Frequently asked questions regarding the online registration

Here you will find extensive information concerning application, study admission, and aptitude assessment.

Registration for your first semester at the Academy of Art and Design is done online exclusively.
Choose your selected study course on the Academy’s website (1), then click on the grey button “online application”(2); this automatically takes you to the online registration.

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Applicants who are interested in taking a higher semester or are seeking an internal change of study are requested to contact the secretary’s office of their respective institute, and not to use the online registration form.

If you are interested in an exchange semester, please contact our International Office (Email: aW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbC5oZ2tAZmhudy5jaA==).

If you wish to complement an already existing registration form for a specific study course, please click on the button “Processing existing registration”.

Yes. But you must complete a separate online registration form for each study course and pay the respective registration and processing fee of CHF 100.

In order to start the registration process, you must first create a SWITCH edu-ID. Please note that you are allowed to possess only one SWITCH edu-ID account. You will need this ID each time you log in to the registration platform.

After creating your SWITCH edu-ID, please click on the button “create new registration” if you have not already enrolled for the requested study course. If you wish to complement an already existing registration form for a specific study course, please click on the button “Processing existing registration”.

You can either fill in and complete the registration form in one go or in separate steps at different times, changing or adding details as you go along. Your entries are buffered automatically. There is no save button.

After carefully checking your entries, click on the button “complete data entry”. In this way, all entries are saved definitely, that is, you can no longer make any changes in the “applications” tab.

Therefore, please carefully read through your entries again and check whether the information is correct before completing the registration.

Click on the button “Create new registration” (1) as long as you have not yet enrolled for the requested study course. (You must first create a SWITCH edu-ID – see question “How do I complete the registration form?”).

If you wish to add to an already existing registration form, click on the button “Processing existing registration”.

Changing personal data
Entries concerning personal data such as postal address or billing address can be changed at any time. To do this, please log in to the application portal using your access data. In the tab “personal data” you now have the opportunity to alter your personal data information.

Changing registration details
Registration details (tab “applications”) can be altered until you have clicked on the button “complete registration”. For this reason, please carefully read through your entries and check whether the information is correct before completing registration.
If necessary, contact Administration and let us know which details need changing. The address can be found in the confirmation of receipt which we have sent you.

Changing / Deleting registration for a study course
Deleting a registration is principally not possible.
If you wish to withdraw your registration, please send us an email. You will find our address at the end of the online registration form in the tab “applications”; it is also included in the confirmation of receipt we sent you.

Can I complete the registration after the deadline has run out?
No. Please make sure that you complete your registration, including all the necessary documents, before the deadline runs out. The application deadlines are absolutely binding and the registration window will be closed as soon as the deadline runs out.

The field “matriculation number” only concerns applicants who have already studied at a university or university of applied sciences in Switzerland. Applicants who have studied abroad are not required to fill in the field “matriculation number”.

All students receive a matriculation number when they register for the first time at a Swiss university, an university of applied sciences, or the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in the shape of a yellow sticker, which is affixed to the reverse of their qualifying diploma (e.g. secondary school certificate).

Yes. You can register for the coming semester all the same. In such a case, please upload a current confirmation from your school concerning prospective graduation. We will require the original graduation certificate from you as soon as you enrol.

If you experience problems when registering, we suggest you use a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge).

If you experience technical problems while registering online for a BA programme, you can send an email or call the Student Administration Office of the FHNW Academy of Art and Design: YXBwbHkuaGdrQGZobncuY2g= or by phone +41 61 228 44 33.

Students applying for a MA programme are requested to contact the secretary’s office of the respective institute:
Fine Arts: YXBwbHkua3Vuc3QuaGdrQGZobncuY2g=, Tel. +41 61 228 40 77
Design/Masterstudio: YXBwbHkubWFzdGVyc3R1ZGlvLmhna0BmaG53LmNo, Tel. +41 61 228 40 66
Vermittlung von Kunst und Design: YXBwbHkuaWxnay5oZ2tAZmhudy5jaA==, Tel. +41 61 228 40 88
Visual Communication and Iconic Research: YXBwbHkudmlzX2NvbS5oZ2tAZmhudy5jaA==, Tel. +41 61 228 41 11.

Yes. Please send us an email. You will find the address at the end of the online registration form in the tab “applications”; it is also included in the confirmation of receipt we sent you.

Here, too, the only way is to withdraw your registration and reapply for a new study course. Deleting a registration is principally not possible.

Please send us an email (you will find the address at the end of the registration form in the tab “applications” or else in the confirmation of receipt we sent you) and let us know that you wish to withdraw your registration.

The documents to be submitted depends on the study course you chose.

BA application (how do I prepare my BA application)

MA application (how do I prepare my MA application)

A translation is required for each document that is not originally written in German or in English. For Swiss certificates no translation is required.
In addition to the translation, you must also upload a copy of the original document (in the original language).

No. If you have dropped out of your studies, you will need an accounts sheet confirming your exmatriculation. If your university/university of applied sciences is unable to provide a final accounts sheet of your exmatriculation, please ask them for a provisional one.

Open the link you received by email to amend / complement the details.
Then select the route home page > applications > open (see steps 1, 2, 3)

A Transcript of Records (ToR) is an official transcript of data that certifies previous academic performances and exam results including the grades and ECTS points achieved.

The registration and processing fee of CHF 100 can be settled with a paper invoice or by credit card. We advise you to pay the registration fee by credit card.

We accept the following cards:

• PostFinance e-finance
• PostFinance card
• Visa
• Mastercard

After selecting “paper invoice” and clicking on the button “create invoice”, the invoice is generated in the next window. Then please click on the button “complete registration” to complete the invoicing process. You will then receive an invoice by post.

The registration and processing fee will not be waived under any circumstances.

If an application has been processed and rejected, the registration fee will not be refunded.

In cases where an application was incomplete or withdrawn, again the registration fee will not be refunded.

Regarding all study courses, the personal data sheet must not be completed until requested by the Student Administration Office.
You will be informed in due course after being admitted to your studies.

Your application will only be processed when it has reached the processing status “registration check”. You will then receive a confirmation of receipt by email.
If your registration shows the processing status “data input” or “payment”, it means that you have not yet completed the registration which means we cannot process it at present.

You can check the processing status of your registration any time in the online registration portal. The processing statuses are read from left to right.

All application documents are reviewed individually.
Of course, we try to process applications as quickly as possible. Please try to understand that this could take until mid-March (regarding BA applications submitted in mid-February) and mid-April (regarding MA applications submitted in mid-March) and mid-July (regarding MA applications for the study course Masterstudio submitted in mid-June), respectively.

You will find the dates for the aptitude assessment here.

Each application is carefully reviewed and assessed.
You will be informed by email as soon as we have appraised your application. If and when this has been successfully completed, you will receive an invitation to the aptitude test. Regarding applications submitted in February, this should occur latest by mid-March. With regard to applications submitted in March and June, respectively, this should occur latest by the end of April and mid-July, respectively.

All decisions are processed and communicated individually.
Of course, we try to inform students about the outcome of their application as quickly as possible, so we ask you for your understanding in this matter.

The decisions will be communicated between mid-May (concerning BA applications submitted in February), or beginning of May (concerning MA applications submitted in mid-March), and in mid-July (concerning applications for the Masterstudio study course submitted in mid-June).