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.[1] It initially consisted of six faculties: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering,chemistry,forestry, and an integrated department for mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social andpolitical sciences.
Locally, it is still known asPolytechnikum or simplyPoly, derived from the original nameeidgenössische polytechnische Schule,[10] which translates to "federal polytechnic school".[11]
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.[12] Initially, ETH was co-located in the buildings of theUniversity of Zurich.
From 1905 to 1908, under the presidency ofJérôme 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 withEPFL and four associated research institutes, forms the "ETH Domain" to collaborate on scientific projects.[13]
ETH Zurich has two campuses, namelyZentrum andHönggerberg. TheZentrum campus grew around the main building, which was constructed 1858–1864 outside and right above the eastern border of the town, but which is nowadays located right in the heart of the city. As the town and university grew, ETH Zurich spread into the surrounding vineyards and later quarters. Because this geographic situation substantially hindered the expansion of ETH Zurich, a new campus was built from 1964 to 1976 on theHönggerberg, a northern hill in the outskirts of the city. The last major expansion project of this new campus was completed in 2003.[10]
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)
View onto the main building from the Polyterrasse
The main building of ETH Zurich was built from 1858 to 1864 underGustav Zeuner; the architect, however, wasGottfried 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 aneoclassical style that was unique to him; and the namesake and architect of theSemperoper 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 ofAndrea Palladio andDonato 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 itscupola.[10]
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.[17][18] 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.
Undergraduate education at ETH Zurich is marked by the distinctiveBasisprüfungen ("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.[10]
Its research is especially focused on the STEM areas and ETH hosts several research hubs.
The ETH AI Center is ETH Zurich's central hub for artificial intelligence research. It is an active member of theEuropean Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS), hosting the ELLIS unit in Zurich and offering ELLIS PhD fellowships. Through the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS), it cooperates closely with theMax Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, jointly funding research and supervising doctoral students.
TheSwiss National Supercomputing Center is an autonomous organizational unit of the ETH Zurich. It is a national facility based inLugano-Cornaredo,[19] offering high-performance computing services for Swiss-based scientists.[20] In 2024 it deployed the Alps Supercomputer, existing of over 10,000H100 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the largest academic supercomputers in the world.
ETH Zurich promotes technology and knowledge transfer through an entrepreneurial ecosystem to foster spin-offs and start-ups.[21] As of 2022, 527 ETH Zurich spin-off companies had been created.[22]
Historically, ETH Zurich has achieved its reputation particularly in the fields ofchemistry, mathematics,physics and computer science. There are 22 Nobel laureates who are associated with ETH Zurich, the most recent of whom isDidier Queloz, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019.Albert Einstein is perhaps its most famous alumnus.[28][29]
In the 2024 QS Word University Rankings by subject, ETH Zurich was ranked within the top 10 in the world in architecture, engineering and technology, and the natural sciences. It ranked first worldwide in the earth and marine sciences, geology, and geophysics.[32] In the 2024 THE World University Rankings by subject, it was the top Swiss university in all ranked subjects.[33] 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.[34]
Being a public university, the subsidized (by Swiss federal tax) tuition fees are CHF 730 per semester, regardless of the student's nationality.[35] From the autumn semester 2025, tuition fees for foreign students will be tripled to CHF 2190 per semester.[36] Both merit and need based scholarships are also available.
ETH Zurich has well over 100student associations.[37] Most notable is the VSETH (Verband der Studierenden an der ETH) which forms the umbrella organization of all field of study specific student associations and comprises a large variety of committees such as the Student Sustainability Committee and the ETHModel United Nations. The associations regularly organize events with varying size and popularity. Events of the neighboring University of Zurich are well-attended by ETH Zurich students and vice versa.
The largest career fair on campus is thePolymesse which is organized by students in theForum und Contact committee of VSETH. Many student associations however organize career fairs specifically for the students in their departments. The VSETH is also the official representation of the student body towards the school and has been working with ETH on various projects with the aim of improving the students' experience at ETH. The representation towards the various departments is handled by the respective student associations.
