ETH Zurich

Overview

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It was founded in 1855 by the Swiss Federal Government with the main purpose of educating scientists and engineers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The university goes by its English name, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and is colloquially referred to as “Polytechnikum.”

ETH offers bachelor’s, masters, doctorate, and diploma programs. Bachelor’s programs are divided into five areas of studies namely humanities, social and political sciences, system-oriented natural sciences, engineering, science and math, and architecture and building sciences. Examples of majors include Spatial Engineering, Computer Science, Biochemistry, and Earth and Climate Sciences.

ETH offers two types of master’s degrees: Consecutive and Specialized. Consecutive Master’s programs are essentially the continuation and deeper study of the content of their bachelor’s programs. There is at least one Consecutive Master’s program offered for each bachelor’s degree.

Specialized Master’s programs are special topics that cater to a wide range of interests. These topics are taught using an interdisciplinary approach and with a global focus. Examples of Specialized Master’s programs include Biomedical Engineering, Comparative and International Studies, Landscape Architecture, Quantitative Finance, and Atmosphere and Climate.

Doctoral studies focus on independent research work supported by a professor. Most doctoral students at ETH work as scientific assistants and are required to take an active role in the teaching activities of their respective departments.

Diploma or non-degree programs target students from other universities who wish to spend part of their studies at ETH or take up short courses. Students can choose to participate as specialist students (those whose universities have special cooperation with ETH), or they can attend Summer School programs. Also, students can participate in student exchange programs or as “listeners,” attending courses at ETH open to all persons.

German is the main language of instruction for most of the bachelor’s programs at ETH. International students need to present proof of their German language proficiency in order to be admitted into undergraduate courses. Most master’s programs and doctoral studies, on the other hand, are taught in English.

Today, ETH ranks as one of the leading science and technology universities in the world. It has produced 21 Nobel laureates and various scientific milestones throughout its 150-year history. These include publishing scientific principles for steam and gas turbines, the Pascal programming language, and the structural analysis of proteins using NMR.

As a response to the rise of computer-assisted data processing and the sweeping effects of globalization, ETH has created more flexible organizational structures. It has established new research units and research, in general, has shifted to a more integrated and interdisciplinary approach.