10 Facts About Education in Switzerland

Education in Switzerland is not only unconventional compared to many other nations but also compulsory.
With a wide variety of schools ranging from local Swiss schools to private schools to bilingual schools to
international schools, the education standards are extremely high and, much like Switzerland itself,
anything but boring.
1. The education system of Switzerland is largely decentralized. There exists 26 cantons, which are overseen by
the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). However, each canton creates and
implements its own standards, which can be detrimental for families moving from one region of the nation to
another.
2. Switzerland is ranked number nine out of 65 nations and economies in a recent OECD/PISA survey of
educational standards among 15-year-olds.
3. Most of the local and international schools are free but still exist at the cost of parents paying extremely high
taxes. Education in Switzerland is compulsory, so there really is no way for parents to sidestep paying such
taxes.
4. Compulsory education lasts for 911 years, with some children beginning compulsory education when they
are four years old and others at six years, until about 15 years old.
5. Since most students are educated in state schools, they will be learning in an environment that is rich in a
variety of cultures, including variations in linguistic backgrounds.
6. Like many universities in the U.S., Switzerlands school year conventionally begins between August and
September and will carry on for two periods of 12 weeks at a time.
7. However, the times in which schools operate may be a bit stressful for working parents. Younger students will
normally attend school in the morning with a break in the afternoon, which can be potentially problematic for
many parents. Many schools do offer supervised lunches and after school care to alleviate such
inconveniences.
8. The structure of Switzerlands system begins with primary education (a sort of kindergarten), then a lower
secondary education followed by an upper secondary education, which may even include vocational training.
The highest level, tertiary level education, is university level or higher education.
9. Home schooling is uncommon in Switzerland. In fact, laws addressing it vary from canton to canton, and in
some cantons, it is considered illegal.
10. Most notably, children and young adolescents with special educational needs have a right to education and
support from specialists from birth up until their 20th birthday. Children are assessed by specialized agencies
of their canton and are given support through their school, which is also mainly free, though some special
cases may vary.
1. Introduction:
Since Switzerland has no natural resources, education and knowledge have become very
important resources. Therefore Switzerland claims to have one of the world's best education
systems. Because the cantons are responsible for educational services (kindergarten, schools,
universities), education may vary significantly between cantons. For example, some cantons
start to teach the first foreign language at fourth grade, while others start at seventh grade.
This can turn moving with children between cantons into a nightmare.

In Switzerland, most children go to public schools. Private schools usually are expensive and
people tend to think that students of private schools probably didn't make it at the public
school. Public schools include "Kindergarten", "Volksschule" (elementary
school), "Gymnasium" (secondary school) and "Universitten" (universities). Most
municipalities provide kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. Most cantons provide at
least one secondary school. There are eleven universities in Switzerland, nine are run by
cantons, two are run by the confederation.

After elementary school, kids may either choose to go to secondary school or to start an
apprenticeship. In the later case, after finishing the apprenticeship, it is still possible to start an
academic career at either a secondary school or a so called "Fachhochschule"
(FH) (university of applied sciences).

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2. Schools:
In Switzerland, every child must attend at least the elementary school. Our country provides
various schools at different levels. Because the cantons are responsible for the educational
system, the names, the subjects, the starting age of the students and the duration vary
significantly between the cantons. The rest of this document therefore focuses on how it works
in the canton Zrich.

2.1 Kindergarten:

Unlike school, children may or may not be required to attend "Kindergarten", depending on
the region. However, attending Kindergarten becomes more an more mandatory and most
children do go to Kindergarten. They do not learn how to read and write but shall develop their
social capabilities and get used to sit quiet for a while and pay attention to the teacher. Children
may attend Kindergarten for one year or two years. Because they are supposed to start school
at the age of seven, they go to Kindergarten when they are five and six years old.

2.2 "Volksschule" (Elementary school):

The "Volksschule" (elementary school) is mandatory for all Swiss children. They must either
attend the public school or must go to a private school. Elementary school starts at the age of
seven and lasts at least eight, but usually nine years. Some schools offer an additional year for
kids who haven't either yet decided what to do after school, haven't found a job to start an
apprenticeship or haven't yet reached the age to start what they would like to do.
The "Volksschule" is divided into "Primarschule" and "Oberstufenschule":

In Zrich, "Primarschule" lasts six years. Usually, the children have only one teacher
who teaches all subjects.
"Oberstufenschule" lasts three years. Usually, there are at least two teachers for each
class, one teaches some, the second the other subjects. There may be other teachers
for some special subjects like gym, needlework, cooking and so on.
"Oberstufenschule" itself is divided into three different levels: They used to be
called "Sekundarschule", "Realschule" and "Oberschule", but there were some recent
changes to that. Today, the schools still provide three different levels, but students will be
assigned individually to one level per subject. This is true for major subjects such as math,
native language and first foreign language only; all other subjects are taught per class.

