ETH Entrance examination
Applicants who must sit an examination to be admitted to Bachelor’s studies at ETH Zurich must sit the ETH entrance examination. This information will be communicated to the respective applicants in the admissions decision.
Registering for the ETH entrance examination
It will only be possible to start ETH studies in Autumn 2025 if your upper secondary school-leaving certificate satisfies the conditions for examination-free admission. If you must sit an entrance examination you can – after passing the examination – only enter in Autumn Semester 2026.
We can only ascertain whether you need to sit an ETH entrance examination (reduced or comprehensive) after receiving your complete application in eApply.
Please consult the current admission requirements and language requirements for ETH Bachelor’s degree programmes in advance.
You must apply by 31 March 2025 at the latest and will receive the admissions decision together with the information for the entrance examination in January 2026 in eApply. The registration deadline is 15 October 2025. After passing the entrance examination you may enter your chosen degree programme in September 2026.
Application process
Calendar/deadlines
The registration for the entrance examination is between 15 September 2025 and 15 October 2025. The examination fee must be paid by credit card during the registration process in eApply.
The deadline for deregistering from the entrance examination is also 15 October 2025 (the intention to deregister must reach the Admissions Office in writing by 15 October 2025 at the latest).
Sitting the ETH entrance examination without application and without an admissions decision is not permitted!
In eApply you will be shown which documents you need to upload to register for the entrance exam.
After passing the entrance examination, you may have to submit certain original documents (school leaving certificate, language certificate, etc.) in order to register and enrol for the degree program in September 2026. In eApply you will be shown which original documents you need to submit by post and which documents you may still need to upload in eApply.
Original documents
Swiss universities require the original of the upper secondary school-leaving certificate in order to issue the Swiss matriculation number (a small yellow sticker with the individual student number will be attached to the back of the upper secondary school-leaving certificate).
All original documents will be returned to you during the first Autumn Semester.
Subject area lists ('Themenblätter' in German)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom Biology (PDF, 106 KB)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom History (PDF, 129 KB)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom Geography (PDF, 105 KB)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom German (PDF, 131 KB)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom English (PDF, 150 KB)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom French (PDF, 135 KB)
- Downloadvertical_align_bottom Italian (PDF, 136 KB)
Important advice:
There are no subject area lists for mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Information on the ETH entrance examination
Examination topics in the individual subjects correspond to the educational goals of the Schweizerischen Maturitäts-Anerkennungsverordnung (ordinance on recognition of the Swiss Matura; in German/French) of 15 February 1995, taking into account the special requirements of ETH.
The entrance examination is subject to the Reglement über die Aufnahmeprüfung zur Zulassung an die ETH Zurich (regulations regarding the ETH Zurich entrance examination; in German).
The ETH entrance examination takes place annually in the third and fourth weeks of the year in the ETH Zurich Main Building.
The next entrance examination will be held on 12–22 January 2026 (possibility to begin studies in Autumn Semester 2026).
Written examinations
The written exams take place from Monday to Wednesday in the 3rd calendar week.
Oral examinations
The oral examinations take place from Thursday, 3rd calendar week, until Thursday, 4th Calendar week, in the ETH Zurich Main Building. Your individual oral examination timetable will be emailed to you one week before examinations begin.
Examination results will be communicated soon after the end of the entrance examination session.
Examination content
Download Reduced Entrance Examination (PDF, 485 KB)
Download Comprehensive Entrance Examination (PDF, 554 KB)
Literature List
Download Literature list for examinations in German, English, French and Italian (PDF, 348 KB)
Example material (in German only)
Mathematics
Download Mathematics Part I 2024 (PDF, 194 KB)
Download Mathematics Part II 2024 (PDF, 378 KB)
Physics
Download Physics 2018 (PDF, 213 KB)
Languages
Download German 2024 (PDF, 169 KB)
Formularies
The only formularies allowed in the written exams of Mathematics (Written Math Problems) and Physics are:
- "Formeln, Tabellen, Begriffe. Mathematik – Physik – Chemie", Juni 2022 (8. Auflage), Herausgeber: DMK, DPK, DCK; Orell Füssli Verlag, ISBN 978-3-280-04029-4
- "Formulae, Tables and Concepts. A Concise Handbook of Mathematics – Physics – Chemistry", Oktober 2023 (3. Auflage), Herausgeber: DMK, DPK, DCK, Hep Verlag, ISBN 978-3-0355-2502-1
Previous editions are allowed.
Formularies may contain no handwritten entries. However, highlighting (with a highlighter pen) and indexing (e.g. with a sticky note in the margin) are allowed.
Calculators
The only calculators allowed in the written exams of Mathematics (Written Math Problems) and Physics are:
- Texas Instruments TI-30 eco RS
- Casio FX-82 Solar (not produced any longer, remains however allowed)
- Casio FX-82 Solar II
Download Textbooks (PDF, 177 KB) to help you prepare for the entrance examination.
The entrance examination requires careful preparation on your part. ETH Zurich offers no preparation courses or German language courses before studies begin.