Switzerland is a small, landlocked confederation in Central Europe. Given its small territory and a population of nearly 8 mil., Switzerland is noted for ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity. At least 2 million of its population are emigrants. There are 3 established languages – Italian, German, and French.
Bern can be considered the capital city, other notable cities are Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Basel, and Lucerne.
Switzerland has a market economy – one of the most developed and stable worldwide, also considered the most competitive one globally, according to the World Economic Forum. The Swiss franc is considered one of the strongest global currencies, with the lowest inflation rate. The country nominal per capita GDP is higher than that of the big European economies and Japan. Economic freedom in the country ranks it second in Europe.
The Swiss tertiary education follows the European structuring of education with Bachelor’s (3 yrs.), Master’s and PhD degree courses. There are 12 state universities in the country, which include the two federal institutes – one in Zurich, where instruction is in German, and the other – in Lausanne, where instruction is in French. 7 of the tertiary schools are technical universities.
Bachelor’s programs: 3 yrs.
Master’s programs: 1-2 yrs.
In Swiss education, the focus is placed on practical training, as well as mandatory provision of internships to graduates. Universities in the country offer some 300 different specialties. Furthermore, all of them are noted for small to medium classes and individual attention, unlike most European universities where instruction is offered in sizable groups. The largest university in Switzerland is the University of Zurich with some 24 000 students, while the smallest one is the University of Lucerne with 1 700 students. International students are attracted to apply in Switzerland not only due to the option of studying in different language but also because of the fact that the education system has a strong practical focus. As an example, those studying hotel-keeping and restaurant-keeping reside in a genuine hotel where they lodge and dine in order to learn all practices in the sector and build a sense of comfort, professionalism, and managerial skills. Some of the best known tertiary schools for hotel-keeping and restaurant-keeping are the Swiss Education Group Schools. The ETN institute in Zurich has achieved global recognition due to its extensive experience and accomplishments in research, as well as the application of state-of-the-art technologies in the training of its students.
Nearly 17% of the total number of students in Switzerland are internationals, most of whom choose the country for their Master’s programs (27%) or doctoral studies (52%).
Some of the most desired specialties in Switzerland are:
The most preferred specialties at the highly esteemed ETH institute are architecture and engineering sciences.
Switzerland is famous not only for the chocolate, clocks, and banking sector, but also its superb educational system. It includes some of the best known universities worldwide for MBA, according to the Financial Times Ranking, such as:
10 Swiss universities also make it in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the highest position naturally going to ETH (10th worldwide). Other esteemed universities in that ranking are:
