Study at the FHNW School of Education and gain valuable insights into the Swiss education system while experiencing intercultural exchange in an inspiring international environment.
Institutional Details and Contacts
Name of Institution | Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW Pädagogische Hochschule University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland School of Education |
Erasmus ID Code | CH BRUGG02 |
Postal Address | PH FHNW International Affairs Bahnhofstrasse 6 CH 5210 Windisch |
Visiting Address | Bahnhofstrasse 6 CH 5210 Windisch |
Campuses | Muttenz (Basel) Brugg-Windisch Olten |
Website | FHNW School of Education (German only), Swissuniversities (English) |
Institutional Coordinator | Dr. Miriam Ronsdorf Edita Butnarová |
Institutional Details and Contacts
First Term: Sep 1 – Jan 31 | Second Term: Feb 1 – August 31 | |
|---|---|---|
Mandatory course «Let's Get Started! Collaborative and Intercultural Experience» | Beginning of September | Beginning of February |
FHNW Welcome Days | One week before the start of the semester courses | One week before the start of the semester courses |
Semester courses | Mid-September – second to last week of December | Mid-February – first week of June |
Examination week | Second week of January | Second week of June |
More details (in German) |
Nomination, Application Procedures and Course Booking
- We ask partner universities to nominate exchange students to the institutional coordinator by the dates listed below (international.ph@fhnw.ch)
- We send the partner universities a nomination link for the Mobility Online database
- Incoming students can attend courses at all three campuses. We recommend Muttenz (near Basel), as most of the courses in English usually are held there.
- Nominated students will receive an application form that must be sent to the receiving institution by the dates listed below:
First term | Second term |
|---|---|
Nomination: May 15 | Nomination: October 31 |
Application: May 31 | Application: November 30 |
Course booking: June 5 | Course booking: December 5 |
Submitting Learning Agreement: June 15 | Submitting Learning Agreement: December 15 |
The PH FHNW will send its decision concerning acceptance within 10 days after the application has been submitted completely. On acceptance, incoming students will also be informed about registration.
Incoming students receive all course information and access to the internal sites upon completion of the application and acceptance procedure.
The PH FHNW welcomes students and staff members with disabilities. People with disabilities or documented health problems (physical or mental) can apply for additional funding in order to cover extra costs arising during mobility in relation with their disability or illness.
International Programme – Courses in English at the FHNW School of Education
The programme includes courses of the regular study programme and is open to students at the FHNW School of Education as well as to international exchange students.
Language Skills
As most undergraduate courses are taught in German, all incoming students who are not native speakers are required to provide proof of language proficiency at a minimum level of B2 in either German or English. A valid language certificate must be submitted as proof.
Transcript of Records and Grading System
A transcript of records (ToR) will be issued by the receiving institution no later than 5 weeks after the semester has ended.
In many courses, there is no grading system, but a pass/fail system.
If you need grades for the transcript of records, please ask whether it is possible to receive a grade at the beginning of the semester and have the decision confirmed in writing (email is sufficient).
The grading scale ranges from 6 (excellent) to 1 (insufficient), with 4 being the minimum score required to pass:
Grading scale | 6.0 | 5.5 – 5.0 | 4.5 – 4.0 | 3.5 – 1.0 |
ECTS grade | A | B/C | D/E | F |
In words | excellent | very good | good | satisfactory | sufficient | deficient | fail |
ECTS credits
1 semester: 30 ECTS credits
1 full academic year: 60 ECTS credits
Visa
- Nationals of EU/EFTA-countries: No visa required to enter Switzerland
- Nationals of non-EU/EFTA countries: Check visa requirements with the Swiss Embassy in your country of residence. The embassy site generally posts a list of documents to bring along to the visa appointment. Schedule visa appointments early.
The sending and receiving institutions will provide assistance, when required, in securing visas for exchange students, according to the requirements of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education. See also the information on visa requirements by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mandatory Health Insurance
Health and accident insurance is mandatory in Switzerland for stays longer than three months. A basic insurance plan covers medical care in the case of sickness or accident.
After arriving in Switzerland and registering with your municipality of residence, you have three months in which to take out health insurance. Provided you register within this time, you are insured from the time you enter Switzerland.
Students are responsible for taking out health insurance themselves.
Exemption from mandatory health insurance
People from the EU/EFTA area who have a European health insurance card can, on application, exempt themselves from the requirement to take out health insurance. This is also true of students from non-EU countries whose health insurance schemes are recognized by the Swiss authorities. Find out from your health insurance organization whether your scheme covers you in Switzerland.
Accommodation
See the links for various accommodation offerings:
Near the Muttenz Campus (Basel) | Near the Brugg-Windisch Campus |
|---|---|
Travel to and from Switzerland: Green Travel
All students (outgoing and incoming) who decide to travel round trip by train will receive a financial support.
All incoming students can apply for CHF 120.- in financial support for the Half-Fare Card (Halbtax = 50% reduction in travel costs). Please contact: international.ph@fhnw.ch
Buddy System and Experiences of Our Exchange Students
The FHNW School of Education provides every incoming student with a buddy from the European Student Network ESN. ESN organizes activities for all incoming students at FHNW.
International Student Activities (ISA) for all FHNW schools take place during the semester.
General Information
The FHNW School of Education is one of nine schools of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
Studying in Switzerland+ – a website published by «swissuniversities» (swissuniversities works to strengthen and enhance collaboration among Swiss institutions of higher education and promotes a common voice on educational issues in Switzerland)
University Sports at the FHNW
FHNW Sports offers an attractive and diverse program of sporting activities for regular exercise as well as access to lesser-known sports and the opportunity to make new friends.
FHNW Sports includes regular training sessions during the semester, workshops, online training, a weight room and much more. In most cases, FHNW Sport is free of charge. For the weight room, you can pay a subscription for half a year or a whole year.
Unfortunately, the sports program is only available in German.
