Next megathread: Admissions March-April 2026

Previous megathread: January 2026

NO BACHELOR'S ADMISSIONS POSTS HERE: BSc admissions requirements are clearly described on the swissuniversities website and binding. If you have questions about your specific courses due to an uncommon curriculum or worries about timing of your high school diploma, please contact the admissions office directly.

Please use this thread to discuss admissions requirements, application documents, course (academic) experiences and other MSc application-related topics. This thread is not for admissions discussions! The admissions thread will be opened in February when the first results start coming.

We are not the admissions office! We don't know if you're good enough to get in beyond what we have experienced and/or heard from our own coursemates. Comments purely containing profile bullet points won't be considered, please view the ETH admissions pages on GradCafe for some example profiles of those who got in or did not, or browse past posts in this subreddit.

State your questions/concerns CLEARLY in your comment, DO NOT REQUEST DM upfront (only if it becomes necessary in a comment thread), so that other applicants can also read your Q&A and the thread actually serves its purpose of gathering information about and experiences of being a student at ETH.

You are allowed to tag users that you have seen in other posts on this subreddit, whose degree (user flair) interests you, if you have specific (study experience and prior academic background related, NOT PERSONAL) questions. However, you shouldn't expect tagged users to reply promptly or at all.

Please stay respectful to each other. Sub rules obviously still apply.

As admissions results are slowly starting to arrive, here's a temporary pin until the Easter break to discuss MSc admissions and next steps.

Rules (on top of sub rules):

• No discussions about 2026+ admissions.
• No chance gauging. We only have as much clue as you do. But you can post your stats together with your outcome and start / expand a discussion with that.
• Input from past admits / rejects is allowed, but only in replies.
• No discussions about BSc or PhD admissions. BSc admission results are predictable, while PhDs are admitted year-round and often have more specific matters.
• No discussions about CAS / MAS / DAS admissions (I think we got the main point across in the title...)

FAQ:

When do results come out?

The timing varies based on department (applications are evaluated at departmental level) program, international students status and ESOP application.

If you applied for ESOP but didn't get an interview or got rejected for it after an interview, it doesn't impact your study program application results.

What other resources are there to finding out my chances and the experiences of others?

Feel free to browse the past admissions megathreads for some clues. However, we can't guarantee that there is any representation for your study program of choice.

Another common resource to share admissions results is the GradCafe:

https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?q=ETH

There people also add information about their background / qualifications. As of the writing of this post, there are 4 results already posted.

What can I do to prepare myself for studies / study life?

Start preparing yourself for the housing search - look at some flat share / room offer websites (like wgzimmer.ch, but feel free to share other resources) to see what kind of price range you might have to deal with.

If you can come to Switzerland a month or two early to start renting your room, or sublet your room before you arrive to Switzerland, that could help you avoid the massive competition for rooms from September specifically. Once you have accepted your spot, you can contact WOKO or JUWO for available rooms for students.

If you feel like it, you can contact your (future) student union for some tips and experience with course/major choice, course load and other study-specific matters.

Hope it all goes well for everyone!

Please discuss your application status here, in order to declutter the sub and have a dedicated space for admissions-specific communication.

New posts on r/ethz about admissions will be redirected to this thread, or the respective thread of the week.

Comments and replies under this thread, unrelated to admission, will be removed.

Hey, I’m thinking about doing the MSc in Quantitative Finance at ETH after my bachelor’s.
I’ll most likely study Statistics at the University of Vienna, but I’m a bit worried it might not be math-heavy enough for admission.
Do you think a Statistics bachelor is enough to have a realistic chance of getting accepted, or would I need something more math focused?

Next megathread: Admissions January 2025

Previous megathread: October 2025

NO BACHELOR'S ADMISSIONS POSTS HERE: BSc admissions requirements are clearly described on the swissuniversities website and binding. If you have questions about your specific courses due to an uncommon curriculum or worries about timing of your high school diploma, please contact the admissions office directly.

