Language requirements
Most Master’s degree programmes at ETH Zurich are taught in English; some require knowledge of both English and German; and some are taught in German.
The language skills required for each Master’s degree programme are listed in the section on application documents. A recognised language certificate (see list below) must be submitted by the application deadline at the latest.
Applications with an invalid, insufficient, or missing language certificate will not be evaluated by the department and will be rejected on formal grounds.
Recognised language certificates
The following lists contain all recognised certificates required for admission to Master’s degree studies. Other certificates cannot be recognised.
Note: The English language certificates TOEFL, IELTS and C1 Advanced (CAE) must be no more than two years old. The C2 Proficiency (CPE) and C1 Advanced certificate with Grade A (200-210) must be no more than five years old.
Note: The language certificates Goethe-Zertifikat C1, TestDaF, ?SD Zertifikat C1, DSH-3, Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusminister?konferenz and telc Deutsch C1 must be no more than two years old. The Goethe-Zertifikat C2 must be no more than than five years old.
Exemptions
Please note that these lists are conclusive. No other certificates or circumstances can be considered. If none of the below listed criteria applies to you, you will have to provide one of the recognized language certificates with your application.
The following candidates are not required to provide proof of English language proficiency:
- Holders of the Swiss Matura
- Holders of a Bachelor’s degree from ETH Zurich
- Holders of a Bachelor’s degree from EPF Lausanne
- Applicants who completed a Bachelor’s degree programme completely taught in English. The language of instruction must be officially confirmed by the university. No confirmations are required for Bachelor's degrees from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Requirements for the confirmation on the language of instruction
Academic documents (transcript of records, enrolment confirmation, Diploma Supplement) can also be accepted as confirmations on the language of instruction if they explicitly specify English as only teaching language of the entire Bachelor's degree programme. However, if your academic documents do not mention the programme’s language of instruction, you need to submit a separate official confirmation on the language of instruction of your programme issued by your university.
The confirmation must:
- confirm that the language of instruction of your entire Bachelor's degree programme is/was only English
- be issued by the central administration of your university e.g. Registrar’s Office
(confirmations issued by teachers or professors are not accepted) - bear official stamp and signature or contain a certified electronic signature of the issuing office
Important
Confirmations on the language of instruction which do not fulfill the exemption reasons will lead to a direct rejection of the application, since it is not possible to submit a language certificate after the application deadline.
Therefore, if you have doubts on whether you still need a language certificate, for example in case English was not the only language of instruction during your studies, we strongly recommend to take a language test and to submit a valid language certificate with your application.
The following candidates are not required to provide proof of German language proficiency:
- Holders of the Swiss Matura
- Holders of a Bachelor’s degree from ETH Zurich
- Candidates who completed a Bachelor’s degree programme exclusively taught in German. The language of instruction must be officially confirmed by the university.
- Applicants who meet one of the requirements mentioned below:
- German Zeugnis der allgemeinen Hochschulreife
- Austrian Reifeprüfungszeugnis
- Luxembourgian Certificat de fin d'études secondaires.
- Diplom über die bestandene staatliche Abschlussprüfung an der Oberschule at a school located in South Tyrol and where German is the main medium of instruction.
- Abschlusszeugnis der Oberstufe des Sekundarunterrichts of the 'Deutsche Gemeinschaft' in Belgium.
Requirements for the confirmation on the language of instruction
Academic documents (transcript of records, enrolment confirmation, Diploma Supplement) can also be accepted as confirmations on the language of instruction if they explicitly specify German as only teaching language of the entire programme. However, if your academic documents do not mention the programme’s language of instruction, you need to submit a separate official confirmation on the language of instruction of your programme issued by your university.
The confirmation must:
- confirm that the language of instruction of your entire Bachelor's degree programme is/was only German
- be issued by the central administration of your university e.g. Registrar’s Office
(confirmations issued by teachers or professors are not accepted) - bear official stamp and signature or contain a certified electronic signature of the issuing office
Important
Confirmations on the language of instruction which do not fulfill the exemption reasons will lead to a direct rejection of the application, since it is not possible to submit a language certificate after the application deadline.
Therefore, if you have doubts on whether you still need a language certificate, for example because German was not the only language of instruction during your studies, we strongly recommend to take a language test and to submit a valid language certificate with your application.
TOEFL Score reporting
We use the ETS Online Score Verification System. You need to order a report and designate ETH Zurich as the receiving institution (our institution code is 9038). The results will be automatically added to your application(s).
IELTS Score reporting
We use the IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) Verification Service. In the online application form you will have to indicate the test date and TRF number.