Increase in university fees causing a dip in international student enrollment in Switzerland?
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have announced an increase in tuition fees for international students, effective from 2025. This change comes in response to lower federal contributions and reduced government financial aid to the two public institutes.
Starting from 2025, new international students at EPFL will see their fees triple, with per-semester fees rising from 730 to 2,190 Swiss francs. At the ETH, the situation is similar, with international student fees also set to increase significantly.
However, it's important to note that these fee increases only apply to new students, not those already enrolled. Furthermore, the decline in the number of students from France at EPFL cannot be attributed solely to the increased fees.
The university reports that the same number of students have enrolled this year as in 2024, and the number of students at EPFL has more than doubled in the last decade. Despite fears that higher tuition fees might keep foreigners from studying at the ETH, so far, this has not been the case.
The cap on the number of foreign students at EPFL, set at 3,000 admissions until 2029, is due to the university's lecture halls being saturated, an increasing student-faculty ratio, and expanded workload for support services. EPFL's spokesperson has confirmed these concerns, stating that both the student-faculty ratio and workload for support services have risen significantly.
ETH Rector Günther Dissertori stated that the effect of the higher tuition fees cannot yet be determined after such a short period of time. The academic year for EPFL begins on September 15th, and for the ETH, on September 18th.
The government's financial aid to the two public institutes is sharply reduced, and the fee increase is intended to compensate for this shortfall. The search results do not provide the exact number of newly registered Bachelor students at EPFL in 2021, but it's clear that the focus is on attracting and accommodating domestic students while managing the influx of international students.
Despite these changes, both EPFL and the ETH remain attractive destinations for students from around the world, offering high-quality education and opportunities for research and innovation.
