Education system in Switzerland

Switzerland has one of the best education systems in the world, highly recognised all over the world for its excellence and quality. Switzerland encourages inclusion of students from different parts of the world. The ultimate aim of education in Switzerland is to help the students develop their potential and thus ontribute towards the development of the country. In Switzerland, academic programs are offered in four different languages– German, French, Italian and English. In short, the education system of Switzerland is one of the most diverse and flexible systems in the entire world.

The practice-oriented education system is what makes Switzerland an attractive destination for students. Education in Switzerland has been divided into three levels- primary, secondary and tertiary. The higher education, especially universities and higher vocational training, comes under the tertiary level. Higher education in Switzerland has three stages- Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degree courses. Switzerland offers a number of PhD programs, which creates an environment favourable for research.

Universities in Switzerland

Switzerland has two types of universities– those providing general education and universities of applied sciences. Other than those, the country also has a number of higher technical schools that provide higher vocational training which leads to vocational certificates and higher vocational diplomas. University education in Switzerland follows the bachelor-master system. As other European countries, Switzerland also follows the Bologna system, which makes it easy for international students to move to universities in other countries.

Education in Switzerland is primarily the responsibility of the government and at higher levels, the responsibility is jointly shared by cantons (Member states of the Swiss confederation. Switzerland has 26 cantons) and the federal government. Ninety percent of the public expenditure on education in Switzerland is financed by cantons.

Switzerland has 12 universities. Ten are run by cantons while two are run by the Swiss Confederation. The universities run by the Confederation provide study programs in technical subjects and they are called Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. The universities run by the cantons offer courses on non-technical subjects.

Private universities in Switzerland

Besides the public institutions of higher learning described above, Switzerland has a number of private universities and educational institutes as well. These institutions are also internationally recognized for their educational excellence. They offer courses in language studies, hospitality, service, besides management courses such as BBA, MBA, Executive MBA and DBA.