Go Global Office of Global Engagement

ETH Zurich

City: Zurich
Language of instruction: EnglishGerman
  • Founded in 1855
  • 19 800 students from over 120 countries
  • Ninth place in the World University Ranking by Times Higher Education in 2016
  • Offers 16 departments in the sciences
  • 370 000 inhabitants (or almost one million in the metropolitan area)
  • Located on Lake Zurich, surrounded by hills, and within easy reach of the Alps and other places of interest
  • Zurich is the largest city of Switzerland - considered the business capital and cultural centre, with schools of all levels, theatres, concert halls, museums, art galleries, libraries, and bookshops
|Travel advice + advisories

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Partner university’s areas of study

  • Engineering
  • Forestry
  • Land and Food Systems
  • Science
  • Bachelor programmes are mainly in German
  • Master programmes are mainly in English
  • While undergraduate courses at 1st and 2nd year level are normally taught in German, many courses at 3rd year level are taught in English
  • Students must have at least a B2 (C1 preferred) level to study in German (self-assess with: European Language Portfolio Global Scale)
  • There is an offer by the language learning center for intensive German courses and semester German courses

Eligibility and Timing

Terms Offered

  • Term 1
  • Term 2
  • Full year Term 1 + 2 (UBC Term 1 start)
  • Summer

Who can go?

  • Only Engineering, Science (incl. Forestry & LFS) are eligible to apply
  • Undergraduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 75% at UBC to be considered for exchange at ETH Zurich
  • Students in Computer Science should have a very strong computer science and math background (e.g. completed at least 30 credits in CPSC and 15 credits in MATH before going on exchange), Recommended to go in Term 2 of 3rd year or 1st term of 4th year.

Term Dates

  • Semester 1: Mid September to Late January
  • Semester 2: Late February to Mid June

Term 1 note: In some cases, students can return to UBC in January and complete ETH exams by distance back at UBC.

Timing

  • It is usually possible to reschedule Semester 1 exams so as to return to UBC for Term 2
  • See Examinations and Grades on the FAQ page for more information

Credits

Summer programs

  • Students must secure a faculty supervisor and project independently
  • Housing is not guaranteed

Course equivalency formula

  • ECTS credits divided by 2 = UBC credits

Credit transfer process

The transfer credit process takes approximately 16 weeks following each submission deadline. You should allow sufficient time to meet important deadlines that may affect you (e.g. application for graduation, registration in courses that require prerequisites that you took on exchange, entry to a major/honours program, etc.)

For more information about Go Global transfer credit

Grading scheme

Passing grade

4.0 or E

Course Information

* Students who have special requirements or require academic accommodation should contact a Go Global advisor regarding their needs at least six weeks prior to the application deadline.

Type of Go Global Experiences

  • Exchange (pay UBC tuition)
  • Graduate research
  • Undergrad research

Course information and restrictions

  • Students going to ETH must take at least 2/3 of their course credits in the department where they are enrolled
  • Undergraduate exchange students are allowed to choose courses of Master programmes (taught in English, as a rule) if they fulfill the prerequisites (usually only upper level students)
  • To check their qualification for a Master programme course they should contact their Departmental Exchange Coordinator at ETH Zurich before registering for the course
  • The Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC) only accepts students with a technical background
  • The Department of Mathematics only accepts students who are majoring in Mathematics at their home university

Full course load information

  • No maximum number of courses
  • Minimum: 20 ECTS per semester (excluding language courses)

Partner Course Information


Transfer Credits And Equivalent Courses At This University

Check out the courses that previous students have transferred back to UBC in the last 5 years using our Course Search Tool. If you don't see a particular course you listed, it simply means you need to submit it as a new course request through the Transfer Credit Portal while on your Go Global experience. For more information, please visit the Go Global Transfer Credit webpage.

*Areas of study at partner universities are subject to change. The tool is for reference only - research the partners' websites for additional course information.

Search courses now

Exchange Tuition

  • 15 credits or equivalent full-time program fee per term, paid to UBC
  • Some exceptions may apply

Scholarships and awards

The Go Global Award $1000

All students accepted to Go Global for Exchange, Research Abroad, or Study Abroad travel programs are automatically considered for this award. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you'll be notified of your award after you're accepted to Go Global and after you get nominated to apply to the partner university.

Additional awards

Students who are eligible for awards may receive one UBC or UBC-affiliated international learning award. If you're eligible, you are always offered the highest-value award. Unless stated otherwise, you need to meet eligibility criteria set out by the University Senate regarding awards.

Check out international learning awards and eligibility.


Information for US students: 

If you are a student from the United States, please check the US Department of Education Lookup Tool to ensure that any partner institution you wish to attend on Exchange is Title IV ‘eligible’ for Federal Student Aid for the year in which you intend to study there. For institutions outside of the US, select “Foreign Country” from the “State” dropdown menu.

If you attend an eligible institution, then you may receive Title IV federal student loans while on Exchange.

If you attend an ineligible institution:

  • You will not be eligible for US federal student loans,
  • You may invalidate any US student aid you have previously received for your studies at UBC,
  • You may be required to immediately begin repaying your US student loans, and
  • You may not be eligible for any future US student aid for the remainder of your studies at UBC.

Additional Fees

All students studying in Switzerland are required to purchase local medical insurance which will cost approx 100 CHF/month.

Types of accommodation available

  • Off-campus

Housing notes

  • ETH Zurich neither owns nor rents out any student rooms
  • Housing for students is offered by different institutions connected with ETH Zurich, but operate independently
  • Along with your "acceptance letter" to start studying at ETH, you will also receive information on registering for accommodation