Fact sheet for the Swiss-​European Mobility Programme

List of Departmental Exchange Coordinators

ETH Zurich
Academic Services
Student Exchange Office
R?mistrasse 101
HG F 24.3
8092 Zurich
SWITZERLAND

+41 44 342 11 88 (24 hours / 7 days a week.)

Nomination by email to  by

• Autumn Semester: 25 March
• Spring Semester: 25 September

These deadlines apply for exchange students taking courses and/or writing a thesis/project with an exchange spot.

• Student¡¯s full name, date of birth, and email address
• Number of exchange semesters (1 or 2)
• Study program at home university 
• ETH department the student is nominated for (ISCED or subject code on exchange agreement). Please note that students must apply for the department they are nominated for (see ¡°academic information¡±).
• Purpose of exchange (courses or project/thesis)

Students must apply online.

• Autumn Semester: beginning of February to 1 April
• Spring Semester: beginning of September to 1 October

Students can expect to receive the admission decision at the latest on 10 June (autumn semester) or 10 November (spring semester).

• Students must have completed at least 2 years/120 ECTS of their studies at university level in a relevant study field before the planned start of their exchange period.
• Conditions set by the department

ETH Zurich reserves the right to decline applications from students who have not yet been able to establish a solid academic track record at the sending institution. 

• The language of instruction is English or German. For more details see the course catalogue.
• For all fields of study, a B2 level of English and/or German (depending on the chosen courses) is required, but a C1 level is strongly recommended.
• No language certificate is required. We trust our partners to nominate students with the required language level.
• A 2-week intensive German course is offered before the start of the semester. Regular external page German courses are offered during the semester as well.

• Please check the course catalogue.
• All exchange students are expected to aim at a minimum workload of 20 ECTS per semester.
• A workload of 30 ECTS or more may be overwhelming for students not used to ETH¡¯s highly demanding academic environment. We recommend students take between 20 ¨C 26 ECTS per semester.
• The majority of courses (generally 2/3) must be taken within the assigned
  department.
• More details are available in the study plan guidelines and conditions set by the departments. Undergraduate students may combine courses from Bachelor's and Master's level if they have the necessary prerequisites.

Students have the option to do project or thesis work. We differentiate between students as follows:

With a spot within one of our exchange agreements:

• The project must be within the semester dates
• Students must:
  • be nominated by their home university
  • independently find a supervising professor at ETH Zurich
  • apply within the regular application deadlines.
• The project can be combined with coursework.

Without a spot within the exchange agreement:

• Students apply independently as project mobility students.
• Project mobility students do not pay study fees and do not receive a SEMP scholarship.
• These students can apply until 2 months before their desired starting date (3 months in advance if a visa is needed).
• As these students apply without a spot within the exchange agreement, they do not count toward the balance between ETH and the partner institution. 

• Academic calendar
• ETH Zurich has unusually late examination periods (session examinations). It is possible for students to prepone examinations under certain conditions. If a distance examination is not possible for a course, it is indicated in the tab on performance assessments in the Course Catalogue. 
   

For more information see ETH Zurich¡¯s Grading System and ECTS Grades. 

Before the semester starts, we will issue an electronically signed Learning Agreement based on the student¡¯s approved study plan handed in with their application. We appreciate our partners accepting the SEMP Learning Agreement format.

The Learning Agreement can be adjusted after the beginning of the semester. A final electronically signed Learning Agreement will be issued.

Students must request their transcript once all of their grades have been published.

• Incoming students within the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP) will receive a scholarship from the Swiss Government, paid by ETH Zurich.
• Students with an exchange spot* apply automatically for the scholarship by applying for their exchange period. No separate application is necessary.
• Students receive a scholarship for 5 months per exchange semester, independent of the exact duration of the stay. Students receive the scholarship at the beginning of the semester.
• Students can only receive a scholarship for maximum one academic year during their exchange.

 *Only project and thesis students nominated with a spot within an exchange agreement are eligible for a SEMP scholarship.

The amount of the scholarship depends on the country in which the home university is located:

• DK, FI, GB, IS, IE, LI, LU, NO, SE: CHF 1,900 per semester
• AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FR, GR, HR, HU, IT, LT, LV, MK, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, RS, SI, SK, TR: CHF 2,200 per semester

ETH is committed to sustainability and encourages all exchange students travelling from Europe to Switzerland to choose an environmentally friendly means of transport. Students who receive a SEMP scholarship and travel environmentally friendly receive a ¡°top up¡± of CHF 100.

Please check out our additional scholarships opportunities.

Detailed information and the necessary documents will be sent to students after their application has been accepted.

Detailed information will be sent to the students after their application has been accepted. Due to high demand, housing cannot be guaranteed. Housing is particularly limited in the autumn semester whereas in the spring there is more housing available.

Detailed information will be sent to the students after their application has been accepted and upon their arrival. Please see the health insurance website for more information.

For information and support refer to the Disability Advisory Service. Students interested in applying for exchange at ETH should contact this Student Service before applying to make sure that ETH can provide the support needed.

Students can ask for a possible exchange extension, provided the home university agrees and has free spots within the exchange agreement. An extension is only possible within the same academic year (from the fall to the spring semester).