ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded by the Swiss federal government in 1854, the university primarily teaches and conducts research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). ETH Zurich is widely regarded as one of the world's leading universities, particularly in the sciences, and consistently ranks among the top universities worldwide.
Like its sister institution École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), ETH Zurich is part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain, a consortium of universities and research institutes under the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. As of 2025, ETH Zurich enrolled 26,942 students, of whom 4,266 were pursuing doctoral degrees. ETH is generally regarded as one of the world's most prestigious research institutions and regularly places among the world's best universities.
Students, faculty, and researchers affiliated with ETH Zurich include 22 Nobel laureates, including Albert Einstein; 2 Fields Medalists; 3 Pritzker Prize winners; and 1 Turing Award recipient. It is a founding member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), as well as a member of CESAER, the League of European Research Universities (LERU), and the ENHANCE Alliance.
History
ETH Zurich was founded on 7 February 1854 by the Swiss Confederation and began giving its first lectures on 16 October 1855 as a polytechnic institute (eidgenössische polytechnische Schule) at various sites throughout the city of Zurich. It initially consisted of six faculties: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, forestry, and an integrated department for mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social and political sciences.
Locally, it is still known as Polytechnikum or simply Poly, derived from the original name eidgenössische polytechnische Schule, which translates to "federal polytechnic school".
ETH Zurich is a federal institute under direct administration by the Swiss government. The creation of a new federal university was heavily disputed at the time; liberals advocated for a "federal university," while conservatives wanted universities to remain under cantonal control, fearing an increase in liberal political power. Initially, ETH was co-located in the buildings of the University of Zurich.
From 1905 to 1908, under the presidency of Jérôme Franel, ETH Zurich restructured its course programs to those of a university and was granted the right to award doctorates. The first doctorates were awarded in 1909. In 1911, the institution received its current name, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule. Another reorganization in 1924 structured the university into 12 departments. Today, it has 16 departments.
ETH Zurich, along with EPFL and four associated research institutes, forms the "ETH Domain" to collaborate on scientific projects.
Campus ETH Zurich has two campuses, namely Zentrum and Hönggerberg; since 2007, ETH Zurich is also present in Basel with one department. The Zentrum campus grew around the main building, which was constructed 1858–1864.
Zentrum campus The Zentrum campus consists of various buildings and institutions throughout the city of Zurich.
The Zentrum campus houses the: Department of Mathematics (D-MATH) Department of Computer Science (D-INFK) Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS) Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET) Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering (D-MAVT) Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (D-EAPS) Department of Management, Technology, and Economics (D-MTEC) Department of Health Sciences and Technology (D-HEST)
The main building of ETH Zurich was built from 1858 to 1864 under Gustav Zeuner; the architect, however, was Gottfried Semper, who was a professor of architecture at ETH Zurich at the time and one of the most important architectural writers and theorists of the age. Semper worked in a neoclassical style that was unique to him; and the namesake and architect of the Semperoper in Dresden. It emphasized bold and clear massings with a detailing, such as the rusticated ground level and giant order above, that derived in part from the work of Andrea Palladio and Donato Bramante. During the construction of the University of Zurich, the south wing of the building was allocated to the University until its own new main building was constructed (1912–1914). At about the same time, Semper's ETH Zurich building was enlarged and received its cupola.
The main building stands directly across the street from the University Hospital of Zurich and, right alongside the main building of the University of Zurich.
Hönggerberg campus
The Hönggerberg campus is a more classical university campus, consisting mainly of university buildings and student accommodation.
The Hönggerberg campus houses the: Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (D-BAUG) Department of Materials (D-MATL) Department of Biology (D-BIOL) Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (D-CHAB) Department of Physics (D-PHYS)
There is also an ASVZ sports centre which is accessible to all students and faculty, and includes a gym, beach volleyball court, football field, and martial-arts rooms. In 2005, ETH Zurich's 150th anniversary, an extensive project called "Science City" for the Hönggerberg Campus was started with the goal to transform the campus into an attractive district based on the principle of sustainability.
Basel location The Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) is located on Campus Schällemätteli in close vicinity to the University of Basel, the University Hospital and the Children's Hospital, and several other research institutions as well as major players in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The concentration of life science institutions in this area of Europe, and Basel's tri-national reach, motivated ETH Zurich to establish a satellite campus in Basel in 2007. A train ride of 55 minutes connects the location in Basel with Zurich.
