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High school

High school in Switzerland (Gymnasium)

The academic route to a Matura and university — how it works, how to get in, and how it compares with an apprenticeship.

What is a Gymnasium?

The Gymnasium is Switzerland's academic upper-secondary school. It leads to the gymnasiale Matura, the diploma that gives largely open access to Swiss universities and the two federal institutes of technology (ETH Zurich and EPFL). Roughly a fifth of Swiss students take this route; most others do a vocational apprenticeship.

What it is called across Switzerland

German-speaking cantons: Gymnasium, Kantonsschule, Mittelschule
French-speaking cantons: Gymnase (VD, GE, NE), Collège (VS, FR, JU), Lycée
Ticino / Italian-speaking: Liceo
Grisons / Romansh: Gimnasi

How you get in

Admission is organised by each canton, so rules differ. In practice there are three common routes:

Entrance exam
A cantonal Aufnahmeprüfung in mathematics and the language of instruction, usually taken in the last year or two of lower secondary school.
Grades / recommendation
Some cantons admit students without an exam if their school grades and the teachers' recommendation are strong enough (prüfungsfreier Übertritt).
Probationary period
Most schools run a trial semester (Probezeit). You stay if your results meet the promotion rules.

How long it takes

The Matura programme lasts at least four years. Many cantons offer a long form (Langzeitgymnasium) starting after 6th grade and running six years, and a short form (Kurzzeitgymnasium) of four years starting after lower secondary. Students are typically 12–19 years old.

What the Matura degree is

The Matura (also called Maturité or Maturità) is the Swiss academic leaving certificate that gives you the right to study at a Swiss university or federal institute of technology. It is a broad, general education taken full-time over 4–6 years. Students take around 10–13 subjects per term, including languages, mathematics, sciences, humanities, arts and sport. Weekly class time is roughly 30–35 hours at school, and students are expected to do a further 10–15 hours of independent study, homework and preparation at home. In the final year, every student completes a Matura project (Maturaarbeit / travail de maturité / lavoro di maturità) — a substantial piece of independent research or creative work on a topic of their choice. To graduate, you sit written and oral final exams in several core subjects plus your profile subjects. The final grade also takes into account your school work over the last years.

Matura profiles (Schwerpunktfach)

All students take the same core subjects, then choose a specialist profile that shapes a large part of the timetable:

Ancient languages (Latin, Greek)
Modern languages (English, Italian, Spanish, Russian)
Mathematics and natural sciences (physics, biology, chemistry, applied maths)
Economics and law
Music, visual arts or design
Philosophy, pedagogy and psychology

What the Matura opens up

Universities and ETH/EPFL
Open admission to almost all degree programmes; medicine has a national aptitude test (numerus clausus).
Universities of teacher education
Direct access to primary teaching degrees.
Universities of applied sciences
Possible after one year of relevant work experience.
A shortened apprenticeship
Some professions let Matura holders train in reduced time, or you can start work and train on the job.

Outcomes in numbers

Rough national figures for the Gymnasium route. They are averages across Switzerland — cantons differ a lot, so read them as a guide, not a prediction.

~23%

of young people in Switzerland finish with a gymnasiale Matura

~95%

of students who sit the final Matura exams pass them

~15%

leave the Gymnasium along the way — most repeat a year, switch to another school (FMS, HMS) or start an apprenticeship

~80%

of Matura holders start university or ETH/EPFL within four years

~40%

wait a year or more before starting their studies (work, travel, internships, military service)

~10%

choose an apprenticeship or a shortened apprenticeship after the Matura instead of university

What this means

›Leaving the Gymnasium is not the end of the road: most students who switch finish another upper-secondary qualification, often an apprenticeship or a specialised school.
›The trial semester (Probezeit) is when most changes happen — schools expect some students to move on.
›The Matura rate is much higher in French-speaking cantons and Ticino than in most German-speaking cantons.
›Almost everyone with a Matura ends up in higher education, but not always straight away.

Sources

Figures are rounded national approximations from federal education statistics and may shift from year to year.

Gymnasium or apprenticeship?

Neither route is a dead end — Switzerland's system is permeable in both directions.

Gymnasium

Full-time school, strongly academic, no salary, leads to university. Best if you enjoy studying theory and want an academic career.

Apprenticeship + Berufsmaturität

Work three or four days a week with a wage, school the rest, and finish with a vocational Matura that opens universities of applied sciences — and, via the Passerelle exam, full universities.

FMS / ECG

The specialised middle school sits between the two and prepares for health, social work, education and arts programmes.

Changing your mind

You can move from Gymnasium into an apprenticeship, or from an apprenticeship into higher education. Switching is common and accepted.

Find the right Gymnasium for you

Pick your canton to see the Gymnasiums there, listed alphabetically by town. Click a school to open its website in a new tab, or tap the heart to save it to your account.

Schools marked "Private (tuition)" charge school fees. Unmarked schools are cantonal (state) Gymnasiums, which are generally free apart from small material costs.

Canton

Source: gymnasium.ch

Official information

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