A number of Swiss universities are increasing their fees due to planned reduction of federal contributions, impacting foreign students the most.
Public universities in Switzerland, which depend on government contributions, will be impacted by drastic cuts in a federal budget between 2027 and 2029.
Specifically, there will be 120 million francs per year less for cantonal universities and 78 million francs less for the Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and Lausanne (EPFL).
How are some universities responding to these cuts?
Bern and Lucerne
Facing a deficit that could reach 55 million francs, the University of Bern has decided to reduce its spending by 15 million francs per year starting in 2026. Some courses have already been eliminated, and further cuts could follow in 2027.
At the same time, semester fees will increase at the university, as well as at the Bern University of Applied Sciences starting in the fall of 2026: from 750 to 850 francs for Swiss students and up to 2,350 francs for international students.
The University of Lucerne plans to cut 2 million francs, affecting the social sciences, theology, and economics departments. Some disciplines, such as religious studies, will be eliminated altogether.
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Basel
Faced with a 21.6 million-franc deficit, the university is considering doubling tuition fees for students who do not complete their bachelor’s degree in five years.
St. Gallen
In St. Gallen, a semester of bachelor’s studies will cost 1,310.50 francs for a Swiss student and over 3,300 francs for an international student – an increase of 7 percent.
Geneva
Geneva university has the lowest tuition in Switzerland.
Not only that, but foreign students pay the same amount as their Swiss counterparts. This fee of 500 francs remains unchanged, but the university will have to reduce its budget by 4 percent by 2027.
No tuition increases are planned but the university will save money by not filling vacant positions.
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Lausanne
The fee at Lausanne University will remain at a low 580 francs per semester, regardless of the student’s country of origin.
Reserves in the budget will compesate for missing government contributions.
Zurich
At the University of Zurich, tuition fees have remained unchanged since 2012 at 720 francs, to which administrative fees are added, bringing the total to approximately 780 francs. International students pay an additional 500 francs.
No word yet about how th university will compensate for budget cuts.
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What about the ETH and EPFL?
The two universities have already started charging their foreign students higher tuition fees from the fall 2025 to make up for lower federal contributions.
They now pay 2,190 francs per semester, up from 730 francs before the austerity measures kicked in.
At these, and most other universities, foreigners pay higher tuition for a simple reason that, unlike the families of Swiss students, theirs don’t pay taxes in Switzerland.
However, that could change.
That’s because the new treaties concluded by Switzerland and the European Union in December 2024 could eliminate those extra charges.
While this is good news for people from the European Union and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) who want to study in Switzerland -or already do so – this move would result in a loss of further 41 million francs in revenue.
READ ALSO: Swiss universities to drop tuition surcharge for EU students