"Sekundarschule" is the highest level. Some apprenticeships require this level of

education. It is particularly required if a student wants to attend
a "Gymnasium" (secondary school) afterwards. "Sekundarschule" includes math,
geometry, native language (German in case of Zrich), first foreign language (french in
Zrich), geography, history and more. In addition, students may attend other subjects
like a second foreign language, usually English or Italian.
"Realschule" basically teaches the same subjects but not to the same extend.
"Realschule" takes care of students who have difficulties in learning.

After "Primarschule", students can also choose to go to "Gymnasium" (secondary school)

directly without going to the "Oberstufenschule"; in this case, the "Gymnasium" takes
6 years instead of 4 years (see also curriculum).

2.3 "Berufslehre" (Apprenticeship):

In Switzerland, most kids start a "Berufslehre" (apprenticeship) after elementary school.

Depending on the profession, an apprenticeship takes two to four years. Apprenticeships
include all kinds of professions, from handicraft (mechanician, carpenter, baker, hairdresser
etc.) to office worker (secretary, bookkeeper, IT specialist etc.). Apprentice will get trained at a
company or organization, but also attend school for one or two days a week. Some companies
also provide additional classes on their own.

After apprenticeship and depending on their education, young people can either start a job or
join other schools for further education, including so called "Fachhochschulen" (previously
known as "Hhere Technische Lehranstalt" (HTL), University of Applied Sciences).

2.4 "Gymnasium" (Secondary school):

There are various types of "Gymnasia" (secondary schools) with different emphasis and major
subjects:

The "Mathematisches und Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of

math and science) focuses on math and science, but teaches German and two foreign
languages as well (usually French and English or Italian). The "Neusprachliches
Gymnasium" (secondary school of modern languages) focuses on modern languages such as
German, French, Italian and English, but includes some math and science as well.
The "Altsprachliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of ancient languages) focuses on Latin
plus at least two other languages, but includes math and science subjects as well. There is also
the "Wirtschaftsgymnasium" (secondary school of economics) that focuses on economy.
Recently, new types of "Gymnasia" have been introduced, such as the "Musisches
Gymnasium" (secondary school of art) which focuses on music and art and
the "Sportgymnasium" (secondary school of sports) which emphasis on sportive activities.
All these secondary schools last either six and a half or four and a half years and lead to the so
called "Eidgenssische Matura" (federal graduation diploma) which is recognized at all
universities in Switzerland and at most universities in foreign countries.

The "Fachmittelschule" (upper secondary school) also leads to a graduation diploma.

Typically, a student of the "Fachmittelschule" would become a teacher afterwards, but she
or he is not limited to that subject.

Even after an apprenticeship, it is still possible to get a graduation diploma at a so

called "Maturittsschule" (graduation diploma school). After finishing such
a "Maturittsschule", a student can attend an university like a student who attended
a "Gymnasium". This path in the educational curriculum is known as "Zweiter
Bildungsweg" (secondary educational path).

2.5 "Universitt" (University):

There are eleven "Universitten" (universities) in Switzerland, nine of them are run by
a canton, two are run by the confederation. In general, the universities run by the cantons
provide non-technical subjects, whereas the universities run by the confederation provide
technical subjects. The later are therefore called "Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology".
To be able to attend an university, a student must have finished a "Gymnasium" and own a
graduation diploma. The study at an university usually lasts four and a half years.

The following universities are run by a canton:

1. Universitt Basel (BS)

2. Universitt Bern (BE)
3. Universitt Fribourg (FR)
4. Universitt Genf (GE)
5. Universit de Lausanne (VD)
6. Universit de Neuchtel (NE)
7. Universitt St. Gallen (SG)
8. L'Universit della Svizzera italiana (TI)
9. Universitt Zrich (ZH)

One of the technical universities run by the confederation is located in the German speaking
part of Switzerland, the other in the French speaking part:

1. Eidgenssische Technische Hochschule Zrich (ETHZ)

2. cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL)

The two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology mentioned above are currently adapting their
education process to the so called "Bologna declaration", an attempt of the European
universities to align their educational program to make it not only easier, but first of all possible
for a student to change from one university in one country to another university in another
country during his or her study.
The education is now broken up into two parts similar to the education in the USA:
- a bachelor study (three years)
- a masters study (one and a half or two years)
After a successful completion of the masters study, one can start working on a thesis in order to
get a doctor title. This takes usually three to four years.

