Admission to Master studies with a foreign Bachelor's degree
-
Conditions of admission
General conditions
To be eligible for Master studies at the University of Fribourg, you must hold a Bachelor's degree (180 ECTS and a minimum of three years of study) or an equivalent academic degree from a recognized university. For more details regarding the general conditions of admission, please refer to the directives.
Faculties may require additional studies, which will have to be completed before the beginning of the Master studies or be carried out simultaneously with the Master studies.
Proof of adequate language proficiency
French and German are the languages of instruction at the University of Fribourg and future students must therefore master one of those two languages (level B2). Furthermore, certain master study programmes are taught in English.
-
Degree programmes submitted to specific conditions
Master of Medicine
- Online application from 1 November to 15 February
- The allocation of student places is defined in a "Ordonnance"
- If you are of foreign nationality, you must meet the eligibility criteria mentioned in the "Ordonnance" in order to register for medicine studies
Master of Arts in Special Education: Special educational needs teaching
- Online application deadline: 30 April, no late applications for admission
- Additional conditions
Specialized Master of Science in Experimental Biomedical Research
We strongly recommend that you submit your application before 30 June if you wish to begin your studies in the autumn semester. Once passed the given deadlines, we cannot guarantee that your application will be processed in time.
In addition, we cannot carry over applications to a subsequent semester, nor reimburse any fee.
Degree programmes beginning only in the autumn semester
Some degree programmes can only begin in the autumn semester. For further information, see:
-
Application periods
Autumn semester
- Application period:
1 February - 30 April - Late application period (specific conditions):
1 Mai - 31 August
Spring semester
- Application period:
1 September - 30 November - Late application period (specific conditions):
1 December - 31 January
Please note that the opening date for online application may be slightly carried forward from year to year (1 February/1 May/1 September/1 December).
Additional information for candidates requiring a visa
We strongly recommend candidates who have to apply for a visa to submit their applications within the following deadlines:
- By 28 February for the autumn semester
- By 30 September for the spring semester
Please note that an application for admission takes several weeks to be processed. The application for a residence permit must contain the admission certificate of our university and be submitted to the relevant Swiss representation at least two months before the beginning of the semester. Passed the deadlines mentioned above, we cannot guarantee that your application will be processed in time. Furthermore, applications will not be carried over to another semester nor will fees be reimbursed.
Additional information for candidates having studied des études outside the EU and the EFTA
Candidates having studied and obtained a Bachelor's degree outside the EU and the EFTA and wishing to enrol in one of the following study programmes:
- International and European Business
- Accounting and Finance
- Management
- Marketing
must add a copy of their GMAT exam results to their application for admission. This exam must have been taken before applying online at the University of Fribourg.
- Application period:
-
Application fee
Swiss Bachelor’s degree
Candidates holding a diploma from Switzerland which enables studies at the Unifr (e.g. Swiss Bachelor’s degree)
- Application fee: CHF 50.-
- Administrative fee for late applications (1 May – 31 August and 1 December – 31 January): + CHF 50.-
Foreign Bachelor’s degree
Candidates holding a foreign diploma which enables studies at the Unifr (e.g. foreign Bachelor’s degree)
- Application fee: CHF 100.-
- Administrative fee for late applications (1 May – 31 August and 1 December – 31 January): + CHF 50.-
The application fee cannot be reimbursed nor carried over to another semester, even in the case of an inaccurate, withdrawn or refused application for admission.
All banking and exchange fee costs must be borne by the customer.
Information on the semester fees
-
Semesters and lecture periods
Academic year 2022 – 2024:
Autumn semester 2022
-
Official dates:
01.08.2023 – 31.01.2024 -
Lecture period:
18.09.2023 – 22.12.2023
Spring semester 2023
-
Official dates:
01.02.2024 – 31.07.2024 -
Lecture periods:
19.02.2024 – 31.05.2024
-
-
Application procedure
Online applications through Inscruni are aimed exclusively at people who are not currently registered at the Unifr. If you are currently registered at the Unifr and have an active MyUnifr account, you must on no account apply through Inscruni. Any request from a student registered at the Unifr (e.g. change of degree programme, early start to master studies ("master anticipé"), master studies following a bachelor’s degree, etc.) must be submitted on the MyUnifr portal.
1. Courses on offer
Details of courses on offer can be found here. Should you have any questions, please contact the Studies Information Office (studies@unifr.ch), as the Office for Admissions and Registration cannot provide course information or advise you on your choice of course.
