Wikipedia

University of Zurich

For other uses, see Zurich (disambiguation).

University of Zurich
Universität Zürich
Latin: Universitas Turicensis[1][2][3]
TypePublic university
Established1833; 192 years ago (1833)
Budget1.578 billion Swiss francs[4]
PresidentMichael Schaepman
Academic staff
3,702 (Full-time equivalent)[5]
Administrative staff
2,051 (Full-time equivalent)[5]
Students25,732[6]
Location
Zurich
,
Canton of Zurich
,
Switzerland

47°22′29″N 8°32′54″E / 47.37472°N 8.54833°E / 47.37472; 8.54833
CampusUrban
ColoursBlack, white, blue, grey and ochre[7][8]
         
AffiliationsLERU U21
Websiteuzh.ch
Map

The University of Zurich (UZH, German: Universität Zürich) is a public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland,[9] with its 28,000 enrolled students.[10] It was founded in 1833[11] from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine which go back to 1525, and a new faculty of philosophy.

Currently, the university has seven faculties: Philosophy, Human Medicine, Economic Sciences, Law, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Theology and Veterinary Medicine. The university offers the widest range of subjects and courses of any Swiss higher education institution.[12]

History

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For pre-1833 history, see Carolinum, Zurich.

1833–2000

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The University of Zurich was founded on April 29, 1833,[13] when the existing colleges of theology, the Carolinum founded by Huldrych Zwingli in 1525, law and medicine were merged with a new faculty of Philosophy. It was the first university in Europe to be founded by the state rather than a monarch or church.[14] Its Latin name is reminiscent of the Roman name for the precursor settlement of the city of Zurich, Turicum.

Aerial view (1953)

In the university's early years, the 1839 appointment of the German theologian David Friedrich Strauss to its Chair of Theology caused a major controversy, since Strauss argued that the miracles in the Christian New Testament were mythical retellings of normal events as supernatural happenings.[15][16][17][18] Eventually, the authorities offered Strauss a pension before he had a chance to start his duties.

The university allowed women to attend philosophy lectures from 1847. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was added in 1901, the second-oldest such faculty in the world. In 1914, the university moved to new premises designed by the architect Karl Moser on Rämistrasse 71.[19]

The university admitted a Russian woman student, Maria Kniazhnina, to audit medicine classes in 1864, but she did not complete the course. Another Russian student, Nadezhda Suslova, audited medicine classes from 1865 and was allowed to become a registered student and graduate as a doctor of medicine in 1867. The first seven women who were awarded medical degrees at the university were known as the Zurich Seven. They were Nadezhda Suslova (Russia), Frances Elizabeth Morgan (England), Louisa Atkins (England), Maria Bokova (Russia), Eliza Walker (Scotland), Susan Dimock (United States), and Marie Vögtlin (Switzerland).[20]

Albert Einstein was awarded his PhD from the university in 1906. In 2022, the original certificate was returned to the university.[21]

2000–present

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In 2022, the university ran the first professorship for Gender Medicine in Switzerland.[22] Research included investigations into differences of symptoms of cardiac arrest between men and women.[23]

In 2024, the university announced that they would voluntarily withdraw from THE World University Rankings,[24] stating that the ranking "is not able to reflect the wide range of teaching and research activities undertaken at the university",[25] and that the ranking is "leading universities to concentrate on increasing the number of publications instead of improving the quality of their content".[26] Prior to the announcement, the university regularly ranked in the top 100 universities worldwide.[27]

In 2024, the university opened an investigation into an academic following potentially falsified research results[28] which "led to preventable patient deaths" at University Hospital of Zurich.[29]

In 2025, the university, alongside Zurich University of Applied Sciences, received the Geospatial World Excellence Award 2025 for Environmental and Social Impact for their "Spatial Sustainable Finance" project.[30]

Reddit LLM Research

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In April 2025, researchers from the university's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences conducted an experiment on Reddit's "Change my View" Subreddit where they attempted to identify how Large Language Models could be used to change people's views. The experiment was widely criticised, accused of breaking community rules, as well as being called unlawful.[31] Subreddit moderators raised concerns with the university about the ethics of the research due to it being conducted without informed consent, and its impersonation of members of groups including LGBT people and sexual assault survivors.[32]

The researchers initially responded to the allegations by defending the study saying that it was "crucial to conduct a study of this kind",[33] their activities had "done little harm", and that the study was approved by the university's ethics committee.[34] Reddit's Chief Legal Officer called the study "deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level" whilst sharing that the website was unaware of the experiment and submitted "legal demands" to the university.[35] Following Reddit's demands the university backtracked by announcing that the research would not be published, and that the Ethics Committee at the faculty indented to "adopt a stricter review process".[36][37]

