Merit Scholarships
Awarded on academic distinction alone, covering from one quarter to the whole of tuition. Nomination is automatic: every admitted candidate is considered without a separate application.
Admissions
Applications open for Fall 2027
Admission is by merit alone. Need-based support is assessed separately and never counts against a candidate.
The university in figures
Admission by the numbers
Published annually by the Registrar and audited by the university's board of governors.
2.7%
Acceptance rate
Of roughly 41,000 applicants each cycle.
~8,900
Students enrolled
Undergraduate, graduate and doctoral.
72%
International students
Passports other than Swiss.
8:1
Student-to-faculty ratio
Seminars rarely exceed twelve.
98%
Graduation rate
Within four years of matriculation.
97%
Employment or further study
Within six months of commencement.
60+
Countries represented in faculty
Across all seven schools.
80+
Exchange partnerships
Universities across five continents.
620
Acres of campus
From the old town to the alpine field stations.
Routes of entry
How to apply
Entry to the first year of a four-year bachelor's programme. Candidates submit secondary school transcripts, two academic references, a personal statement of no more than 1,200 words and results from an approved school-leaving qualification (Matura, IB, A-Level, Abitur, Baccalauréat or equivalent). Shortlisted candidates are interviewed by two members of the receiving school, in person or by video.
- Four years
- Interview required
- Two academic references
Process
From enquiry to matriculation
- 01
Create an account
Register with the Office of Admissions and select your school and programme.
- 02
Submit documents
Transcripts, references, statement and qualification results, uploaded in full.
- 03
Assessment
Your file is read by two members of the receiving school and scored against published criteria.
- 04
Interview
Shortlisted candidates are interviewed in St. Estè or by video.
- 05
Decision
Offers are released by the Registrar; aid decisions follow within ten days.
Calendar
Key deadlines
- Early consideration closes1 November
- Early decisions releasedmid-December
- Regular round closes5 January
- Financial aid documentation due1 February
- Regular decisions releasedlate March
- Acceptance of place and deposit1 May
Cost & support
Tuition and scholarships
Annual tuition, undergraduate
CHF 48,600
Inclusive of matriculation, library and laboratory fees. Residential charges range from CHF 9,200 to CHF 21,400 depending on hall and board arrangement.
Students receiving support
31%
The Founders' Endowment and the Lantern Fund together provide full and partial awards, travel grants and stipends. Awards are renewed annually subject to good standing, not to competition.
Scholarships
Six programmes of support
Awards are made by the Scholarships Office, which sits apart from admissions and reports directly to the Registrar.
Athletic Scholarships
Held by athletes competing for the Dragons, Griffins, Wyverns and the varsity programmes. Awards are renewed on academic standing as much as on sporting form.
Research Grants
Funded places for students working within a faculty laboratory or field station, including stipends for summer residence and conference travel.
Creative Arts Awards
For writers, performers, designers, musicians and filmmakers, assessed on portfolio and audition, with studio access and production budgets attached.
International Excellence Awards
Reserved for outstanding candidates from outside Switzerland, covering tuition together with travel and residence-permit costs.
Need-Based Aid
Assessed by a separate office that admissions readers never see. Awards are renewed annually on good standing rather than by competition.
A candid note
St. Estè is a wealthy university with a long-established social world, and scholarship students navigate subtle class divisions here that no prospectus can fully describe — in the cost of a house gala ticket, in the ski week that follows the Alpine Retreat, in the assumptions made across a seminar table. The university does not pretend otherwise. The Dean of Students runs a confidential fund for society dues, formal dress and travel, and every hall keeps a student adviser whose specific brief is to make sure that no part of university life is closed to a student because of what it costs.