’s degree level at ETH. Students from other universities in Switzerland and abroad also apply. Overall, international students make up 42 percent of all Master’s degree students. Of the new international students entering the Master’s degree level this year, the majority acquired their previous education in Italy, Germany, the USA and the Netherlands.
New continuing education and training programmes
With its continuing education and training programmes, ETH promotes the transfer of knowledge to industry and society. The new CAS ETH in Infrastructure Construction Management offers students the opportunity to acquire comprehensive knowledge of the entire life cycle of infrastructure buildings.
ETH Zurich is also responding to an increasingly urgent problem for companies and SMEs with its new MAS ETH in Cyber Security. The courses are aimed at computer scientists specialising in cyber security at their businesses who want to deepen their technical expertise.
And with the MAS ETH in AI and Digital Technology, executives also have the opportunity to acquire in-depth expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine-assisted learning and algorithms.