Country education guide
Switzerland
The cantons hold primary responsibility for compulsory education; the Confederation and cantons coordinate upper-secondary and tertiary pathways.
📚 School stages
Grades, stages, and local pathways
Kindergarten / first learning cycle
Entry structure and language follow the canton, often within the first cycle of compulsory education.
Primary level
The duration and local organisation are cantonal within Switzerland’s harmonised compulsory-education framework.
Lower-secondary level
Cantons organise lower-secondary tracks and school transitions.
Upper-secondary general or vocational education
Learners enter baccalaureate schools, specialised schools, vocational education, or transitional routes.
Universities / universities of applied sciences / professional education
The tertiary route depends on the upper-secondary credential and institution type.
📝 Examinations and qualifications
Selectable records for Switzerland
Each record links to the authority that publishes its current rules.
Swiss Baccalaureate
Gymnasiale Maturität / maturité gymnasiale / maturità liceale
A recognised general upper-secondary baccalaureate route for access to Swiss universities.
- Completion or score rule
- Award rules follow recognised cantonal schools or the federal examination route. Programme admission and regulated fields can add separate conditions.
- Where it applies
- Swiss cantons and federal examination route
🔗 Official source library