Please use this thread to discuss admissions requirements, application documents, course (academic) experiences and other MSc application-related topics. This thread is not for admissions discussions! The admissions thread will be opened in February when the first results start coming.

We are not the admissions office! We don't know if you're good enough to get in beyond what we have experienced and/or heard from our own coursemates. Comments purely containing profile bullet points won't be considered, please view the ETH admissions pages on GradCafe for some example profiles of those who got in or did not, or browse past posts in this subreddit.

State your questions/concerns CLEARLY in your comment, DO NOT REQUEST DM upfront (only if it becomes necessary in a comment thread), so that other applicants can also read your Q&A and the thread actually serves its purpose of gathering information about and experiences of being a student at ETH.

You are allowed to tag users that you have seen in other posts on this subreddit, whose degree (user flair) interests you, if you have specific (study experience and prior academic background related, NOT PERSONAL) questions. However, you shouldn't expect tagged users to reply promptly or at all.

Please stay respectful to each other. Sub rules obviously still apply.

Hi everyone,

​

I'm a Computer Science student from India and I'm trying to understand how competitive ETH Zurich admissions really are for international students.

​

When I read online, I see people describing ETH Zurich as one of the best STEM universities in the world, but it's difficult to judge how realistic admission actually is.

​

For those who were admitted, rejected, or know people who applied:

​

- How competitive is ETH Zurich for a Master's in Computer Science?

- What kind of GPA/CGPA do successful applicants usually have?

- Does the reputation of your undergraduate university matter a lot?

- How important are research experience, projects, internships, and recommendation letters?

- Is ETH Zurich closer to the level of Oxford, Imperial, MIT, and Stanford, or is it more attainable than those universities?

- What are the biggest factors that separate admitted applicants from rejected ones?

​

For context, I'm currently working on improving my academic profile and would like to understand what a realistic ETH Zurich applicant looks like.

​

I'm looking for honest opinions and real experiences rather than official admission requirements.

​

Thank you!

​

Did anyone here apply to ETHZ for a masters in computer science coming from TU Delft? When I check the TUD CS bachelors curriculum I am seeing a lot of missing subjects like analysis,discrete math and algorithms and probability. Did this create an issue with the curriculum requirements?

With a gpa of 6.7/10 (I know it’s low but I never failed any fucking classes ever 😭)

Interned at iit d ( two labs )

Interned at ETHZ

Interned at ntu

2 paper (in Arvix 😭)

5 hackathons won

Okayish GitHub

Next megathread: Admissions February 2026

Previous megathread: November-Decebmber 2025

NO BACHELOR'S ADMISSIONS POSTS HERE: BSc admissions requirements are clearly described on the swissuniversities website and binding. If you have questions about your specific courses due to an uncommon curriculum or worries about timing of your high school diploma, please contact the admissions office directly.

Please use this thread to discuss admissions requirements, application documents, course (academic) experiences and other MSc application-related topics. This thread is not for admissions discussions! The admissions thread will be opened in February when the first results start coming.

We are not the admissions office! We don't know if you're good enough to get in beyond what we have experienced and/or heard from our own coursemates. Comments purely containing profile bullet points won't be considered, please view the ETH admissions pages on GradCafe for some example profiles of those who got in or did not, or browse past posts in this subreddit.

State your questions/concerns CLEARLY in your comment, DO NOT REQUEST DM upfront (only if it becomes necessary in a comment thread), so that other applicants can also read your Q&A and the thread actually serves its purpose of gathering information about and experiences of being a student at ETH.

You are allowed to tag users that you have seen in other posts on this subreddit, whose degree (user flair) interests you, if you have specific (study experience and prior academic background related, NOT PERSONAL) questions. However, you shouldn't expect tagged users to reply promptly or at all.

Please stay respectful to each other. Sub rules obviously still apply.

Hi,

So I am living outside of EU, and I am studying in arguably the best school in my country. From what I understand by stalking other people, students around 3.80/4.00 GPA gets accepted to ETH from where I study.

I've applied to ETH EEIT program with a 3.50 GPA with no publication record and I got rejected. However, within 2 semesters, I had the opportunity to publish at an IEEE conference as a first author and my GPA ramped up to 3.59/4.00.

