Switzerland · Universities and federal institutes of technology
EPFL
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne · University (EPFL) · canton of Vaud · Lausanne
epfl.ch →Students, 2025/26
14,234
Educated abroad
56.4%
8,026 students
Largest field
Mechanical and electrical engineering
38.8% of students
“Educated abroad” (Bildungsausländer) means the student gained their university entrance qualification outside Switzerland. It is not nationality: a foreign national who went to school in Switzerland counts as educated in Switzerland. For universities of applied sciences the Office publishes it for diploma, bachelor's and master's students only, so continuing-education students are left out of that share. Students are everyone matriculated at a Swiss higher education institution in the autumn (winter) semester, as the Federal Statistical Office defines them.
Educated abroad, by level, 2025/26
Bachelor's
44.3%
2,997 of 6,768 students
Master's
61.5%
2,766 of 4,498 students
Doctorate
86.3%
2,017 of 2,336 students
Students, 2006/07–2025/26
| 2025/26 | 14,234 |
| 2024/25 | 14,249 |
| 2023/24 | 13,637 |
| 2022/23 | 12,761 |
| 2021/22 | 12,289 |
| 2020/21 | 11,572 |
| 2019/20 | 11,032 |
| 2018/19 | 10,784 |
| 2017/18 | 10,438 |
| 2016/17 | 10,311 |
| 2015/16 | 9,908 |
| 2014/15 | 9,710 |
| 2013/14 | 9,629 |
| 2012/13 | 9,395 |
| 2011/12 | 8,685 |
| 2010/11 | 7,980 |
| 2009/10 | 7,383 |
| 2008/09 | 6,878 |
| 2007/08 | 6,528 |
| 2006/07 | 6,453 |
Fields of study, 2025/26
Field names translated by CollegeMatcher.
- Mechanical and electrical engineering5,516 · 38.8%
- Exact sciences3,906 · 27.4%
- Civil engineering and geodesy2,266 · 15.9%
- Exact and natural sciences, interdisciplinary and other1,216 · 8.5%
- Natural sciences673 · 4.7%
- Interdisciplinary and other628 · 4.4%
- Technical sciences, interdisciplinary and other29 · 0.2%
Level of study, 2025/26
- Bachelor's6,768 · 47.5%
- Master's4,498 · 31.6%
- Doctorate2,336 · 16.4%
- Continuing education, advanced studies and other632 · 4.4%
Fees
Each institution sets its own tuition — for ETH Zurich and EPFL the ETH Board does, by ordinance — and many charge students from abroad more. Fees are not published as open data, and swissuniversities' fee tables may not be reused, so no fees are shown here: check each institution's website.
Other universities and federal institutes of technology: University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, University of Bern, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, University of Basel, University of St. Gallen, University of Fribourg, Università della Svizzera italiana, University of Neuchâtel, University of Lucerne, UniDistance Suisse, Geneva Graduate Institute, Theological University Chur
Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO/BFS), Students and Degrees in Higher Education (SHIS-studex) — tables “Studierende an den universitären Hochschulen nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Studienstufe, Bildungsherkunft und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040100_108); “Studierende an den Fachhochschulen und pädagogischen Hochschulen nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Studienstufe, Geschlecht und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040400_136); “Studierende an den Fachhochschulen und pädagogischen Hochschulen nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Bildungsherkunft und Hochschule, nur Studierende auf Stufen Diplom, Bachelor und Master (ohne Weiterbildung)” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040400_138); “Studierende an den Fachhochschulen (ohne PH) nach Jahr, Fachbereich, Studienstufe, Geschlecht und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040200_170); “Studierende an den pädagogischen Hochschulen (ohne FH) nach Jahr, Fachrichtung, Geschlecht und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040300_191); “Studierende an den pädagogischen Hochschulen (ohne FH) nach Jahr, Fachrichtung, Staatsangehörigkeit (Kategorie) und Hochschule” (https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/px-x-1502040300_192). Terms of use: opendata.swiss “Open use. Must provide the source” (https://opendata.swiss/en/terms-of-use). Sums and shares, English names, the English names of university and teacher-education fields, cantons, cities and websites are CollegeMatcher's additions, not the FSO's.