How to Apply

We are open to students from diverse academic backgrounds, mainly students holding a Bachelor degree in architecture, engineering or environmental sciences. The MIBS programme is a highly selective and competitive programme. Students with a strong academic performance from reputed universities have a good chance of being admitted to the programme. 

Here you find a good summary of the necessary information and documents for application to our programme.

The MIBS programme is a 120 ECTS, full-time master's degree that is typically completed within four to five semesters. As such, it is not a distance-learning online programme and students must be able to be physically present at ETH Zurich.

The programme is taught entirely in English. You will not need any German proficiency for application and admission to the Master’s studies.

There are two application rounds:

• Fall for international students and applicants to Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) and 
• Spring for Swiss students (ETH/EPFL or Swiss University of Applied Science-Fachhochschule) . 

Application deadlines can be found on the Master's application webpage.

Further information about the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) is available here.

Semester fees are approximately CHF 2190 per semesters for international students. Details to whether you can apply to simple tuition fee of CHF 730 per semester can be found here. 

In addition, ETH provides an estimation of study and living costs. Read more.

The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) supports students with excellent academic background with a scholarship, mentorship and a network of the ETH Foundation. The scholarship covers the full study and living costs during the Master’s degree course.

The application window for the scholarship happens every Fall. Further information is available here.

No. ETH Zurich does not grant application fee waivers under any circumstances.

An overview of our course curriculum can be found on the website.

To view details to the courses offered in MIBS curriculum, please refer to ETH’s course catalogue.

The motivation letter is a critical part of your application. It should be between 1/2 page to 1 page maximum, and outline your motivation joining the programme. The language and argument should clearly explain why you are an excellent candidate with practical and/or academic experience relevant to the programme.

No. Classic, heavily graphic portfolios are not part of the application process of MIBS. However, you can get creative with your application resume and include some image thumbnails to highlight the design and technical skills you would like to show the Admissions Committee to explain why you are a great fit for the our programme.

No. However, if you do think they would strategically support your application, you are very welcome to do so. Keep in mind, while a personal recommendation letter can be a great addition to your application, a generic letter is less effective.

Yes. The GRE General Test is required for students who have not obtained their Bachelor's degree in one of the EU/EFTA member state countries, and as the admissions process is highly competitive, is strongly recommended for all other applicants. Read further details to GRE General Test.

All information relating to language proficiency can be found ).

Yes! If you are already enrolled at ETH Zurich - as either a regular or mobility student, we encourage you to get a taste of the MIBS programme before you apply. However, please observe that there are firm programme restrictions on how many credits and what credit types that you can count towards this ETH non-consecutive specialised MSc degree. Please note the following:

• ETH students are allowed a maximum total of 10 credit points that can be counted toward the MIBS degree that must be 1) acquired at the ETH and 2) not credited toward their previous degree.
  
• Credits points are only allowed from the Fundamental, Specialised and Science in Perspective curriculum categories.
  
• Core courses should not be taken prior to acceptance into the programme. Cohort peer learning is a key element of the MIBS experience and topics in this specialised master are presented sequentially. If core courses are taken prior to admittance to the MIBS programme, your tutor will assign replacement core coursework of equivalent credit points.
  
• Finally, if you are successfully admitted to our program, you will need to make a formal request to the D-ARCH Study Administration about crediting the courses before you begin your studies. The MIBS Director of Studies will subsquently review this request.
• For further information about what would make the most sense for your educational background and interests, get in touch with the Programme Coordinator.

Further information can be found here in Article 15 and onward.