Campus

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The university is scattered all over the city of Zurich. The main campuses are located in the city centre, Irchelpark and Oerlikon.[38] Members of the university can use several libraries, including the ETH-library, and the Zurich Central Library, with over 5 million volumes.[39] In 1962, the faculty of science proposed to establish the Irchelpark campus on the Strickhofareal. The first stage the construction of the university buildings was begun in 1973, and the campus was inaugurated in 1979.[40][41] The construction of the second stage lasted from 1978 to 1983.[41] The campus also houses the anthropological museum Anthropologisches Museum,[42] and the cantonal Staatsarchiv Zürich.[43]

Museums

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The university included 13 museums: the Anatomical Collection, the Archaeological Collection, the Botanical Museum, the Museum of Wax Moulages, the Science Exploratorium, the Museum of Veterinary History, the Zurich Herbaria, the Museum of Anthropology, the Botanical Garden, the Ethnographic Museum, the Paleontological Museum, the Veterinary Anatomy Collection and the Zoological Museum.[44] The zoological, paleontological, anthropological and botanical museums later merged into the Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich, which opened in 2024. The Institute and Museum for the History of Medicine is also part of the university.[45]

Academics

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Main building by Karl Moser as seen from the south

In the fields of bioscience and finance, there is a close-knit collaboration between the University of Zurich and the ETH (Federal Institute for Technology). Examples for common initiatives between the two institutions include University Medicine Zurich, the Wyss Translational Center Zurich and Life Science Zurich.[46][47]

Rankings

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University rankings
Global – Overall
ARWU World[48]59 (2023)
CWUR World[49]62 (2025)
QS World[50]100 (2026)
Reuters World[51]51 (2019)
THE World[52]80 (2024)
USNWR Global[53]59 (2025-2026)
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking[54] (heavy emphasis on research output – citations, Nobel prizes etc.) Ranked 59th overall as well as 5th and 10th in the subdisclipines Ecology an Human Biological Sciences respectively.
  • QS World University Rankings[55] (heavy emphasis on peer review) 91st overall and 56th in Medicine globally making it the highest ranked University in Switzerland for Medicine according to QS.
  • THE World University Rankings 2024[56] 80th overall and ranked 42nd in the subdiscipline business & economics.

The university's Department of Economics is especially strong and was ranked first in the German-speaking area by the Handelsblatt in 2017.[57] In 2009, the faculty of Business Administration was ranked third in the German-speaking area.[58]

Language policy

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Atrium Central
Irchel Campus, newer and more remotely located buildings of the University of Zurich
Statue at the entrance

Bachelor courses are taught in Swiss Standard German ("Hochdeutsch"), but use of English is increasing in many faculties. The only bachelors program taught entirely in English is the "English Language and Literature" program.[59] All Master courses at the Faculty of Science are held in English. Master courses in Economics and Finance are mainly held in English, while the Master of Science in Quantitative Finance is held completely in English.[citation needed]

Student life

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The university's Academic Sports Association (ASVZ) offers a wide range of sports facilities to students of the university. The student body is represented through the Verband der Studierenden der Universität Zürich VSUZH which organizes events and is involved in the university administration.[60]

Notable alumni and faculty

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Politics, law and society

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Economics, business and management

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Science

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Philosophy and theology

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Arts and music

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Nobel Prize laureates

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Associated with the university are 12 Nobel Prize recipients, primarily in Physics and Chemistry.

Albert Einstein
Year Field Laureate
1901 Physics Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
1902 Literature Theodor Mommsen
1913 Chemistry Alfred Werner
1914 Physics Max von Laue
1921 Physics Albert Einstein
1933 Physics Erwin Schrödinger
1936 Chemistry Peter Debye
1937 Chemistry Paul Karrer
1939 Chemistry Lavoslav Ružička
1949 Medicine Walter Rudolf Hess
1987 Physics Karl Alex Müller
1996 Medicine Rolf M. Zinkernagel

