Admission and application

Admission to USI master's programmes requires a Bachelor's degree from a university or another Swiss academic institution, or a foreign Bachelor's degree from an equivalent institution that is recognised or accredited in the country of origin.

The following requirements particularly apply:

• The certificate must be issued by a recognised higher education institution in the country where the candidates completed their studies.
• The university degree must confirm at least three years of study (at least 180 ECTS credits).
• 80% of the credits must have been obtained at a recognised higher education institution.
• At least 50% of the credits must have been earned at the university that issued the degree.

The Bachelor's degree must be completed prior to starting the Master's programme. The term may be postponed in case some assessments are recorded, or the Bachelor thesis is defended later on, on a case-to-case basis.

For Bachelor degrees obtained in Switzerland, USI accepts Bachelor degrees from recognised Swiss Higher Education Institutions (Universities, and Universities of Applied Sciences) listed by Swissuniversities. The full, up-to-date list is available here: Swissuniversities.

Universities of Applied Sciences

Candidates with a Bachelor's degree from a University of Applied sciences may be admitted with an additional requirement of 30-60 ECTS to be earned:

• By attending in person, during the Master’s studies, a selection of our Bachelor’s courses (in Italian) and taking the exams during the regular sessions. The credits have to be earned before the end of the third semester. The courses are to be defined by the Master’s academic director.
• By self-studying a selection of our Bachelor’s courses. In this case, the instructors of the assigned courses provide specific readings. Exams are organized when the student is ready. The courses are defined by the Master’s academic director. The reading and evaluation are in English. This option is very flexible: it allows for optimal programming of the workload during the studies and it also allows the process to be started before the beginning of the Master’s programme. The credits have to be earned before the end of the third semester.
• By attending Bachelor's courses at another recognised University prior to starting the Master’s studies. The university and the list of courses to attend have to be agreed with the Director of the Master’s.

The terms and conditions of additional ECTS are decided on a case-by-case basis and communicated to the candidate once admission has been granted.
By Regulations the additional ECTS must be obtained by the end of the Master's and before the thesis defence.

For admission to the English-language Master’s programmes at USI a good command of English language is mandatory.
The assessment of the language skills is an integral part of the application dossier to our English thought Master’s programme. The language certificate must be included in the application dossier.

Who needs to provide the language certificate?

• Applicants whose previous degree was obtained in a language other than English are required to provide an internationally recognised language certificate at the B2+ level as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), or an equivalent test result (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, etc.).
• Candidates with a Bachelor in Lingua, letteratura e civiltà italiana (BLLCI) at USI
  Students enrolled in the Bachelor in Lingua, letteratura e civiltà italiana (BLLCI) do not automatically reach a B2+ level of English during the course of their studies. Therefore, in order to enroll in any Master’s programme requiring this level of English proficiency, they must obtain an external English language certification or successfully pass the internal B2+ examination.

Which language certificates are accepted?

The B2+ level on the CEFR corresponds to the following scores in internationally acknowledged exams.
Please be informed that we only accept following English qualification:

Validity: The certificate must be valid at the point of the application. We generally cannot accept language test results older than three years as of September 1st.

Who is exempted from providing an English language certificate?

• Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree taught in English
  Candidates whose Bachelor's was entirely taught in English must upload in the application an official document mentioning the tuition language (e.g., official transcript, diploma supplement, or any other official certificate issued by the university) in the application form.
• Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree at USI
  Students who hold, or who will obtain, a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Communication, Informatics or Data Science at USI are exempt from submitting the B2+ English language certificate required to enroll in certain USI Master’s programmes.
  This exemption also applies to students holding a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy who enrolled from the Spring Semester 2024 (SP24) onwards.

Italian knowledge

As Lugano is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, students might be interested in acquiring the basics in Italian even if it is not required for admission.
The Università della Svizzera italiana offers a free of charge Italian language course: further information can be found here.

Academic Year 2026/27

Autumn Semester 2026 (September)

Opening of applications: 9 December 2025.

The deadlines for submitting an application for the Autumn intake are:

• 30 April 2026 for international (non-EU/EFTA) candidates.
• 30 June 2026 for Swiss and European (EU/EFTA) candidates who do not require a visa

Late applications will be considered only in the case of available places.

Spring Semester 2027 (February)

Opening of applications: 14 September 2026.
Please be informed that applications will be considered only in the case of available places.

The deadlines for submitting an application for the spring intake are:

• 31 October 2026 for international (non-EU/EFTA) candidates
• 15 January 2027 for Swiss and European (EU/EFTA) candidates who do not require a visa

Late applications will be considered only in the case of available places.

Following documents are required in order to submit an application:

• Copy of a personal identity document (ID or passport)
• Copies of academic qualifications* (Bachelor's degree/ License, Master's degree, High School Diploma/ school attendance certificate)
• Certificate of Bachelor's/ Master's exams (transcript)
• Curriculum vitae
• Candidate's motivational letter
• Italian/ English language certificate (as specified in the "Language requirements" section)
• Certified translation of diplomas not issued in Italian, German, French, English, or Spanish
• Copy of the residence permit for foreign candidates already residing in Switzerland
• Any additional documentation required by the form

The motivation letter and the Curriculum Vitae must be written in the language of instruction of the programme.
Candidates may apply for a maximum of two programmes.
For each programme you apply for, a separated motivation letter must be uploaded.

* while awaiting the degree, the student must provide the transcript of exams taken, specifying in the motivational letter the expected date of obtaining the degree (for this, it is necessary to submit a declaration issued by the University of origin).

Following cases are exempted from the application fee payment:

• candidates with previous degree studies completed in countries signatories of the Lisbon Convention*
• candidates of the Bachelor and Master programmes offered by the Faculty of Theology (affiliated to USI).

For those who are not exempted (see above), at the time of submission of the application form, a registration fee of CHF 100.- is required (application fee waiver is not possible).
The registration fee is non-refundable in the event of withdrawal by the student or rejection. In case of enrolment, the fee will be deducted from the first semester's tuition fees.

Payment methods

The payment through Saferpay is requested before submitting the application.
The application fee is non-refundable in the event of withdrawal by the student or rejection. In the event of enrolment, the fee will be deducted from the first semester's tuition fees.

*What is the Lisbon Convention?

The Lisbon Convention regulates the recognition of university degrees between signatory countries and considerably simplifies the administration of admission procedures.
For this reason, candidates whose previous degree studies were completed in countries inside this Convention (see list below), are exempted from the application fee.

In order to better protect future USI students against potential fraud, we wish to draw attention to fake USI intermediary services and/or misleading advertisements on the Internet, as well as related board and accommodation/matriculation proposals.

USI has no intermediaries whatsoever in these roles.

Enrollment at USI can only occur when applications are validated by its Faculty admission officers or when submitted online - in Italian or in English - via the official website of USI. The latter offers all relevant information on admission requirements, procedures, fees and accommodation: https://www.usi.ch/en.

When in doubt, we strongly recommend:

• To check and verify the identity of the intermediary;
• Not to submit any personal documents or information;
• To pay particular attention to messages written in languages other than Italian or English, which are the only two languages used by USI for all its official communications;
• To be suspicious of any advance payment requests, as USI does not request advance payment of tuition fees and/or rent.

Please report any fake or fraudulent advertisements to USI: [email protected].

USI shall take no responsibility for damages relating to incidents of this kind, to the use of such intermediary services, and to the acceptance of such proposals.