The oldest university in Switzerland was founded in 1460 in Basel. Five of the ten cantonal universities are situated in the German-speaking part of Switzerland: the Universities of Basel, Bern, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich. The University of Freiburg is located in the bilingual canton Freiburg (French and German). The Universities of Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel are located in French-speaking Switzerland and the Università della Svizzera Italiana is situated in Ticino in the Italian-speaking part of the country. In addition there are the two Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH) in Lausanne and Zurich as well as the four research institutes belonging to the ETH domain: Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Federal Institute for Material Testing and Research (EMPA) and the Federal Research Institute for Water Supply, Wastewater Treatment and Water Pollution Control (EAWAG).

 

Swiss correspondence courses
In addition to the higher education institutions mentioned above, there is also a private foundation for distance learning, "Correspondence courses Switzerland" which was recognised by the Confederation in 2004. The following universities have also been recognised by the Confederation. Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales (HEI), Geneva; Institut de hautes études en administration publique (IDHEAP), Lausanne, and the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (The Postgraduate University of the Canton of Valais), Sion.

Core mandates and general requirements