Switzerland · Universities of applied sciences
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland
Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale · University of applied sciences (HES-SO) · canton of Jura · Delémont
hes-so.ch →Students, 2025/26
21,184
Educated abroad
19.0%
3,964 of 20,898 diploma, bachelor's and master's students
Largest field
Business, Management and Services
32.9% of students
Of its 21,184 students, 86 are in teacher education or therapy — Geneva School of Social Work (psychomotor therapy), 86 — which the Federal Statistical Office also lists with the universities of teacher education. The Federal Statistical Office counts three types of institution separately. Teacher-education schools that belong to a university of applied sciences — such as the FHNW's School of Education — are counted here with that university, as the Office's combined table counts them; the independent universities of teacher education are listed on their own.
“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.
Students, 2006/07–2025/26
| 2025/26 | 21,184 |
| 2024/25 | 20,880 |
| 2023/24 | 20,839 |
| 2022/23 | 21,222 |
| 2021/22 | 21,915 |
| 2020/21 | 21,508 |
| 2019/20 | 21,038 |
| 2018/19 | 20,781 |
| 2017/18 | 20,810 |
| 2016/17 | 20,796 |
| 2015/16 | 20,194 |
| 2014/15 | 19,390 |
| 2013/14 | 18,737 |
| 2012/13 | 18,124 |
| 2011/12 | 17,268 |
| 2010/11 | 16,208 |
| 2009/10 | 15,368 |
| 2008/09 | 15,174 |
| 2007/08 | 13,301 |
| 2006/07 | 12,160 |
Fields of study, 2025/26
The Federal Statistical Office's own English field names.
- Business, Management and Services6,979 · 32.9%
- Health4,247 · 20.0%
- Engineering and IT2,938 · 13.9%
- Social Work2,496 · 11.8%
- Music, Theatre and Other Arts1,744 · 8.2%
- Architecture, Construction and Planning1,127 · 5.3%
- Design978 · 4.6%
- Chemistry and Life Sciences530 · 2.5%
- Teacher education86 · 0.4%
- Agriculture and Forestry59 · 0.3%
Level of study, 2025/26
- Bachelor's18,270 · 86.2%
- Master's2,628 · 12.4%
- Continuing education286 · 1.4%
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 of applied sciences: Zurich University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Bern University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, Zurich University of the Arts, Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich, SBS Swiss Business School, Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen, César Ritz Colleges Switzerland
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.