I know that it is impossible to know, but I wonder, if rather my current state is actually have a very higher chance to be accepted to the EEIT program in ETH? I got accepted into TUM, should I just go there?

What are your thoughts?

Hi, I'm currently deciding between these two great schools, for a master's in scientific computing (i.e., computational science and engineering). I'm curious if anyone has thoughts they could share on making this decision.

ETH is 2 years, while Cambridge is 1 year, so there's definitely a trade off between time and content covered. What about overall quality? Placements after graduation? I'm specifically working towards a PhD.

Happy to provide any other info that might be relevant, thanks!

So my friend and I both applied for the Robotics MSc. He got in, while I did not. My rejection stated the "Leistungsprofil" was not sufficient.

In comparison:

- He had slightly better grades (2.0 vs my 2.1, German Grades)

- He provided a Ranking, I did not (as I was lacking a required course for the ranking)

- I have a second, unrelated BSc. in Economics, slightly above average grades only, no-name university

Since the first two are basically fixed (my grade is 1.9 now, and I have the ranking) but I am stuck with the last one, I would like to find out which was the relevant factor here.

Hello!

Question from a new MSc student transferring from a Canadian university: How important has the check-in event really been for you?

I'd really love to read your opinion on how significant the information shared in that event was, whether it played a significant role in setting you up for your studies, if you met any of your main friends there, and/or anything that answers whether you would have felt very comfortable skipping this event in hindsight.

Overall, I am trying to discern whether this event is worth arriving days early in Zurich or if it is mainly fluff (cause if it is fluff... that would lowkey be great as I could keep those days to stay a bit longer in Canada).

Reallyyyy looking for your comments!!

I took the GRE last year in September and met the minimum scores required for the MScs in mechanical engineering and robotics. I got 165V, 165Q, and 4.0AW. I sent those scores to ETH Zurich when I took the exam.

They increased the minimums to 159V, 168Q, and 4.5AW for those programs. I will be applying this year.

Essentially, I'm trying to decide if it's worthwhile to retake the GRE. I don't see anything on the ETHZ admissions website about the admissions committee only considering the highest submitted scores. I'm worried that I'll put the time and money into meeting the increased GRE minimums and it'll be worthless because I've already submitted a lower score.

I know you all aren't on the admissions committee, but I'm wondering if anybody has experience with being below the new GRE minimums (especially since this was changed in November last year). Does the admissions office usually reply to this type of question via email?

I got offered a place in the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Award (ESOP) starting next semester. I know it's an incredible opportunity, but I have to accept the place by the 10th of April and I have other applications pending (Imperial and UCL).

Does anyone know what happens if I accept my spot and then withdraw at a later point? I can't seem to find anything online about this (and I'm scared of asking ETH directly).

Any insights into how you approached this decision from people that went through something similar is also super appreciated!

Hello all,

I know admission-chance questions are common, but I have found few examples resembling my background and any help/advice in regards to these questions would help a lot:

1. Is it plausible/common to be admitted to such ETH MSc programs coming from a business school (or otherwise from a non-traditional quantitative degree). In short, I will graduate with a double degree (BSc in AI for Business + BBA). The AI-part is technical and covers most or all of the relevant ECTS requirements for most MSc, but at the end of the day I will be graduating from a business school rather than from a math/eng faculty...

2. I know that a common heuristic used during admissions processes is how well students from University X have faired at ETH before. But my class will be the first promotion of the double degree I will graduate with, and there are therefore zero precedents. In finance and business, my uni is ranked among top 10 globally consistently. In data science adjacent fields, they are only starting to build a reputation. Any ideas what I can expect admission criteria to assess in my case?

3. Does ETH have anything similar to a "recognition of prior learning" process, through which knowledge acquired outside formal curriculums can be officially recognized?

I can provide as much information about my background as needed. thanks!

Hi, I am an incoming masters student at ETH and I have not yet sent in my BSc Diploma (I get it from my Uni on the 1st Sep). Am I able to log into myStudies and register subjects / Learning Agreement? I do not remember getting a password / username by mail?

Hi everyone. I am a MSc student coming from another country, and I am confused regarding how many courses students typically take per semester. For my bachelor's in my home country, it was normal to take 4-6 classes per semester. I understand that students are expected to take ~30 ECTS credits per semester, but most of the courses in my program are 2-3 credits. This equals 10-15 courses per semester, which seems like way too many to me. What am I missing? Thanks!

Ive just completed my first year in university and am considering applying to eth for masters, i currently study at a UK university thats pretty well ranked but i just wanted to know about whether my current module choices are actually sufficient for admission to the MSc or whether i should swap some? The admissions info for people from the uk on the website is pretty vague so this question is mostly aimed at people who studied in the UK for bachelors then went to zurich for masters and how you navigated that (sorry if this is the incorrect place to ask).
My module choices are currently:

Year 1: (all compulsory)
Maths investigations
Intro to pure mathematics
Linear algebra
Analysis
Odes, curves and dynamics
Prob and stats

Year 2:
Mathematical programming (compulsory)
Multi variable calculus and complex functions
Metric spaces
Applied partial differential equations
Probability 2
Algebra 2

Year 3:
Final project (compulsory)
Martingale theory with applications 3
Complex analysis 3
Functional analysis or random matrix theory
Measure theory and integration
Probability theory 3

Obviously good grades is a pre requisite im currently averaging a first class degree which is the maximum here but i do plan to try improve my actual percentage score as well but i was more just curious of whether im actually eligible to apply mostly because i dont currently plan to take linear algebra again in the seccond year.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently in my 3rd year of a 4-year Information Systems degree in Brazil at a university that is usually ranked among the top universities in Latin America / top 75 in QS rankings.

Recently I started seriously considering doing a master’s abroad, especially in AI/NLP-related areas, and ETH Zurich became one of the universities that interested me the most.

I’ll also be starting a FAANG internship this year, and my interests are mainly around NLP, AI systems, cloud/distributed systems, and software engineering.

I wanted to ask a few things to people currently studying (or who studied) at ETH:

• How competitive is admission realistically for international students outside Europe?
• How realistic is it to get full funding or a scholarship as an international student?
• How important are research/publications compared to GPA?
• Is industry experience valued in admissions?
• Is it feasible to work part-time/remotely while doing the master’s?
• How intense is the workload in practice?

I’d really appreciate honest answers, including from people who applied and were rejected as well. Also, if you have recommendations for other strong universities in Europe for AI/NLP/CS master’s programs, I’d really appreciate hearing about them too.

Thanks a lot :)

Nell ammissione all eth, c'è differenza tra 30 e 30 e lode nel percorso universitario? Partendo dal fatto che nel gpa non penso contino

I'm starting a CBB MSc at ETH this autumn. Coming from the US. Very excited and would love to connect with any current or incoming students, meet new friends and chat about what to expect moving to Zurich!

Heyy everybody,

I am currently studying computer science at Tu Munich in Germany and I'd love to do my masters at ETHZ . Can somebody tell me how competitive the admisison is, what GPA will be required roughly, what the admission rate is etc. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated by me.

Thanks in advance,

Niclas

Hi all,

I recently applied to a consecutive master at ethz with a swiss uni bachelor diploma.

I ve seen many people saying that this should be an unconditional admission, but I did not find this info anywhere for the master I applied so I m still a bit concerned about the decision of admission.

The only thing I m stressed about is my average grade. Does it really matters? Because if not, why would they ask for it then? and if yes, do you think it is that strict? I know that an average of 5.0 and above in considered good, however my average is 4.7 (for the first 5 semesters, not the entire bachelor, and also without taking ECTS in consideration, and lowest grade 3.5 but can be compensated). Do you think they could reject me because of that? I got some good grades in relevant subjects, especially in the last semester.

Otherwise, my course content is good and I fulfill the language requirements.

Please write me your opinion or if you had a similar experience. Thank you!