The number of people studying in Switzerland for a PhD, or doctorate, has doubled over the past 30 years, according to new figures. The surge has primarily been driven by students coming from overseas to study at Swiss universities. 

Internationals make up the majority of doctoral students in Switzerland

Last year, there were 21.200 PhD students studying for their doctorates in fields like physics, computer science, gender studies, law and art history, according to a new report from the Conference of Western Swiss Universities (CUSO). This figure doesn’t include people studying medicine. 

That figure is twice as high as it was 30 years ago. According to Denis Billotte of the CUSO, that increase has been driven almost entirely by the recruitment of international students, who nowadays make up the majority of the doctoral student body, particularly in some disciplines. For instance, around 80 percent of mechanical engineering PhD students and more than 70 percent of natural sciences PhD students are from overseas. 

PhD students make up a large proportion of the student body in Switzerland, according to the report, with 12,5 percent of all students registered in Switzerland currently undertaking doctorates.

Why is Switzerland so appealing to international PhD students? 

According to CUSO, Switzerland is an appealing destination for international PhD students because of its high-quality higher education system, and the promise it offers of a high salary and entrance into a strong labour market upon graduation. 

“For someone coming to do a PhD in Switzerland, such as from China or India, there’s an appeal in connecting with the European system and funding, as well as joining research networks,” Bilotte said in an interview on RTS public radio this week. 

Switzerland has one of the biggest highly-educated populations in the world, with around 3 percent of the population holding a doctorate, compared to the average of 1 percent in other OECD countries.