The Zürich University of Applied Sciences (, ZFH) is a governing body composed of four separate universities. It is located in the city of

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

, with facilities in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and

Wädenswil Wädenswil (locally often called ''Wättischwiil'', ''Wädischwiil'' or ''Wädi'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality located in the district of Horgen (district), Horgen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Z� ...

, is the second largest

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

after the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. As of 2024, the Zürcher Fachhochschule encompasses four universities, covering such fields of study as

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

and

facility management Facility management or facilities management (FM) is a professional discipline focused on coordinating the use of space, infrastructure, people, and organization. Facilities management ensures that physical assets and environments are managed effe ...

applied psychology Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Educational and organizational psychology, business management, law, health, pro ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

All fields of study

Universities

Zurich University of Applied Sciences/ZHAW The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW; ) located in the city of Winterthur, with facilities in Zurich and Wädenswil, is one of the largest Fachhochschule, University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland. The university has eight depart ...

(, ZHAW) *

Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration The University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich (HWZ, ) is the oldest and biggest part-time university for economics and Business Administration in Switzerland and is a part of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Histor ...

(, HWZ) *

Zurich University of the Arts Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, ) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich's School of Art and Design (HGKZ) and ...

(, ZHdK) *

Zurich University of Teacher Education Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The urban area was home to 1.45 ...

(, PHZH)

History

The Zürcher Fachhochschule was founded in 1998.

History of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)

The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) was founded in September 2007, when the previously independent institutions ''Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur'', ''University of Applied Sciences Wädenswil'', the ''School of Social Work'' and the ''School of Applied Psychology'' in Zurich merged. The former Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur was itself made up of schools with long histories: the ''Technikum Winterthur'' was founded in 1874 as Switzerland's largest engineering school, and the ''Höhere Wirtschafts- und Verwaltungsschule'' was established in 1968. Both schools were the first of their kind in Switzerland.

Programmes

A total of 36

Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

, 24 consecutive

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

degree programmes and one

Doctor of Business Administration The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is a terminal degree in business administration. The DBA is classified as a research doctorate or professional doctorate depending on the granting university and country where the degree was awarded. ...

(with a partner university) are currently offered. The general language of courses is

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(Hochdeutsch). Notably all lectures at the School of Management and Law's bachelor programme in International Management are held in English, as are courses for

exchange students International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

. Generally, there is an increasing use of English observed in many other programmes.

Facilities

The university has buildings scattered throughout the cities of Winterthur and Zurich, as well as campus-like facilities in Wädenswil. Despite the fact that the schools and institutes are not all centrally located, students are rarely (if ever) required to relocate to other venues. Eight libraries are available for use by members of the university, as are the six on-location canteens.

Student life

Apart from dealing with all issues relevant to studies at universities connected to the Zürcher Fachhochschule, the university student association (VSZHAW) organises student parties and sells study materials and laptop computers in its own shop. The Academic Sports Association (ASVZ) offers a wide range of sports facilities to students. Among many other student groups, there is also a section of the

Erasmus Student Network The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a Europe-wide student organisation. It is the largest student organisation in Europe, focusing on student mobility and internationalisation of higher education. The organisation supports and develops student ...

in Winterthur.

Notable alumni

Karin Keller-Sutter Karin Maria Keller-Sutter (; née Sutter; born 22 December 1963) is a Swiss politician who has served as President of the Swiss Confederation since 2025 and concurrently as a member of the Federal Council of Switzerland since 2019. Keller-Sutte ...

, head of the

Federal Department of Finance The Federal Department of Finance (FDF, , , , ) is one of the seven Ministry (government department), departments of the Swiss federal government. The department is headquartered in Bern and headed by a member of the Federal Council (Switzerlan ...

Peter Voser Peter Robert Voser (born 29 August 1958) is a Swiss businessman, who is the chairman of the Swedish-Swiss company ABB. He was the CEO of the Dutch-British corporation Royal Dutch Shell from July 2009 to December 2013. He was interim CEO of ABB f ...

, CEO of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

References

External links

Zürcher Fachhochschule
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurcher Fachhochschule Universities of Applied Sciences in Switzerland Buildings and structures in the canton of Zürich Winterthur Educational institutions established in 2007 2007 establishments in Switzerland