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The educational goals of the matura schools are to teach the students fundamental knowledge with a view toward life-long learning, to encourage intellectual open-mindedness and the ability to judge for one's self and to achieve the level of personal maturity required for university study.

Matura schools aim to promote intelligence, personality development and health, together with individual study and working techniques, acquisition of knowledge and how to deal with information technologies, as well as skills in the fields of social ability, ethics, politics, science, communication, culture and aesthetics.

Framework curriculum

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education's 1994 framework curriculum for matura schools forms the basis for the cantonal curricula. The cantons are responsible for the definition of the cantonal curricula. The curricula are either issued by the cantons, or require cantonal approval. The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education's framework curriculum for matura schools comprises the fields of languages, humanities, social sciences and economics, mathematics and natural sciences, visual arts and music and sport.

The core subjects, an in-depth subject, a supplementary subject and the matura assignment constitute the matura subjects.

The core subjects are as follows:

The first national language
A second national language
A third language (a third national language, English or an ancient language)
Mathematics
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
History
Geography
Visual arts and / or music.

All students take an introductory course in economics and law as a further compulsory subject. The cantons can offer philosophy as an additional core subject.

The in-depth subject can be selected from 8 subjects and the supplementary subject from 14. Not all subjects are offered in all schools. The canton's stipulations are authoritative with regard to the corresponding education courses at a matura school.

The share of language lessons is 30 to 40%, with mathematics and natural sciences allocated 25 to 35%, humanities and social sciences 10 to 20%, visual arts and / or music 5 to 10%. The selectable subjects (in-depth subject, supplementary subject and matura assignment) must account for 15 to 25%.

In most cantons, there are matura schools at which a bilingual matura can be attained. In addition, it is often the case that students can attain international foreign language certificates, or preparatory courses for the certificate examinations are offered.