Compass
The guide
Zurich & Lausanne
Switzerland · Europe
ETH and EPFL, plus the deep-tech and quantitative finance built around them — research here is funded at a level almost nowhere else matches.
Who this suits, and who it doesn’t
Suits you if you are academically strong and aiming at research or deep tech, particularly via a funded PhD. Look elsewhere if you need to arrive as an undergraduate on a tight budget — the cost of living, not the fees, is what excludes people.
The catch, and the way in
The catch
The wall is admission and cost of living, not tuition: Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe to exist in.
The way in
Tuition at ETH/EPFL is low even for internationals. A PhD position is a salaried job, which is why doctoral study is the common way in.
Living there
What living here is actually like
Orderly to a degree that is either restful or stifling depending on temperament: transport runs exactly on time, the lakes and mountains are genuinely at hand, and the rules about noise, recycling and neighbourliness are taken seriously. It is quiet, extremely safe, and socially reserved — foreigners consistently report that making local friends takes years rather than months.
How the money works
The inversion that surprises everyone: tuition at ETH and EPFL is low even for internationals, while simply existing in Switzerland is the most expensive on this list. Rent, food, insurance and transport all cost multiples of neighbouring countries. This is why the doctoral route dominates — a PhD position is a salaried job, and salary is what makes the country affordable.Described in shape rather than figures on purpose: rents and salaries move every year and we cannot keep numbers true, but what is expensive and what quietly eats income stays true for far longer.
The language you actually need
Research and graduate teaching run in English, and at EPFL much of the environment does too. Zurich's daily life is in German (with Swiss German spoken), Lausanne's in French. You can complete a doctorate in English; you cannot integrate socially in it.
The work that clusters here
Fields with a real market in this city
Computer Science · Natural Sciences · Engineering