Application & Admission

Start of studies in the spring semester

All study programs at IKMZ- except for the master's program "Internet & Society" – allow students to start in the spring semester. Please note that when you start in the spring semester, your studies may be prolonged by one or two semesters. The page Getting Started explains how to create your individual study plan.

Application portal & application deadlines

Applications can only be submitted online via the UZH application portal within the application deadlines.
Exception: Students who are already enrolled should apply for a study program change in the student portal within the study program change deadlines.

Application process & documents to be submitted

Before applying, please inform yourself about the application process, the documents to be submitted, and the admission requirements (see below).

Later submission of certificates and supporting documents

Certificates and supporting documents that are not yet available – e.g., final grade for a bachelor's degree – can be submitted at a later date. In the best case, you will receive conditional admission. Stricter deadlines apply to applicants who require a visa.

Duration of the admission procedure

The procedure can take up to three months from receipt of the application file to the final decision.

Costs of studying

Information on costs can be found on the page Fees and Contributions.

Financing your studies

Information on financing your studies can be found on the page Finances.

The admission requirements for bachelor's programs can be found on the Admissions Office website: Admission to a Bachelor's Program | University of Zurich | UZH.

The main language of instruction for our bachelor's program is German.

Formal as well as academic requirements apply for admission to our master's programs. The formal requirements are checked by the Admissions Office. Details can be found on the Admissions Office website: Admission to the Master's program | University of Zurich | UZH.

The main language of instruction for three of our Master's programs – the consecutive program "Communication Science and Media Research" and the specialized programs "Political Communication & Governance" and "Strategic Communication & Management" – is German. These programs require very good German language skills (C1).
We offer one Master's program in English: "Internet & Society".

The academic requirements are checked by IKMZ after the application has been submitted. These vary depending on the study program and are listed in the respective program's appendix to the study regulations ("Anhang zur Studienordnung"). Unconditional admission is granted if you have completed your Bachelor's degree at IKMZ (major or minor).

Minimum grade Bachelor's degree for master's programs "Political Communication & Governance" and "Strategic Communication & Management"

One of the formal admission requirements for the specialized master's programs "Political Communication & Governance" and "Strategic Communication & Management" is an overall grade of at least 5.00. No rounding up is permitted. This means that applicants with a Bachelor's degree with an overall grade (major & minor) of less than 5.00 will not be admitted. If you have an overall grade of 5.00 or better on your bachelor's degree certificate, you meet this formal admission requirement.

Admission requirements for the Master's program "Internet & Society"

As the appendices to the study regulations are only available in German, the admission requirements for the English taught Master's program "Internet & Society" are described in English below:

• Bachelor's degree in Communication & Media, other Social Sciences (e.g., Sociology, Political Science) or in Psychology amounting to at least 60 ECTS.
• Good grades in the Bachelor's program.
• Very good English language skills at the academic level in listening and reading as well as speaking and writing.
• A motivation letter in English – please upload under one of the higher education evidence placeholders.
• A recommendation letter in English to be sent by the referee to programmkoordination@ikmz.uzh.ch.
• A scholarly paper written by the applicant in English: this may be a term paper or a bachelor's thesis, written independently or as part of a group (with a clearly identifiable individual contribution of at least 10 pages or several short papers. Please upload this document under one of the «University Certificate» placeholders (1 – 5). An unofficial translation into English is also acceptable.
• At the request of the Admissions Committee: further evidence of qualifications relevant to the study program & an admissions interview.  

Students with a degree in "Communication Science and Media Research" from the University of Zurich (major or minor) are exempt from submitting a paper and recommendation letter.

Additional requirements for Master's programs

If you do not fully meet the academic  requirements, you may be admitted to the German taught study programs "Communication Science and Media Research", "Political Communication & Governance" and "Strategic Communication & Management" with additional requirements. These requirements are compulsory modules from our Bachelor's program. The requirement profiles for these German taught Master's programs – for which additional requirements may be imposed – as well as descriptions of the required modules, can be found in this information sheet (PDF, 59 KB). Requirements should be completed at the beginning of the Master's program if possible. The statistics and methodology modules are particularly important for your study planning, as they build on each other. If you have no prior knowledge of communication sciences, you can expect to have to complete 45-60 ECTS of additional requirements.

Admission procedure Master's program

Admission to the Master's program follows these three steps:

1. Formal review: The Admissions Office reviews the application based on the formal criteria specified in the Regulations for Admission to Studies at the University of Zurich.
2. Academic review: Once your application has been approved by the Admissions Office, your documents will be forwarded to the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) for academic review. Each application is reviewed individually.
3. Decision: You will receive notification of your admission status from the Admissions Office.

Information on entry and residence can be found on the page International students – Entry and residence | University of Zurich | UZH

Information on living costs and accommodation can be found on the page Degree-Seeking Students | Global StudentExperience | UZH

Information about studying at the University of Zurich can be found on the page UZH for International Students and Scholars