
Each institution sets its own semester fee, the same for EU and non-EU students – e.g. CHF 500 at the University of Lausanne and CHF 2,190 for international students at ETH Zurich. Switzerland has 10 cantonal universities, 2 federal institutes of technology and universities of applied sciences, with more than 4,000 programmes in total. Find out when to apply, how to plan your budget and how many hours you may work.
Each institution sets its own tuition fees, which you pay every semester. Note: many institutions charge international students more than Swiss students – and citizenship of an EU country does not get you the lower rate.
In 2026/27 the fees for international students are, for example, CHF 2,190 at EPFL, CHF 2,550 at the University of Bern and CHF 4,000 at USI. The Study in Switzerland portal gives a general range of CHF 500–4,000 per semester. These rates apply to EU and non-EU students alike.
Sources: European Commission – Study in Europe (education.ec.europa.eu/study-in-europe), Eurostat, official national study and residence portals and authorities, Eurodesk, enic-naric.net, studentnews.eu. As of September 2026.