ETH Zurich 9th University of the world 2016

ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich,  is a science, technology, engineering, mathematics and management university in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. Like its sister institution EPFL, it is an integral part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain (ETH Domain) that is directly subordinate to Switzerland's Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.

ETH Zurich is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. It is currently ranked as 5th best university in the world in engineering, science and technology, just behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University,Cambridge University and National University of Singapore in the QS World University Rankings.

Twenty-one Nobel Prizes have been awarded to students or professors of the Institute in the past, the most famous of whom was Albert Einstein with the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Niels Bohr who was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics, both for work dealing with quantum physics. It is a founding member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) and a member of the CESAER network.

The school was founded by the Swiss Federal Government in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, serve as a national center of excellence in science and technology and provide a hub for interaction between thescientific community and industry.

History

ETH was founded in 1854 by the Swiss Confederation  and began giving its first lectures in 1855 as a polytechnic institute (Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule). It was initially composed of six faculties: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, forestry, and an integrated department for the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social and political sciences. It is locally still known as Poly, derived from the original name Eidgenössische polytechnische Schule, which translates to "Federal Polytechnic School".

ETH is a federal institute (i.e., under direct administration by the Swiss government), whereas the University of Zürich is a cantonal institution. The decision for a new federal university was heavily disputed at the time, because the liberals pressed for a "federal university", while the conservative forces wanted all universities to remain under cantonal control, worried that the liberals would gain more political power than they already had.  In the beginning, both universities were co-located in the buildings of the University of Zürich.

From 1905 to 1908, under the presidency of Jérôme Franel, the course program of ETH was restructured to that of a real university and ETH was granted the right to award doctorates. In 1909 the first doctorates were awarded. In 1911, it was given its current name, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule. In 1924, another reorganization structured the university in 12 departments. However, it now has 16 departments.

ETH Zurich is ranked among the top universities in the world. Typically, popular rankings place the institution as the best university in continental Europe and ETH Zurich is consistently ranked among the top 1-5 universities in Europe, and among the top 3-10 best universities of the world.

Historically, ETH Zurich has achieved its reputation particularly in the fields of chemistry, mathematics and physics. There are 21 Nobel Laureates who are associated with ETH. The most recent Nobel Laureate is Richard F. Heck who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2010. Albert Einstein is perhaps its most famous alumnus.

  In 2015, the QS World University Rankings placed ETH Zurich at 9th overall in the world and 5th in the world in Engineering, Science and Technology, just behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Cambridge University and National University of Singapore. ETH also ranked 6th in the world in Natural Sciences.

In 2015, and 2016 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked ETH Zurich 9th overall in the world and 8th in the world in the field of Engineering & Technology, just behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology,Princeton University, Cambridge University, Imperial College London and Oxford University.

In a comparison of Swiss universities by swissUP Ranking and in rankings published by CHE comparing the universities of German-speaking countries, ETH Zurich traditionally is ranked first in natural sciences, computer science and engineering sciences.

In the survey CHE ExcellenceRanking on the quality of Western European graduate school programmes in the fields biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, ETH was assessed as one of the three institutions to have excellent graduate programmes in all considered fields, the other two being the Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. ETH Zurich had an endowment of 1.56 billion CHF (approx. 1.62 billion USD) in the year 2014 to support its cutting-edge research.

Admissions

To be eligible for admission to a Master's degree programme at ETH Zurich you need to have a high-quality Bachelor's degree or an equivalent first academic degree from an internationally recognised university. Your previous studies must comply in discipline, quality, depth and breadth with the requirement profile of the Master's degree programme.

Admission to Master's degree programme at the home university / in the home country

A Bachelor's degree qualifies its holder for admission to an ETH Master's degree programme only if it also qualifies said holder to enter, without additional requirements, the desired Master's degree programme within the university system where the Bachelor's degree was acquired. ETH may also demand proof of this, determining whether such proof must come from the home university or from another university in the country where the Bachelor's degree was acquired.

Consecutive Master's degree programmes

Admission to consecutive Master's degree programmes proceeds 'sur dossier' based on a comparison of the profile of requirements with the study performance record in the Bachelor's degree programme. The level of mastery of the subject is also taken into account.