Research and education Undergraduate education at ETH Zurich is marked by the distinctive Basisprüfungen ("base examinations"), intensive first-year examination blocks, typically encompassing foundational subjects in mathematics, physics, and engineering disciplines. These exams serve both as a filter and as preparation for advanced, research-oriented coursework. Students must pass these examinations within two attempts, with failure rates in mathematics-intensive programmes often reaching between 50% and 60%. Doctoral education at ETH emphasizes hands-on research experience, where PhD candidates are hired directly as paid employees in professors' laboratories, conducting independent research and actively contributing to teaching. Many departments further structure doctoral training through thematic graduate schools, promoting collaborative research with multiple advisers and international cooperation, notably with the University of Zurich.
Its research is especially focused on the STEM areas and ETH hosts several research hubs.
In 2026, ETH Zurich entered a ten-year partnership with IBM focused on artificial intelligence and quantum computing research.
ETH AI Center The ETH AI Center is ETH Zurich's central hub for artificial intelligence research. It is an active member of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), hosting the ELLIS unit in Zurich and offering ELLIS PhD fellowships. The center comprises 1,500 researchers across 16 departments. Through the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS), it cooperates closely with the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, jointly funding research and supervising doctoral students. It also hosts recurring events, such as the AI+X Summit, the Zurich AI Festival, and AI House Davos.
The center leads projects of national scope, including the Swiss AI Initiative – launched in 2023 as an open-source effort for AI foundation models – operating under the Swiss National AI Institute (SNAI), a joint body of ETH Zurich and EPFL. The center also runs Apertus, an open multilingual language model trained on 15 trillion tokens across over 1,000 languages, among them Swiss German and Romansh.
Swiss National Supercomputing Center The Swiss National Supercomputing Center is an autonomous organizational unit of the ETH Zurich. It is a national facility based in Lugano-Cornaredo, offering high-performance computing services for Swiss-based scientists.Swiss National Supercomputing Center. Retrieved 4 August 2019 In 2024 it deployed the Alps Supercomputer, existing of over 10,000 H100 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the largest academic supercomputers in the world.
ETH Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics The ETH Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIB) is a physics laboratory located in Science City. It specializes in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and the use of ion beam based techniques with applications in archeology, earth sciences, life sciences, material sciences and fundamental physics.
Spin-offs ETH Zurich promotes technology and knowledge transfer through an entrepreneurial ecosystem to foster spin-offs and start-ups.ETH News: Spin-offs ETH Zurich. Retrieved 2026-06-08 As of 2022, 527 ETH Zurich spin-off companies had been created.
Global Initiatives Singapore-ETH Centre The Singapore-ETH Centre was established in 2010 by ETH Zurich and Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF). It develops practical solutions to challenges on urban sustainability, resilience, liveability and health. This research hub brings together over 250 researchers worldwide working on the selected topics.Singapore-ETH: Factsheet sec.ethz.ch 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-08
ETH Zurich Campus Heilbronn A teaching and research center for responsible digital transformation is established on the educational campus of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation in Heilbronn, Germany. Activities are planned in areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. This center will be operated in the form of a non-profit limited liability company under German law and started operation at the beginning of 2025.ETH Zurich Campus Heilbronn ETH Zurich. Retrieved 2026-06-08
Rankings and reputation
Historically, ETH Zurich has achieved its reputation particularly in the fields of chemistry, mathematics, physics and computer science. There are 22 Nobel laureates who are associated with ETH Zurich, the most recent of whom is Didier Queloz, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019. Albert Einstein is perhaps its most famous alumnus.
ETH Zurich is ranked 8th worldwide (first in Switzerland) in the QS World University Rankings 2026, 11th worldwide (first in Switzerland) in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, and 22nd worldwide in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2025. ETH Zurich ranked 2nd in Europe in the 2026 QS Europe rankings. In the 2023 Nature Index of academic institutions, ETH Zurich ranked 20th worldwide and first in Switzerland.
In the 2026 QS Word University Rankings by subject, ETH Zurich was ranked third worldwide in engineering and technology. In 2024, it ranked first worldwide in the earth and marine sciences, geology, and geophysics. In the 2024 THE World University Rankings by subject, it was the top Swiss university in all ranked subjects. In the 2023 ARWU Subject Ranking, the university was ranked within the top 10 worldwide in civil engineering, water resources, environmental engineering, automation, mathematics, earth sciences, and ecology.
Student life
Tuition and financial assistance