Space Research, Climate Science, Biomedical Science
The University of Bern, founded in 1834, is a comprehensive public university in Bern, Switzerland. Its Faculty of Science offers a broad spectrum of programs in natural sciences, exact sciences, and interdisciplinary areas with technical components.
The University of Bern, UNIBE, was founded in 1834 and is the university of the Swiss capital. It has about 19,000 students and 4,000 staff, and around one student in five comes from abroad. The main building, designed in the style of the early twentieth century, was opened in 1903 on the Grosse Schanze, a former fortification above the railway station, with views over the old town and the Alps. Other sites are located around the Inselspital hospital and in the Muristalden area.
The university has eight faculties, among them theology, law, economics and social sciences, medicine, veterinary medicine, science, humanities and human sciences. It is a strong centre of medical research, working with the Inselspital, one of the largest university hospitals in Switzerland. Physics, climate research and space science are further strengths, and the university has a long tradition in geography and earth sciences.
Albert Einstein lived in Bern from 1902 to 1909, worked at the patent office and wrote his 1905 papers there, and he gave lectures at the university as a private lecturer in 1908. Bern’s physicists took part in the Apollo missions. Their solar wind sail was the first experiment placed on the Moon in 1969, and the university has contributed instruments to space missions ever since. It leads the CHEOPS mission of the European Space Agency, which studies exoplanets.
The university also hosts the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, named after the glaciologist Hans Oeschger, who helped to develop ice core analysis. Tuition fees are low by international standards, around 750 francs per semester at present. Check the current tariff. Bachelor’s programmes are taught in German and French, and a number of master’s programmes are in English. Admission requires a Swiss Matura or an equivalent.
Bern is smaller and cheaper than Zurich or Geneva, with a medieval old town listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Students often swim in the Aare river in summer.
Domains taught:
Aerospace, AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Geotechnics, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Physics, Process Control, Robotics, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Member of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities. Numerous international partnerships and research collaborations, including with space agencies (ESA, NASA) and medical research institutions.
Research:
World-leading research in space science (e.g., Bernese instruments on space missions), climate change research, biomedical engineering, cell biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science.
Famous Alumnis:
Emil Theodor Kocher, Kurt Wüthrich
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
4000
Current students***:
19000
Foreign students***:
20%
Cumulative former students***:
90000
Pros
Strong research focus, particularly in space and climate sciences. High quality of life in Bern. Good international connections.
Cons
Less extensive engineering programs compared to federal institutes.
Best For
Students interested in science with a strong research emphasis, particularly in fields like space science, climate change, or biomedical sciences.
Université de Genève follows much the same lines as this university, with astroscience, bioinformatics and geotechnics as common ground, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers marine science as well.
Also strong in astroscience, bioinformatics and geotechnics, Universität Zürich makes a sensible second look at home; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and is slightly larger, at about 28,000 students against roughly 19,000 here.
On content, Universität Basel and this institution are close, as both teach astroscience, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies; it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers life sciences as well.
Where this institution leans on astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich does the same, and it is slightly larger, at about 24,500 students against roughly 19,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Think of EPFL when aerospace, bioinformatics and nanotechnologies is the priority: it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
On content, USTC in China and this institution are close, as both teach astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics; it covers optics and civil engineering as well, and is slightly larger, at about 25,000 students against roughly 19,000 here.
If this institution is on your list for astroscience, bioinformatics and geotechnics, Université PSL in France deserves a comparison, because it has almost the same size, at about 17,000 students, and is also a public institution.
Abroad, Osaka University (Japan) covers astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics in a comparable way, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers marine science and food science as well.
If this university is on your list for astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics, Hokkaido University in Japan deserves a comparison, because it has almost the same size, at about 18,000 students, and is also a public institution.
Beyond national borders, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie stands out as a comparable school for astroscience, aerospace and bioinformatics; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers metrology and transportations as well.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is the University of Bern?
The main building is at Hochschulstrasse 6 in Bern, Switzerland, on the Grosse Schanze.
When was it founded?
In 1834.
How large is it?
About 19,000 students and 4,000 staff.
What is it known for?
Medicine, physics, space science, climate research, geography and earth sciences.
What was the Apollo solar wind experiment?
An experiment built by Bern physicists and placed on the Moon in 1969, the first of its kind.
What is CHEOPS?
A European Space Agency mission to study exoplanets that is led by the University of Bern.
What is the Oeschger Centre?
A centre for climate change research named after the glaciologist Hans Oeschger.
What does it cost?
Tuition fees are low by international standards, around 750 francs per semester at present. Check the current tariff.
In which language are courses taught?
Bachelor's programmes in German and French, and a number of master's programmes in English.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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