Organisation

In connection with the creation of a common European field of education, a 2-tier study system with Bachelor's and Master's degrees was introduced at the universities as of 2001. The changeover to the 2-tier study system is practically completed. Since 2007 / 2008, all students enrol in a Bachelor course (including medicine).

Studies consist of 2 tiers: Bachelor and Master. Together, they replace the previous diploma and licentiate studies. Until the Bologna Reform has been completely implemented, academic titles can still be awarded according to the old system, in which the licentiate degree or the diploma is the academic title obtained after a 4-to-5-year full-time course of study. The old system does not use credit points.

Bachelor

The Bachelor course serves to impart fundamental academic education and methodological knowledge. A full-time course of study lasts 3 years. The Bachelor's degree is an independent academic degree and constitutes the preconditions for admission to an academically oriented professional field and for admission to a Master course.

Master

The Master course enables in-depth studies and research experience. A full-time course of study lasts 1½ to 2 years.

European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)

Study achievements are measured in accordance with the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). ECTS is a system for the accreditation, transfer and accumulation of study achievements, recognised Europe-wide. The ECTS points reflect the quantitative workload. It is assumed that a complete academic year is equivalent to 60 ECTS points. Each ECTS point represents 25 to 30 working hours. 180 ECTS points are required to acquire a Bachelor's degree, while 90 to 120 ECTS points are required for a Master's degree. The Master courses, and generally also the Bachelor courses, are completed with a final assignment, the form and definition of which are stipulated in the corresponding study regulations.

Academic year

The academic year is split into 2 semesters. In the autumn semester, the courses begin in week 38 and end in week 51; in the spring semester, they begin in week 8 and end in week 22. Each semester lasts 14 weeks.

Qualifications / titles

The Rectors' Conference of the Swiss Universities (CRUS) has passed binding guidelines for uniform naming of university degrees in the scope of the Bologna Reform. The naming of qualifications on both tiers incorporates 3 elements: the tier of study, the description of the academic field or methodological approach and the awarding university; in some cases, the academic discipline can be described more precisely.

The names and abbreviations of the acquired titles are as follows: