All our Master’s programmes are full time, attendance to interactive teaching activities included in the curriculum – such as seminars, laboratories and ateliers – is mandatory. Teachers who request students to attend their lessons as a requirement for admission to the exam, will inform students at the beginning of the semester.

It is allowed to work up to 15 hours per week.

Please note that the residence permit for study purposes does not grant students automatic entitlement to paid employment. Therefore, international students regularly registered in an academic degree programme at a university in Switzerland need to obtain a specific authorisation from the competent offices before they start working. No such authorisation, however, will be issued in the first 6 months of a student’s stay.

All our Master programmes are full time and taught on campus. We do not offer distance learning.

The study curricula of all four Faculties comply with the European university system according to the Bologna Process.

It is possible to send the application if you are still studying your Bachelor, but your final admission will be subjected to some conditions. Please specify when you plan to discuss the final paper in your application.

Candidates may be admitted with a study debt of 30-60 extra ECTS to be earned:

– with Bachelor’s courses at USI which can be attended during the Master studies (please note that bachelor’s course at USI are taught in Italian)

– with Bachelor’s courses at another recognised University prior to starting the Master studies. The university and list of courses to attend has to be agreed with the Director of the Master

Students from EU / EFTA countries do not need a visa to enter Switzerland. Students from non EU / EFTA countries must request a student visa from the Swiss embassy or consulate in their home country before entering Switzerland. All the necessary forms are available at the Swiss embassies and consulates. To start this process, candidates must be in possession of a letter of admission from the Università della Svizzera italiana. It is recommended that students from non EU / EFTA countries apply for admission as early as possible. Students will receive their visa to enter Switzerland only at the end of the process. Please note that a tourist visa is only valid for three months and cannot be exchanged into a residence permit after arrival in Switzerland. Students need to apply for the student visa on their own and in due time. The visa procedure may take between one to four months, depending on the residence country. For more information on entry visas for students from non EU/EFTA countries, please refer to the federal office for migration, the representatives of Switzerland abroad or the cantonal authorities. Students must submit application for their residence permit after the enrolment confirmation letter issued from the Faculty Dean’s office at the moment of registration.

No, there are no admission tests, admission is determined by a candidate’s application dossier.

We accept CVs in any format.

In the motivation letter you should explain in detail:

• Where your interest for the Master comes from.
• Which area of the Master interests you more.
• What are your professional expectations.
• etc…

You can apply to up to two programmes in one application form. Please mark your first and second choice.

For the application, a simple photocopy of the documents is sufficient, whereas for the enrolment students need to provide the documents notarised with an apostille.

Subject to the payment of the registration fee are candidates whose previous degree studies were completed in countries outside the Lisbon Convention (see list on https://application.lu.usi.ch/). These students are invited to pay an application fee of SFr. 100 accounting for the higher administrative costs of processing more complex files.

If the candidate is admitted, the fee will be deducted from the amount of the tuition fee for the first semester. The administrative fee is not refundable in other cases: if admission is not granted, if the candidate decides to withdraw or if he or she fails to matriculate.

The registration fee is to be paid prior to posting the documents and a photocopy of the proof of payment has to be attached to the application dossier.

The registration fee may be credited to the account of the Faculty in question. There is no other way than bank transfer.

100 CHF must be credited to the bank account, if you prefer using a different currency, please keep in mind the exchange rate and eventually exchange taxes.

The Foundation for the Lugano Faculties of USI Master’s scholarships are awarded on merit, based on the final grade of your Bachelor degree.

Therefore, it is not possible to apply for the scholarship before you graduate, meaning that, in order to apply you must graduate before the scholarship application deadline, July 31st.

No, if your Bachelor degree has been taught in English you do not need further certification.

Yes, but specifying when you will be able to provide the English certificate. You will be admitted on condition that you provide the English certificate before the beginning of the semester.

No, we only accept applications with official certificates such as IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge and TOEIC.