University of Bern

The University of Bern (German: Universität Bern, French: Université de Berne) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834, although it can trace the roots of its predecessor institutions back to the 16th century. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a broad choice of courses and programs in eight faculties and some 150 institutes. With around 18,576 students, the University of Bern is the third largest university in Switzerland.

As a comprehensive university, Bern covers a wide range of classical university courses in some 39 bachelor, 71 master and 69 advanced study programs. The Physics Institute contributed to the first flight to the moon and still carries out experiments and provides apparatus for NASA and ESA space missions on a regular basis. In addition to the classical disciplines, the University of Bern has also established programmes in newer ones such as sports science and theatre studies. It is the only institution in Switzerland with a theatre studies course that enables students to major in dance in their master program. The University of Bern also offers the Master in Applied Economic Analysis (MAEA), which is the only university-level program in Switzerland with focus on applied economic analysis. The Graduate Schools for doctoral candidates offer further-reaching programmes that are closely linked to the university’s research priorities in the fields of climate science, health care and penal law and criminology.