University of Zurich



With its 26,000 enrolled students, the University of Zurich (UZH) is Switzerland's largest university. Founded in the year 1833, UZH was Europe's first university to be established by a democratic political system; today, UZH is one of the foremost universities in the German-speaking world. Made up of seven faculties covering some 100 different subject areas, the University offers a wide variety of Bachelor's, Master's and PhD programs. In addition, UZH's continuing education programs offer excellent learning opportunities.
UZH achieved an excellent overall rank of 61 worldwide and even came in 18th among European universities. In Switzerland, only two higher education institutions achieved higher rankings (ETH Zurich at 25, and EPFL at 40), and UZH is Switzerland’s best-ranked comprehensive university, ahead of the University of Geneva, which was ranked 88th.
UZH has moved up the rankings significantly in the social sciences (+26, from 88th to 62nd), and was able to improve its high position slightly in the business & economics ranking (from 43rd to 42nd). In the law ranking, too, UZH climbed seven positions, from 91st to 84th. The only drop came in education, where it fell 12 places from 80th to 92nd.
On 23 January 2012 the Board of the University and the Executive Board of the University adopted the strategic goals 2020:
There is close collaboration between researchers at the University of Zurich and the University’s hospitals in all areas of biomedical research. A range of joint projects and interdisciplinary cooperations is in place to enable the University to systematically help translate basic research findings into clinical practice.
Clinical Research Priority Programs
The Faculty of Medicine’s Clinical Research Priority Programs (CRPPs) are primarily designed to promote areas of clinical research with the aim of better understanding the causes of disease, and developing innovative treatments.
University Research Priority Programs and NCCRs
The University Research Priority Programs (URPP) and National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCRs) are designed to strengthen and connect selected areas of science and research. The University is committed to long-term support in the following areas of medical research:
URPP Translational Cancer Research
URPP Integrative Human Physiology
URPP Systems Biology / Functional Genomics
URPP Dynamics of Healthy Aging
NCCR Kidney.CH
URPP Translational Cancer Research
URPP Integrative Human Physiology
URPP Systems Biology / Functional Genomics
URPP Dynamics of Healthy Aging
NCCR Kidney.CH
Personalized medicine
Activities in personalized medicine aim at developing individual medical interventions in order to improve the quality and efficiency of medical prevention and treatment.
Hochschulmedizin Zürich
Hochschulmedizin Zürich (HMZ) is an umbrella organization created by the University of Zurich, the University’s hospitals, and ETH Zurich to coordinate research on the interface between basic medical research, the natural sciences, technology, clinical research, and health care.
Wyss Zurich Translational Center
The Wyss Zurich Translational Center is a joint venture between the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, with labs for researchers working on projects in the emerging fields of regenerative medicine and robotics technology. The aim is to facilitate the efficient translation of research in these areas into new forms of medical therapy, and innovative products.
Strategy for Highly Specialized Medicine
The government of Canton Zurich has formulated a Strategy for Highly Specialized Medicine (HSM) to promote selected projects at UZH and its hospitals working for excellence in research and health care.
Centers of Competence
The following Centers of Competence are a platform enabling researchers to coordinate their medical research activities:
Center for Applied Biotechology and Molecular Medicine
Center for Ethics
Center for Gerontology
Center for Integrative Human Physiology
Zurich Center for Interdisciplinary Sleep Research
Center for Medicine - Ethics - Law Helvetiae
Center of Competence Multimorbidity
International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center
Competence Center for Mental Health
Zurich Center for Experimental and Clinical Imaging Technologies (EXCITE)
Neuroscience Center Zurich
Competence Center Personalized Medicine UZH/ETH (CC-PM)
Center for Applied Biotechology and Molecular Medicine
Center for Ethics
Center for Gerontology
Center for Integrative Human Physiology
Zurich Center for Interdisciplinary Sleep Research
Center for Medicine - Ethics - Law Helvetiae
Center of Competence Multimorbidity
International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center
Competence Center for Mental Health
Zurich Center for Experimental and Clinical Imaging Technologies (EXCITE)
Neuroscience Center Zurich
Competence Center Personalized Medicine UZH/ETH (CC-PM)
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