Qualifications, grades, credits
University Continuing Education Qualifications
Master of Advanced Studies (MAS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) and Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) are university continuing education qualifications in line with the guidelines of the external page Qualifications Framework for the Swiss Higher Education Area and the external page Recommendations of swissuniversities, the Rectors' Conference of the Swiss Universities (German and French). These qualifications are fully and transparently integrated into the Swiss Higher Education System.
Admission to MAS, DAS and CAS programmes usually presuppose an ETH Master’s degree or the equivalent, plus professional experience.
Legal Basis
Continuing education at ETH Zurich is governed by the external page ETH Law, the external page Ordinance on Continuing Education (Weiterbildungsverordnung) and the Organisational Continuing Education Regulations (Organisationsreglement Weiterbildung). Each programme has its own programme regulations.
‘Master of Advanced Studies’ and ‘Master of Business Administration’ are recognised academic titles which are legally protected.
A university continuing education qualification does not entitle the holder to pursue doctoral studies.
Programme Regulations
For every continuing education Master’s, Diploma or Certificate programme, the ETH Zurich Executive Board has to approve the Programme Regulations at the request of the department providing the course.
Accreditation and Quality Assurance
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich is a recognised national university. It is an autonomous institution of the Swiss Federation subject to public law and is a legal entity. ETH Zurich has the right to introduce degree programmes independently and to award the corresponding academic titles.
Continuing education is integrated into ETH Zurich’s quality assurance system.
Scope and Workload
The scope and workload of programmes are reflected in the form of ECTS credits according to the stipulations of the external page European Credit Transfer System. One credit corresponds to a workload of 25-30 hours.
Proof of Academic Achievement and Grading System
Completed MAS, DAS and CAS programmes and academic achievements may be given grades or pass/fail assessments. Where they are graded, ETH Zurich deploys a grading scale of 1 to 6, in quarter-grade steps. The pass grade for a performance assessment or overall performance is a 4 at least; the best grade is a 6.
- ETH Ordinance on performance assessments (in English)
- external page ETH Ordinance on performance assessments ("Leistungskontrollenverordnung" German, legally binding)
Failed examinations and other academic achievements may be repeated once.
Documents of Completion
When a continuing education programme is successfully completed ETH Zurich issues the following documents. They are normally in the language in which the programme was held.
Persons who attend the programme but do not earn the final qualification receive a transcript of records which lists the course units passed.
Alumni
After completing their studies, ETH continuing education students have the opportunity to join the ETH Alumni Association.