Switzerland

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western and Central Europe, where it is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura.

On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and it is notably not a member of the European Union and thus does not use the Euro currency. Switzerland’s strong sense of identity and community is founded on a common historical background, shared values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism.

Switzerland ranks high in several metrics of national performance, including government transparency, civil liberties, economic competitiveness, and human development. In April 2015, Switzerland was found to be the ‘happiest’ country in the world in the third annual World Happiness Report. Zürich and Geneva each have been ranked among the top cities with the highest quality of life in the world.

Primary Level

This includes 2 years of kindergarten or a first learning cycle and comprises of 8 years.

Lower Secondary Education

It takes 3 to 4 years

Upper Secondary Education

It is subdivided into General Education programs & Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs.

The General Education programs include the Baccalaureate schools and the Upper Secondary Specialized Schools. They do not lead to professional qualifications, but prepare for Tertiary level education programs.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) in which students learn a profession which is mostly completed at training companies (apprenticeship) combined with teaching at a VET school. It can also be completed at full-time vocational schools.

Tertiary Level Education

Level B : Professional Education and Training (PET) which includes Federal PET Diploma Examinations, Advanced Federal PET Diploma Examinations and PET Colleges.

Level A institutions includes Universities, Universities of Applied Sciences and Universities of Teacher Education.

Universities offer various academic or practice-oriented degree programs. In general for access to a university institution, a Baccalaureate or a Federal Vocational Baccalaureate is required.

Continuing Education and Training (CET)

CET activities take place alongside the formal education and training system. It includes general educational or job-related education and training activities which are conducted within an organized framework and do not lead to state-recognized qualifications (e.g. CET courses or seminars), as well as learning processes take place without a teaching.