Swiss universities raise tuition amid federal budget cuts

Several Swiss universities will increase tuition fees from next year to cope with growing deficits.

The main reason for this is the planned cuts in federal subsidies from 2027, which will impose annual reductions of CHF120 million ($152 million) for cantonal universities and CHF78 million for the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne).

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In 2025 ETH Zurich and EPFL already tripled fees for foreign students to CHF2,190 per semester. The University of Bern, faced with a deficit of CHF55 million, has decided to cut back on some courses. The University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Bern has adjusted its fees: Swiss students will pay CHF850 per semester (+100), while foreign students will pay up to CHF2,350.

In St Gallen, the increase will be 7%: a semester will cost CHF1,310 for Swiss students and over CHF3,300 for international students. For its part, the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) is maintaining its already high fees (CHF2000/CHF4000). “From the beginning, tuition fees were set above the Swiss average,” USI’s communications department told news agency Keystone-ATS. “The canton’s contribution was relatively modest and an important part of the university’s funding therefore came from student tuition fees.”

+ Higher Swiss university fees fail to put off foreign students

The increases raise serious concerns in relation to the principle of equal opportunities in access to higher education. According to the university association Swissuniversities, any significant increase contradicts the constitutional right to education based on merit instead of financial means and would require an adjustment of the scholarship system. The risk is to damage a key driver of the country’s prosperity, the organisation warns.

Adapted from Italian by AI/jdp