Admission and fees To be enrolled in a bachelor programme, one must hold a Swiss
maturity diploma or a secondary diploma considered by the University of Geneva to be equivalent. If the degree was not pursued in French, applicants must pass an eliminatory French language test at the beginning of September, which consists of an oral and a written comprehension test and of a piece of argumentative writing. Tuition fees are of CHF 500 per semester.
Academic year UNIGE's academic year runs from mid-September to mid-June. It is divided in two semesters, each one being concluded by an examination session, held respectively at the beginning of January and at the beginning of June. An examination session is held at the end of August and beginning of September as a retake for students who failed their January or June examinations. During the three days before the start of the new academic year, the ''Journées d'accueil'' (Welcome Days) are organized by the university to introduce the new students to the city and the facilities, tips are also given on how to succeed at university. A second chapter including city tours, outdoor concerts and animations is also organized by the student association UniAccueil (AUA) to celebrate the new academic year.
Teaching and degrees Before 2005, the university applied various very different models, depending on Faculties, and sometimes even on Departments (or "Sections"). Some Faculties applied the
French education model of granting
academic degrees, with some minor differences:
demi-licence (two years),
trois-quarts de licence (three years),
licence (four years),
''diplôme d'études approfondies and diplôme d'études superieures spécialisées'' (DEA/DESS) (one–two years), and doctorate (three–five years). The university now follows the requirements of the
Bologna process:
bachelor's (three years),
master's (one–two years), in some departments or sections Master of Advanced Studies (one–two years), doctorate (three–five years). UNIGE offers more than 240 types of diplomas: about 30 bachelor's degrees, 70 masters and 78 doctorates. It also provides more than 200 programmes of
continuing education in various sectors.
International partnerships Students at UNIGE have the possibility to study abroad for a semester or a year during their degree. Partner universities include
Free University of Berlin,
Harvard Law School, ,
Trinity College Dublin,
Erasmus University of Rotterdam,
Université Libre de Bruxelles,
King's College London,
McGill University,
HEC Montreal,
University of Ottawa,
University of Oxford,
Uppsala University,
Johns Hopkins University,
University of Michigan,
UCLA,
University of Southampton,
University of Sydney,
University of Tokyo.
Research The key sectors of research at the University of Geneva are sciences (molecular biology, bio-informatics, etc.), elementary physics, astrophysics, economics, social sciences, psychology, chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. UNIGE is home to six national research centers: in genetics (Frontiers in Genetics), in material sciences (MaNEP), in study of emotions (Affective Sciences), in chemical biology (with EPFL), in study of mental illness (Synaptic, with EPFL and Unil), in study of life path (with Unil). UNIGE also carries research in international studies since the creation in 2013 of the Global Studies Institute, in finance with the Geneva Finance Research Institute, and in environmental studies, with the creation in 2009 of the ''Institut des sciences de l'environnement''. Famous discoveries have been made by researcher working at UNIGE including the discoveries of extrasolar planets by
Michel Mayor, and of quantum teleportation by Nicolas Gisin.
Rankings The University of Geneva is consistently ranked one of the top universities in the world.
Global rankings In 2023, the University of Geneva was ranked 49rd overall in the world according to the Shanghai Ranking. It was ranked 125th overall according to the QS ranking and 183rd overall according to the THE ranking. In 2006,
Newsweek ranked the university 32nd in the world. The
QS World University Rankings ranked the University of Geneva as follows: The
Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the University of Geneva as follows:
Subject rankings In molecular biology, the impact of the research carried in Geneva was ranked 4th in Europe by Times Higher Education for the period 1999–2009, directly behind the University of Oxford. In physics, the 2024 Shanghai ranking placed the University of Geneva at 3rd place in continental Europe and 15th place globally. The QS 2013 subject ranking placed the University of Geneva at the 21st place in the field of Pharmacy and at the 49th place in Philosophy. In every subject, the university was ranked in the world's top 200.
Other rankings In the 2013 QS ranking, the university was ranked 24th in the world for most international faculty and 20th in the world for most international student body. In 2023, it was ranked 26th best university overall in Europe. ==Student body==