Please also consult the regulations and be aware of the rules concerning definitive failures.
2. Online application deadlines
Once you have made your choice of studies, please apply online within the deadlines mentioned in the section “Application periods”.
No exception can be made regarding a change of deadline.
Additional information for applicants requiring a visa
Candidates applying for a visa are strongly encouraged to submit their applications within the following deadlines:
- By 28 February, at the latest, for the fall semester
- By 30 September, at the latest, for the spring semester
Please note that an application for admission takes several weeks to be processed. The application for a residence permit must contain the admission certificate of our University and be submitted to the relevant Swiss representation at least two months before the beginning of the semester. Passed the deadlines mentioned above, we cannot guarantee that your application will be processed in time. Furthermore, applications will not be carried over to another semester nor will fees be reimbursed.
3. Online application
Online application on Inscruni
The validation of the online application for admission must be done within the deadlines given in the section “Application periods”.
You can apply online even if you have not yet finished your studies or obtained your school-leaving certificate.
We recommend applying as early as possible as the processing of an application for admission takes several weeks.
4. Payment of the application fee
The application fee can be payed directly by credit card or with an invoice that can be downloaded after validating the online application.
Only applications for which the application fee has been paid will be processed.
The application fee cannot be reimbursed nor carried over to another semester, even in the case of an inaccurate, withdrawn or refused application for admission.
All banking and exchange fee costs must be borne by the customer.
5. Upload of documents
- Once the online application validated, a personalised list of the documents to be submitted will be available on your Inscruni account. All the documents listed are essential to the processing of your application for admission and must be uploaded on Inscruni within the given deadline. Please do not send us any documents by post at this stage.
Indicative list of documents to be sent together with your application for admission
- Candidates having studied and obtained a Bachelor's degree outside the EU and the EFTA and wishing to enrol in one of the following study programmes:
- International and European Business
- Accounting and Finance
- Management
- Marketing
must add a copy of their GMAT exam results to their application for admission. This exam must have been taken before applying online at the University of Fribourg.
Certified translations must fulfil specific requirements.
We can request officially certified copies and/or original documents at any time for the further processing of your application.
Please note that the application for admission you will submit must be thoroughly prepared.If your application is incomplete or if it includes documents of poor quality or that do not respect the given instructions, it will not be processed.
6. Processing of the application for admission and decision
Once we have received the required documents, your application will be processed in two stages:
- Formal analysis of the application by the Office for Admissions and Registration, who decide whether you are eligible for Master studies
- Analysis of your studies by the faculty, who determine whether you are qualified for the chosen study programme
The faculty’s analysis can last several weeks; please note that applications for the Faculty of Science and Medicine are managed by the Commission for Requests, who meet on fixed dates.
- Once the formal and study linked analyses completed, a written decision will be sent to you by the Office for Admissions and Registration.
No information regarding the status of your application for admission will be given by e-mail or by phone.
7. Visa application
If you are a citizen of a country subject to a visa requirement, you will need a visa before travelling to Switzerland. The visa application must be submitted to the competent Swiss representation located in your country of residence.
Additional information: Service of the population and migrants.
8. Providing the original document
Your original diploma must be presented before the beginning of the semester concerned.
Your Bachelor’s degree must have been validated without any reservation or condition.
To do so, there are two possibilities:
- Send your diploma by post
- Hand it in at our office during our opening hours.
9. Final decision of admission
Once you have fulfilled all the admission requirements and provided the original document of your Bachelor's degree, you will receive our final decision of admission.
10. After the admission
- An invoice for the payment of the semester fee will be sent.
- Payment of the invoice within the given deadlines
- Activation of your e-account
- Your Campus Card will be sent.
- Registration for courses directly with faculties
Change of degree programme
- Once the application has been validated, the administrative procedure has begun and it will no longer be possible to change the chosen degree programme(s). In the event of an incorrect application for admission, an additional online application can be submitted, provided that the new application fee is paid. This new application for admission will be processed separately to the first application.
- A request for a change of degree programme can be submitted on the MyUnifr portal once the admission for the degree programme initially chosen has been completed. Such requests will then be handled by the faculties.
If you are currently registered as a student at the Unifr, have an active MyUnifr account and wish to change your study programme for the next semester, you mustn’t submit your application on Inscruni. You have to submit your request on the MyUnifr portal. For further information regarding the deadlines for this request for change of study programme (usually before the start of the semester in question), please contact the faculty responsible for the programme(s).