University of Fribourg Admission 2027 for International Students

Admission at a glance

The University of Fribourg is Switzerland's only bilingual university, teaching in French and German, and requires a bachelor applicant to hold a foreign upper secondary education substantially equivalent to the Swiss Matura: 12 years of schooling including the final three years in required subjects (first language, second language, mathematics, a natural science, and a humanities or social science subject), verified against a published country-by-country list. Language proficiency at CEFR B2 in French or German, the teaching languages, is required, and additional country-specific conditions may apply, listed on the university's own admissions database.

Master's applicants need a bachelor's degree of at least 180 ECTS credits and at least three years of study from a recognised university, with the same B2 requirement in French or German for most programmes, though some master's programmes are taught in English instead. Applications for both bachelor's and master's degrees follow the same fixed calendar: for the autumn semester, the general window is 1 February to 30 April, with late applications accepted 1 May to 31 August for an additional CHF 50; a candidate who needs a Swiss entry visa must apply earlier, by 28 February. For the smaller spring semester, the general window is 1 September to 30 November, with late applications to 31 January and a visa-candidate deadline of 30 September. The application fee is CHF 100 for a foreign certificate or degree holder, non-refundable and not carried over to another semester. Fribourg's admission pages do not publish a fixed numeric minimum IELTS or TOEFL score even for English-taught programmes, describing requirements instead by CEFR level.

Requirements

Bachelor

• A foreign upper secondary education based on formal general education, substantially equivalent to the Swiss Matura: 12 years of schooling, required subjects studied across the final three years, checked against Fribourg's own country-specific list.
• CEFR B2 in French or German, the university's two teaching languages.
• Application within the fixed calendar: 1 February to 30 April (autumn semester, general), 28 February (autumn semester, visa candidates), 1 September to 30 November (spring semester, general), 30 September (spring semester, visa candidates).

Master

• A bachelor's degree of at least 180 ECTS credits and three years of study from a university Fribourg recognises; faculties may set further prerequisite coursework.
• CEFR B2 in French or German for most programmes; a few master's programmes are taught in English instead, without a published numeric test score.
• Application within the same fixed calendar as bachelor's admission.

Full requirements and documents