Studying Biology at UZH - Incoming (EN)

Below is an overview of the most important information and links.

UZH maintains mobility agreements wit many universities. Check your possibilities here:

Exchange programs within Europe
Exchange programs outside of Europe

If there is no mobility agreement between your home university and UZH, it is possible to organize a stay with us as a visiting student independently. 

Visiting students

Financing your stay

Your application for an exchange in the frame of the Swiss-European Mobility Programme is also an application for a grant financed by the Swiss Confederation. However, your acceptance as an exchange student at UZH is no guarantee that you will receive such a grant. In any case, it will cover only about 25% of your living expenses.

The expected minimum cost of living for students at the University of Zurich is about CHF 2,000 per month.

 Info 

Lectures and courses taught in English

The first and second year of the Bachelor program in Biology is taught in German, although some lectures are also held in English. About 90 percent of all third year Bachelor courses are taught in English.

Therefore, to study Biology at UZH as a mobility or visiting student, you must either have completed two full years of Biology-Natural Sciences studies, or have good knowledge in German (level C1). We will only accept mobility or visiting students that fulfill one of these requirements.

A list of courses (modules) available for incoming mobility students is found here (PDF, 124 KB).

General information about studying at UZH for mobility students

link

Recognition of UZH credit points at your home university

You must check with your university in advance whether a specific module can be transferred to your home university for credit. The eligibility for transfer of credits is entirely their decision. You will find detailed descriptions of the modules in the UZH course catalogue.

Course catalogue

Selecting course (modules)

Only courses with unlimited number of places can be booked by mobility students (no block courses!). Note that most exams are held on site in january/february, and in in june/july respectively. Requests for another exam date or an online exam are not granted.

A complete list of lectures and courses available for incoming mobility students in the Fall and Spring semester can be downloaded here (pdf (PDF, 124 KB)). Please always check the UZH course catalogue for updates and new contents of these modules.

Note: A review of the performance of incoming mobility students at our faculty has shown that relatively many courses are completed with a failed attempt. We therefore urge you to carefully study the prerequisites for the courses you wish to take, which are listed in the descriptions in the course catalogue, and to take them into consideration. If you are uncertain about specific prerequisites, ask us for clarification. We advise you not to register for more than 20 - 25 ECTS credits per semester. It may also be helpful for you to use the buddy system of the Student Association of the Faculty to learn about appropriate courses for incomings.

Buddy system of the Biology Students Association

You will find all details about the courses offered in the UZH course catalogue.  Search by using the module codes, e.g. BIO 354, BME 322, INI 401 or EEE 102 to find your modules (check the correct semester in the upper right corner!).

Booking the selected courses (module booking)

In order to participate in a course, you must book the module in the student portal of UZH in due time by the deadline, which is published for each module in the course catalogue. You are then automatically registered for the exam. Remember, therefore, to book the modules within this time period, and to cancel any modules you do not wish to complete before the cancellation deadline.

Students can download their transcript in the UZH student portal. The transcript lists the grades for all the courses you booked at UZH, including those you did not pass.

The transcript is available for download at the beginning of March (for the previous fall semester) or at the beginning of October (for the previous spring semester). Further information here.

Grades for courses attended at the Language Center or at ETH are automatically transferred to the UZH transcript of records.

For questions regarding the transcript of records, please refer to the Office of Student Affairs of the Faculty of Science.

Office of Student Affairs

Your home university is responsible for the recognition of credits you earned at UZH.

Examination results at UZH are evaluated with grades from 1 to 6, in half grades. The grades have the following meanings:

Universität Zürich

Kresimir Rados
Winterthurerstrasse 190
CH-8057 Zürich

Telefon: +41 44 63 54838

Mail: studienkoordination.biologie@uzh.ch