Stable registrations and popular degree programs: the 2025 fall semester begins at the University of Basel

Registrations to date indicate a slight increase in student numbers for the 2025/26 academic year. The number of bachelor’s enrollments registered so far is 1,630, which is slightly below last year’s figure. By way of comparison, 1,681 new students matriculated in bachelor’s studies at the start of the semester in 2024.

On the other hand, course registrations at master’s level have once again increased compared to the previous year. With 516 students from Swiss and foreign universities, this number exceeded last year’s figure (486) one week before the start of lectures. It is already clear that the total number of students will exceed 13,000 in 2025 as well.

The University of Basel currently has 12,890 students, compared with 12,764 at the beginning of the semester last year. The number of students will continue to increase, as further registrations at bachelor’s, master’s and PhD levels are expected in the first weeks of the semester.

At the start of the semester, new students can look forward to an attractive social program, which begins with the opening ceremony at Theater Basel and continues throughout the first week of the semester.

Psychology, law and economics are particularly popular among first-year bachelor’s students in 2025. The natural science subjects of pharmaceutical sciences, biology and computer science are also in high demand.

In the humanities and social sciences, the subjects of history, political science, sociology and English have met with high interest, followed by German philology and media studies.

At master’s level, the Psychology, Economics, Law, Pharmacy and Drug Sciences and Molecular Biology degree programs are in particular demand.

In addition to the traditional master’s degree programs, students also favor degree programs such as Digital Humanities, Changing Societies and European Global Studies, as well as Sustainable Development and Educational Sciences. The master’s degree program in Biomedical Engineering, which is run in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, is also off to a very successful start in the new semester. These degree programs address current social concerns while also reflecting the University of Basel’s research focus.

59 percent of students and PhD students are women. Of the students who matriculated at the beginning of the semester, 21 percent come from the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, 15 percent from the Canton of Basel-Stadt, 14 percent from the Cantons of Aargau and Solothurn and 23 percent from the rest of Switzerland. 28 percent obtained their educational qualifications abroad.

Further information

Matthias Geering, University of Basel, Head of Communications & Marketing, tel: +41 61 207 35 75, mobile: +41 79 269 70 71, email: matthias.geering@unibas.ch