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School of Life Sciences
and Facility Management

Incoming students

Grüezi and welcome to Wädenswil!

A student exchange at the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management will enrich your studies with a unique experience.

  • You get to know Switzerland, its culture and people.
  • You acquire specific knowledge and improve your language skills.
  • You broad your horizons and develop your skills in independence, flexibility, tolerance and intercultural communication.
  • Your career will certainly benefit from being a visiting student in Wädenswil.

International students are welcomed to our school every year. Our degree courses are based on the two-stage Bologna system. Visiting students can study on both the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes as well as our continuing education programmes.

What to expect?

Browse through our International Exchange Guide to find out more about all the perks of a student exchange at the ZHAW LSFM - there is a lot to look forward to!

⇒ International Exchange Guide(PDF 1,9 MB)

Green Travel Tipps

There are many possibilities to make a student exchange more environmentally friendly – choosing a means of transport with low CO2 emissions or shopping regionally and seasonally. 

SEMP exchange students who opt for a climate-friendly journey to Switzerland are even entitled to an additional financial support.

⇒ More informationen and additional tips

Adventure awaits

Switzerland might be small, but that does not make it less charming – there is a whole lot to see, discover and experience all over the country.

But Wädenswil with its great location close to the city of Zurich and the ZHAW LSFM itself have much to offer too – beautiful accommodations, a wide range of leisure time activities, various facilities and a unique campus on the shores of Lake Zurich with a nice view of the mountains.

⇒ Find out more!

 

Degree programmes and modules

Do you want to learn more about our seven Bachelor and four Master degree programmes and their individual modules?
Or do you have any technical questions and need help filling in your Learning Agreement?

⇒ Get to the overview of all modules and contacts

 

Application process

Important dates for your exchange

Date Autumn semester Springsemester
Nomination deadline 30th April 31st October
Welcome Event Friday before semester start (CW 37) Friday before semester start (CW 7)
Scheduled teaching weeks
(= course duration)*
CW 38 – CW 51 CW 8 – CW 22
Exam weeks* CW 3 – CW 5 CW 24 – CW 26

* Depending on your study programme, possible project weeks and late examinations, the mentioned dates can differ in certain cases. The International Office LSFM will provide more specific, individual information after you have been nominated or upon request.

Language Requirements

Incoming students need a language level of B2 in the language their programme is taught in and have to submit a language certificate with their application (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or equivalent).

The majority of classes in the Bachelor's programmes are taught in German, in the Master’s programmes in German as well as English, depending on the programme and specialisation.

Want to improve your German during your student exchange? At the ZHAW LSFM, we offer a free German course(PDF 376,5 KB) specifically aimed at foreign students – there is a beginner and an advanced level. If you want to practice your German and, at the same time, connect with other ZHAW students, we recommend signing up for the Tandem Language Learning. Last but not least, the ZHAW School of Applied Linguistics also offers a wide range of additional German courses at various levels. However, please note that in this case, the regular charges apply and all of these courses take place in either Zurich, Winterthur or online.

Nomination

Students can complete an exchange at the ZHAW LSFM starting from their third semester. The minimal duration is two months and the maximum duration twelve months (two semesters) during each study cycle (Bachelor and Master). Each student exchange requires an official nomination by the International Office of the home university. The following information needs to be sent to international.lsfm@zhaw.ch:

Online registration

After the International Office of the ZHAW LSFM has received and reviewed the official nomination from the partner university, we will contact the nominated student directly in order to provide them with all information necessary for their application and send them the registration link.

Entry and visa

Important: The following data is provided without liability. For legally binding information, please contact the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) or the Swiss representation in your home country.

Depending on their nationality and period of stay, incoming students may need a visa for entering Switzerland. Please refer to the relevant website of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in due time, to find out about the requirements applicable in your specific case. EU citizens normally do not need a visa, as long as they can provide a valid travel document upon their entry. Let us know if you are uncertain about something or have any questions: international.lsfm@zhaw.ch.

If a visa is, in fact, required, important links and useful information on the application procedure, documents to submit etc. can be found in our Visa Guidelines(PDF 189,9 KB)The whole process may take up three months and it is therefore very important to start organising your visa early. Please also note that, during public holidays as well as the Christmas and the summer break, the processing time might be additionally delayed due to absences and limited opening hours.

Insurances

Generally, every person staying in Switzerland for more than three months must be insured with a recognised Swiss health insurance company. As special regulations apply for students, incomings please note the following:

Students from the EU who are insured statutorily or compulsorily in their home country, can be exempt from the Swiss insurance obligation by means of their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The card has to be applied for in time, furthermore, it needs to be valid for the whole duration of stay.

Privately insured students and third country nationals can only apply for exemption if the health insurance of their home country offers a coverage equal to Switzerland’s. We recommend that concerned incomings ask their health insurer on time if sufficient insurance coverage can be guaranteed and certified. However, due to Switzerland’s strict requirements, most foreign insurances are not accepted.

If students are not insured at all or fail to show proof of equivalent insurance coverage, they can take out a special student health insurance policy accepted by the Canton of Zurich for the duration of stay that will, in turn, allow them to be exempt from the regular insurance obligation.

Good to know

The health insurance policy itself can be taken out in advance – we recommend students choose their arrival day as the inception date. However, before the application for the exemption from compulsory health insurance can be submitted, incoming students first have to register at the Swiss municipality, which they do after having arrived in Switzerland.

Exchange options

Usually, Incoming students come to the ZHAW LSFM in Wädenswil from one of our European partner universities via the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP). Thanks to our bilateral agreements, however, student exchanges outside of Europe are also possible. Additionally, a limited number of places are available for Free Movers.

⇒ Exchange options

FAQ

We answer some of the most common questions from our incoming students in our FAQ. If you do not find an answer there, you are welcome to contact us.