ETH Zurich

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ETH Zurich (from its German name Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETH Zürich) is the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland. It is commonly called the ETH or the Poly after its original name Polytechnikum.

The ETH is considered by many to be one of Europe's premier universities in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biological science and computer science. Indeed, the Times Higher Education Supplement and The Shanghai / Economist World University Rankings rank the school as six and fifth in Europe respectively, as well as amongst the top 30 universities internationally. It is a member of the IDEA League.

Image:ETH Zurich from Polyterrace.jpg

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History

The ETH was founded in 1854 by the Swiss Confederation and opened its doors in 1855 as a polytechnic institute (Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule). It comprised in the beginning six departements: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, forestry, and a catch-all departement for mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social and political sciences.

The ETH is a federal institute (i.e., under direct administration by the Swiss government), whereas the University of Zürich (founded in 1833) is a cantonal institution. The decision for a new federal university was heavily disputed at the time, because the liberals pressed for a "federal university", while the conservative forces wanted all universities to remain under cantonal control, with the goal of giving liberal thoughts no refuge. In the beginning, both universities were co–located in the buildings of the University of Zürich.

The main building of the ETH was built 1861 to 1864 under Gustav Zeuner; the architect was Gottfried Semper, who was a professor for architecture at the ETH at the time. The south wing of the building was allocated to the University of Zürich until the university's own new main building was constructed (1912 – 1914). At about the same time, Semper's ETH building was enlarged and also got its impressive cupola.

In 1909, the course program of the ETH was restructured to that of a real university, from its early, very schoolish agenda, and the ETH was granted the right to award doctorates. In 1911, it was given its current name, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule. In 1924, another reorganization structured the university in 12 departments.

With a new law in 1991, which became effective in 1993, the ETH Zürich, the EPFL, and four associated research institutes were joined and administered together as the "ETH Bereich".

To day ETH is worldwide under the top ten universities (see Times Higher Education Supplement). ETH achieved its good reputation especially in the areas of physics and chemistry.

An official decision states that the name of the institution is "ETH Zurich" in English and "ETH Zürich" in German, without expanding the acronym.

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Campus

The ETH Zürich has no single campus. The main building was constructed in the 1860s in the heart of the city, and when the university grew, it spread out into the surrounding quarters. Its Zentrum location consists thus of various buildings and institutions throughout Zürich, firmly integrating the ETH in the city.

Because this geographic situation substantially hindered the expansion of the ETH, a new campus was built from 1964 to 1976 on the Hönggerberg in the outskirts of the city. The last major expansion project of this new campus was completed in 2003; since then, the Hönggerberg location houses the departments of materials science, architecture, civil engineering, physics, biology, and chemistry.

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Student life

As of 2001, there were 11,927 students, 330 professors and 840 lecturers at the ETH Zürich. The number of students keeps growing: as of 2005, there were 12,705 enrolled students at the ETH.

The origins of the ETH as a school still show in today's curriculum; there are more constraints than in other universities. Curiously, there are no exams during the first year of study. Exams for all courses of the first year are held during the summer break and are called the "Basisprüfung" (basic exams). The Basisprüfung has a dropout quota of over 50%. Since the ETH is a federal institution, there are no admission criteria for Swiss students except a Matura, something between high school and college diploma. However, many international students are required to submit to entrance exams. It is also possible to enter the ETH without any kind of Matura diploma by passing an exam covering all standard high school courses. Wilhelm Röntgen is a famous example for this kind of admission. The ETH also has an upper limit for the time to reach graduation.

The amicable rivalry between the ETH and the neighbouring University of Zürich (the main building of the university is just besides that of the ETH) is still cultivated. Since 1951, there has been an annual rowing match between teams from the two institutions on the river Limmat.

Once a year, the main building of the ETH is transformed into a huge party hall for the annual Polyball, which is organized by the student's association of the ETH.

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Departments

As of 2004, the ETH Zürich comprises the following departments:

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Famous people

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Nobel prize winners

Many Nobel prize winners (not only Swiss ones) were or are associated with the ETH Zürich:

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Others

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See also

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External links

cs:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule de:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich el:ETH Ζυρίχης es:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich fr:École polytechnique fédérale de Zurich ko:취리히 연방공과대학교 it:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich he:המכון הטכנולוגי של ציריך hu:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule nl:Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule ja:チューリッヒ工科大学 pl:ETH Zürich pt:ETH Zurich

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