2.6 "Fachhochschulen" (University of Applied Sciences):

After an apprenticeship, a young person can still start an academic career. Depending on the
profession, she or he may attend a "Fachhochschule" (university of applied sciences). A
university of applied sciences provides a similar education as the Swiss Federal Institutes of
Technology but not to the same extend. While an engineer ETH (graduate of one of the Swiss
Federal Institutes of Technology) has a stronger theoretical background, an engineer FH
(graduate of one of the university of applied sciences) usually has more practical experiences
because she or he had finished an apprenticeship which lasted four years. The study lasts three
and a half years.

As an alternative to a full-time study, an employee may also attend a so

called "Abendtechnikum" (evening college). She or he continues to work, but attends school
at night and on Saturdays. Some employers allow students either to do some homework at the
office or provide some other easements. The evening college lasts six years.

"Fachhochschulen" (FH) (previously known as "Hhere Technische Lehranstalten"

(HTL)) are often also referred to as "Ingenieurschule" (school for engineers) and are spread
all over Switzerland. Recently, technical collages of most regions have started to join forces,
some have even merged. Therefore, the list below is most likely neither complete nor perfectly
correct:

Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW)

Berner Fachhochschule (BFH)
Fachhochschule Westschweiz (HES-SO), consisting of
o La Haute Ecole Arc
o La Haute Ecole Fribourgeoise
o Haute cole de Genve
o Haute cole Valaisanne
o Les hautes coles du canton de Vaud
o Ecole d'ingnieurs de Changins
o Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne
Fachhochschule Ostschweiz (FHO), consisting of
o Fachhochschule Sankt Gallen
o Hochschule fr Technik Rapperswil
o Hochschule fr Technik und Wirtschaft HTW Chur
o Interstaatliche Hochschule fr Technik Buchs
Hochschule Luzern
Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana (SUPSI)
including Fernfachhochschule Schweiz
Zrcher Fachhochschulen: (ZFH), consisting of
o Hochschule fr Wirtschaft Zrich (HWZ, University of Applied Sciences in
Business Administration)
o Pdagogische Hochschule Zrich (PHZH, Zurich University of Teacher
Education)
o Zrcher Hochschule der Knste (ZHDK, Zurich University of the Arts)
o Zrcher Hochschule fr Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW, Zurich
University of Applied Sciences)
o Which in turn consists of
Architektur, Gestaltung und Bauingenieurwesen (Architecture,
Design and Civil Engineering)
Gesundheit (School of Health Professions)
Angewandte Linguistik (Applied Linguistics)
Engineering (formerly known as "Technikum Winterthur", TWI)
Management and Law
Life Sciences und Facility Management
Soziale Arbeit (Social Work)
Angewandte Psychologie (Applied Psychology)
Akademikergesellschaft fr Erwachsenenfortbildung (AKAD)

For more complete and up-to-date information, please visit the "Website der EDK" (Swiss
Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education), which is also available in English.

To table of contents

3. Education curriculum:
There are many different opportunities for a child to get an education. The curriculum below
shows some of the most common pathways through the educational system. Of course, there
are many other ways to get an education and there are other schools and possibilities especially
in the area of continuing education.

"Erwerbsleben und Weiterbildung" (Businesslife and further education)

"Fachhochschul
"Maturittsschul
... go "Abendtechniku e"
e" "Universitt"
directl m" (University of
(similar to (University)
y to ... (Evening college) Applied
secondary school)
Sciences)
 "Kurz-
Gymnasium "Langzeit-
" Gymnasium
Berufslehre
(Short term "
(Apprenticeship)
secondary (Long term
school, secondary
4 years) school,
"Oberstufenschule" 6 years)
(Elementary school 7th to 9th grade)

"Primarschule"
(Elementary school 1st to 6th grade)

Kindergarten
(usually for kids at age 5 and 6)

For a more complete and up-to-date curriculum, please see the document The Swiss
Education System, provided by the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education.