Switzerland - As a Study Destination

Why Choose Switzerland for Higher Education? This is the first question that comes to your mind when you think of studying abroad. Most Indian students will not choose Switzerland as a study destination mainly because of its language barrier. But times are changing and today several students are taking up various study courses in swiss universities.

Higher education in Switzerland is publicly funded and tuition fees are very low for both domestic and foreign students. Almost all universities have fees of about £500 to £1,000. In the few cases where there are increased fees for foreigners, these are usually a small administrative surcharge of about £150.

Switzerland's global approach has led to English-language teaching which is again to the benefit of foreign students.

Switzerland has one of the highest proportions of foreign students in the world. "The figures for PhD students and academic staff are even higher, so the university environment is truly international. Currently, the majority of foreign students come from neighboring countries, which means they are able to study in one of (Switzerland's) main three national languages - German, French and, less frequently, Italian.

Swiss universities are making great effort to attract non-European students by offering courses that are taught in English. Though, at master’s level, and till date almost 200 post graduate courses are taught entirely or at least 50 percent in English are offered by 11 out of the 12 public universities.

Majority the courses are from the area of business and management or the sciences, although options also include subject areas such as mediation, sports administration, English linguistics and children's rights. Students can choose to study anywhere from Basel and Bern to Zurich, and opt for anything from PG in actuarial science at the University of Lausanne to an MA in international tourism or intelligent systems at the University of Lugano. Similar programs are also available for Doctorate.

Learning German/French/Italian

Knowledge of one local language (German/French/Italian) is essential especially if the course that you have opted in Switzerland is taught fully or partially in German/French/Italian.If your course is taught in English you need not worry though it is always advisable to have some basic knowledge of the local language.

You can learn German in any of the following ways:

• Enroll in a language course in your higher education institution
• Learn German before arriving in Germany. You can learn German by enrolling in the nearest Goethe Institute (Max Mueller Bhavan in India) (www.goethe.de).
• Good language courses are also available in adult education centres (Voklshochschule – VHS) or municipal education centers which are cheaper than private centers.

You can learn French in any of the following ways:

• Alliance Francaise
  2, Aurangzeb Road - New Delhi - 110 001
• Delhi University
  University of Delhi
  Delhi 110 007
• Jawaherlal Nehru University
  New Delhi-110067

You can learn Italian in any of the following ways:

• The Italian Cultural Institute in New Delhi has Italian language classes. (http://www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it)
  

Note:

You will find a number of German/French/Italian students especially those enrolled in language courses who will be interested in learning a new language and in return will promise to teach you the language when you arrive there. Some International Offices keep lists with the names of those interested. This is another interesting and informal way of learning the language.