ETH Juniors is another student organization. It forms a bridge between industry and ETH Zurich and offers many services for students and companies alike as a student-led consulting group.[38]
The Academic Sports Association of Zurich (ASVZ) offers more than 120 sports.[39] The biggest annual sports event is theSOLA-Stafette (SOLA relay race) which consists of 14 sections over a total distance of 140 kilometres (87 mi).[40]
In 2017, ETH Zurich board approved the creation of a "Student Project House" to encourage student projects and foster innovation. A test consisting of a "makerspace" and co-working space was established on the Hönggerberg campus,[41][42] followed by a 6-story space near the ETH Zurich main building. Both locations function as a unified entity for the purpose of qualifications, staffing and decision making. While both makerspaces offer similar tools, the central one is significantly larger and also hosts a rentable auditorium, intended for pitching projects to faculty to gain funding, and a bar.
Both makerspaces include workspaces for wood- and metalworking, electronics fabrication, as well as an array of3D-printers for students to use at a little over material cost. Both also feature a shop for students to buy items such as resistors in lower quantities than ordinarily, while passing down the savings of bulk purchases.[43] The makerspaces are managed and staffed entirely by students. A new space is expected to open on the Hönggerberg campus in 2024.[44][needs update]
TheSwiss Academic Spaceflight Initiative (ARIS)[45] (German:Akademische Raumfahrt Initiative Schweiz) is an organisation at ETH Zurich that focuses on the development of space related technologies. The most prominent area of research is in the development of a sounding rocket that is flown yearly at theSpaceport America Cup. TheAMZ - Academic Motorsports Association[46] (German:Akademischer Motorsportverein Zürich) is the ETH Zurich'sFormula Student team.Swissloop is ETH Zurich's newest competition team that is working on the development of ahyperloop system.
ThePolyball, which is the biggest decorated ball in Europe,[citation needed] takes places annually in the main building of ETH and is organized by students and former students in the KOSTA foundation. It has been taking place since the 1880s.
The amicable rivalry between ETH Zurich and its neighbor, the University of Zurich, has been cultivated since 1951 (Uni-Poly). There has been an annualrowing match between teams from the two institutions on the riverLimmat.
There are many regular symposia and conferences at ETH Zurich, most notably the annualWolfgang Pauli Lectures, in honor of former ETH Zurich ProfessorWolfgang Pauli. Distinct lecturers, among them 24 Nobel laureates, have held lectures of the various fields ofnatural sciences at this conference since 1962.
ETH Zurich has produced and attracted many famous scientists, includingAlbert Einstein andJohn von Neumann. More than twentyNobel laureates have either studied at ETH Zurich or were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work achieved at ETH Zurich. Other alumni include scientists who were distinguished with the highest accolades such as theFields Medal,Pritzker Prize andTuring Award, among other distinctions in their respective fields. Academic achievements aside, ETH Zurich has been alma mater to manyOlympic medalists and world champions.
The Collegium Helveticum is an Institute for Advanced Study.[47] It is jointly supported and operated by the ETH Zurich, theUniversity of Zurich and theZurich University of the Arts. It is dedicated to transdisciplinary research and acts as athink tank as well. Fellows are elected for five years to work together on a particular subject. For the period 2016–2020, the research focus is ondigital societies.[48]
The ETH Zurich Foundation is a legal entity on its own (a Swiss non-profit foundation) and as such not part of the ETH Zurich. Its purpose is to raise funds to support chosen institutes, projects, faculty and students at the ETH Zurich. It receives charitable donations from companies, foundations and private individuals. It can be compared with universityendowments in the US. However, the ETH Zurich is a public university so that the funds of this foundation are much smaller than at comparable private universities.[49] Examples of funded teaching and research are:[50]
New institutes such as theWyss Translational Center Zurich[51]
The Military Academy is an institution for the education, training and development of career officers of the Swiss Armed Forces. The scientific part of this organization is attached to the ETH Zurich, while other parts such as training and an assessment center are under the direct management of thedefense sector of the Swiss Federal Government.[54]
The ETH Alumni Association has been in existence since 1889. It has around 35,000 members. Membership is primarily open to former students, though academic faculty and post-docs are also eligible to join as members.[55][56] After the collapse ofCredit Suisse in 2025 the association took over sponsorship of theAward for Best Teaching.[57]
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