ETH Zurich

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ETH Zürich
Established 1855
Type Public
Dean Konrad Osterwalder
Staff 6,009
Students 12,705
Location Zurich, Switzerland
Campus Urban
Affiliations IDEA League, IARU
Website www.ethz.ch

The ETH Zurich, often called Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is a science and technology university in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Its full name is Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, with ETHZ also being a common unofficial abbreviation. Locals sometimes refer to it by the name Poly, from its original name Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum or Federal Polytechnic Institute.

The ETH is an internationally oriented university. It is a member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities IARU.

Contents

[edit] History

ETH Zürich Zentrum
ETH Zürich Zentrum

The ETH was founded in 1854 by the Swiss Confederation and opened its doors in 1855 as a polytechnic institute (Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule). It comprised in the beginning six departments: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, forestry, and a catch-all department for mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social and political sciences.

The ETH is a federal institute (i.e., under direct administration by the Swiss government), whereas the University of Zurich is a cantonal institution. The decision for a new federal university was heavily disputed at the time, because the liberals pressed for a "federal university", while the conservative forces wanted all universities to remain under cantonal control, with the goal of giving liberal thoughts no refuge. In the beginning, both universities were co–located in the buildings of the University of Zurich.

In 1909, the course program of the ETH was restructured to that of a real university, from its early, very schoolish agenda, and the ETH was granted the right to award doctorates. In 1911, it was given its current name, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule. In 1924, another reorganization structured the university in 12 departments.

Interior skylights in the main building
Interior skylights in the main building

Since 1993 the ETH Zürich, the EPFL, and four associated research institutes were joined and administered together as the "ETH Bereich".

[edit] Reputation

In national comparisons of the swissUP Ranking, the ETH traditionally achieves best marks in natural sciences, computer science and engineering sciences. However, it scores low in categories involving student opinions.

A ranking published by CHE in May 2006 compares the ETH with other universities in the German-speaking countries. The ETH ranked first by peer review and reputation in all natural sciences, computer science and engineering sciences. It also scores high in categories like number of publications and citations.

The ETH is regularly ranked among the top universities in the world. It is placed between 3rd and 6th in Europe and between 10th and 27th in the world in international rankings by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings. It was also ranked 12th by the latter in both sciences and technology in 2005.

Historically, the ETH achieved its reputation particularly in the fields of chemistry, mathematics and physics. There are 21 Nobel Laureates who are associated with the ETH, counting only graduates of the ETH and Professors who have been honored for their work at ETH. The most recent Nobel Laureate is Kurt Wüthrich who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2002.

[edit] Admission and education

Students and locals in the ETH front courtyard
Students and locals in the ETH front courtyard

The ETH is not selective in its undergraduate admission procedures. Like every public university in Switzerland, the ETH is obliged to grant admission to every Swiss citizen who sat through Matura. However, most applicants from foreign countries are required to take either the reduced entrance exam or the comprehensive entrance exam; an applicant can be admitted to the ETH even without any verifiable educational records by passing the comprehensive entrance exam.

There are no obligatory examinations during the first academic year which is divided into two semesters. However, the actual selection process takes place in the summer shortly after the second semester. Students have to pass the block examinations of courses of the first year, called the Basisprüfung. If the weighted average score is not sufficient, you are required to retake the entire Basisprüfung which usually means that you have to resit through the first year. More than 50% of the students fail the Basisprüfung on first try and many of them choose to drop out after the failure. The structure of examinations in higher academic years is similar to the Basisprüfung, but with a higher success rate. The regular time to reach graduation is six semesters for the Bachelor of Science degree and three further semesters for the Master of Science degree. The last semester is dedicated to writing a thesis.

Education at the ETH tends to be theoretically oriented with a high amount of mathematics involved throughout the courses. The main language of teaching in undergraduate studies is German while English is lingua franca in Master's studies and graduate studies.

[edit] Campus

The ETH Zürich has no single campus. The main building was constructed in the 1860s in the heart of the city, and when the university grew, it spread out into the surrounding quarters. Its Zentrum location consists thus of various buildings and institutions throughout Zurich, firmly integrating the ETH in the city. The main building is literally across the street from the University of Zurich.

Because this geographic situation substantially hindered the expansion of the ETH, a new campus was built from 1964 to 1976 on the Hönggerberg in the outskirts of the city. The last major expansion project of this new campus was completed in 2003; since then, the Hönggerberg location houses the departments of materials science, architecture, civil engineering, physics, biology, and chemistry.

[edit] Main building

The main building of the ETH was built 1861 to 1864 under Gustav Zeuner; the architect, however, was Gottfried Semper, who was a professor of architecture at the ETH at the time and one of the most important writers and theorists of the age. Semper worked in a Neo-classical style that was unique to him. It emphasized bold and clear massings with a detailing, such as the rusticated ground level and giant order above, that derived in part from the work of Andrea Palladio and Donato Bramante. During the construction of the University of Zurich, the south wing of the building was allocated to the University of until the university's own new main building was constructed (1912 – 1914). At about the same time, Semper's ETH building was enlarged and also got its impressive cupola.

[edit] Science City

In the year of ETH's 150th anniversary, an extensive project for the Hönggerberg Campus has begun with the goal to create a Science City.

[edit] Student life

ETH students were found to be the busiest students of all institutions of higher education in Switzerland [1]. Undergraduates have a tight curriculum with twice as many lectures as comparable courses in other universities in Switzerland.

The ETH has well over 100 student associations. Most notably the VSETH (Verband der Studierenden an der ETH) which comprises all department associations. The associations regularly organize events with varying size and popularity. Events of the neighboring University of Zurich are well-attended by ETH students and vice versa. The VSETH organizes events of greater public attention, such as the Polyball, the Polyparty and the Erstsemestrigenfest, the first two housed in the main building of the ETH. Sometimes, the annually Erstsemestrigenfest takes place at extraordinary locations, for example the Zurich Airport. All freshmen enjoy special treatment at that event.

[edit] Traditions

The annual Polyball (German Wikipedia) is the most prestigious public event at the ETH, with a long tradition since the 1880s. The end of November, the Polyball welcomes around 10'000 dancers, music-lovers and party animals in the extensively decorated main building of the ETH. The Polyball is the biggest decorated ball in Europe.

The amicable rivalry between the ETH and the neighbouring University of Zurich has been cultivated since 1951. There has been an annual rowing match between teams from the two institutions on the river Limmat.

There are many regular symposia and conferences at the ETH, most notably the annual Wolfgang Pauli Lectures, in honor of former ETH Professor Wolfgang Pauli. Distinct lecturers, among them 24 Nobel Laureates, have held lectures of the various fields of natural sciences at this conference since 1962.

[edit] Departments

As of 2006, the ETH Zurich comprises the following departments:

Architecture and civil engineering

Engineering sciences

Natural sciences and mathematics

System-oriented natural sciences

Other sciences

[edit] Affiliates

[edit] Nobel Prize winners

The people listed below were graduates of the ETH or they were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work at ETH as professors.

[edit] Other affiliates

for a more comprehensive list, see the German version of this article [2].

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Master programs

v • d • e
International Alliance of Research Universities

Australian National • California, Berkeley • Cambridge • Copenhagen • ETH Zurich • Oxford • Peking • Singapore National • Tokyo • Yale

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