Associated institutions

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See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ Record of the Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales: William Brooks and Co. 1903. ISBN 9781112213304. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. ^ Anderson, Peter John (1907). Record of the Celebration of the Quatercentenary of the University of Aberdeen: From 25th to 28th September, 1906. Aberdeen, United Kingdom: Aberdeen University Press (University of Aberdeen). ISBN 9781363625079. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  3. ^ Actes du Jubilé de 1909 (in Swiss French). Geneva, Switzerland: Georg Keck & Cie. 1910. ISBN 9781360078335. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  4. ^ "Annual Report 2022". University of Zurich. 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Facts and Figures 2015". Executive Board of the University of Zurich. 2015. Archived from the original on October 28, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  6. ^ "Annual Report 2018". University of Zurich. 2018. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Die Hausfarben der Universität Zürich Archived December 31, 2019, at the Wayback Machine – website of the University of Zurich
  8. ^ CD-Manual: Basiselemente – website of the University of Zurich
  9. ^ "University of Zurich". Coursera. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  10. ^ "The University of Zurich – At a Glance". University of Zurich. 2020. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "University of Zurich". Times Higher Education. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  12. ^ "Faculties of the University of Zurich". University of Zurich. 2021. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "Dies academicus". University of Zurich. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  14. ^ Lorenzo Käser (April 11, 2019). "Illustrierte Geschichte des Züricher Cantonsspitals und der medizinischen Poliklinik" (PDF).
  15. ^ The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined by David Friedrich Strauss 2010 ISBN 1-61640-309-8 pages 39–43 and 87–91
  16. ^ The Making of the New Spirituality by James A. Herrick 2003 ISBN 0-8308-2398-0 pages 58–65
  17. ^ Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth by Michael J. McClymond (March 22, 2004) ISBN 0802826806 page 82
  18. ^ See Douglas R McGaughey, "On D.F. Strauß and the 1839 Revolution in Zurich"[usurped]
  19. ^ Ganz, Michael T.; Stucki, Heinzpeter (2008). "History in brief". University of Zurich. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  20. ^ Bonner, Thomas Neville (1992). To the Ends of the Earth: Women's Search for Education in Medicine. Harvard University Press. pp. 32–41. ISBN 9780674893030.
  21. ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (September 2, 2022). "Albert Einstein's doctoral certificate returns to Zurich". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  22. ^ "First Professorship for Gender Medicine in Switzerland". www.uzhfoundation.ch. November 1, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  23. ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (May 15, 2025). "University of Zurich's first gender medicine professor sparks interest". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  24. ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (March 13, 2024). "University of Zurich withdraws from international university ranking". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  25. ^ "The University of Zurich, where Einstein also lectured, voluntarily withdraws from the world ranking of universities". Telegrafi. April 4, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  26. ^ "UZH to No Longer Provide Data for THE Ranking". www.news.uzh.ch. March 13, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  27. ^ "Utrecht, Zurich universities to publish joint criticism of university rankings | NL Times". nltimes.nl. October 9, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  28. ^ "Allegedly falsified research results at the University of Zurich". blue News. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  29. ^ "Scandal at Zurich Hospital: Top Cardiologist Linked to 150 Preventable Deaths in Shocking Cover-Up". www.ctol.digital. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  30. ^ Chaurasia, Palak (April 26, 2025). "Geospatial World Excellence Awards 2025 Celebrate Global Achievements in Technology, Application & Policy Innovation". Geospatial World. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  31. ^ "Researchers used Reddit to conduct undisclosed AI-based study | News". Research Live. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  32. ^ "Researchers secretly infiltrated a popular Reddit forum with AI bots, causing outrage". NBC News. April 29, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  33. ^ "University of Zurich Manipulates Reddit Users With AI Bots, But Say They Did It To Save The World | Science 2.0". www.science20.com. April 29, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  34. ^ "'Unethical' AI research on Reddit under fire". www.science.org. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  35. ^ Koebler ·, Jason (April 29, 2025). "Reddit Issuing 'Formal Legal Demands' Against Researchers Who Conducted Secret AI Experiment on Users". 404 Media. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  36. ^ "Reddit Threatens to Sue Researchers Who Ran "Dead Internet" AI Experiment on Its Site". Futurism. April 29, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  37. ^ Travis, Kate (April 29, 2025). "AI-Reddit study leader gets warning as ethics committee moves to 'stricter review process'". Retraction Watch. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  38. ^ "Campuses". www.uzh.ch. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  39. ^ Stadt Zürich (Map). 1:1000. University of Zurich. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  40. ^ "Irchelpark" (in German). Universität Zürich. Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  41. ^ a b "Irchelpark" (in German). Grün Stadt Zürich. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  42. ^ "Anthropologisches Museum" (in German). Universität Zürich. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  43. ^ "Kleine Zürcher Verfassungsgeschichte 1218–2000" (PDF) (in German). Staatsarchiv Zürich. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  44. ^ "Museums and Collections". www.uzh.ch. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  45. ^ "UZH - Universität Zürich". Mhiz.uzh.ch. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  46. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  47. ^ "Partnerships". Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  48. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  49. ^ | Global 2000 List | CWUR https://cwur.org/2025/university-of-zurich.php | Global 2000 List | CWUR. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  50. ^ "University of Zurich". Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  51. ^ "Reuters Top 100 | The World's Most Innovative Universities 2019". Reuters. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  52. ^ "World University Rankings 2024". December 14, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  53. ^ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/university-of-zurich-505287. Retrieved June 26, 2025. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  54. ^ "Academic Ranking of World Universities - 2023". December 14, 2023.
  55. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2024". QS World University Rankings. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  56. ^ "THE World University Rankings 2024". December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  57. ^ "Handelsblatt Ranking". Handelsblatt. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  58. ^ "Handelsblatt Ranking Betriebswirtschaftslehre 2009". Handelsblatt. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  59. ^ "Studying". Degrees.uzh.ch. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  60. ^ "VSUZH - Verband der Studierenden der Universität Zürich". VSUZH (in German). Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  61. ^ "Thomas P. Gottstein". Credit Suisse. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  62. ^ "Germany is a global center for superstition". OHB SE.
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