What to study?
It is not that easy to decide on a course of study. The offer is vast. The annual study information event of ETH is a platform for personal contacts to help making the right decision. Pupils meet students and professors from various disciplines and move around in the university atmosphere. This gives them impressions that virtual channels cannot convey. And that is why the event is so popular.
Huge demand
Rarely is the main hall of ETH Zurich so busy as during the study information days: More than 6,000 high-school students attended this year's event on 5 and 6 September, at which ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich presented their courses of study. With great commitment a total of thirteen physics students and two professors answered the questions of the high-school students regarding studying physics at ETH Zurich. It was obvious that talks from woman to woman or from man to man were preferred, as the pictures show. The presence of both sexes on site lowers the barrier for direct contact and increases the feeling of receiving appropriate advice.
Should I specialize already now?
Sometimes interested visitors queued to find out more about the details of the studies offered and there was not enough time to talk to everyone. Sometimes the prospective students already had a specialization in mind, for example medical physics or nano mechanics, and wanted to find out whether the physics studies in its broadness might offer wider possibilities. Who knows whether new areas of interest will open up during their studies and whether a Bachelor degree in physics would not open up more directions for students to specialize in a Master degree.
Am I good enough?
Will I be able to start my studies successfully? What are the requirements? Getting answers to such questions from students provides assurance, as they can empathize well with the situation of the high-school students. Not only the direct conversation, but also the insight into the lecture culture is a valuable basis for decision-making. The department offered three lectures on the topics "Study and career prospects", "Microscopy with electrons" and "The quantum nature of light" to prospective students. Sometimes also parents showed up at the booth to have the experiments explained to them and thus to gain insight into the physics studies. The figures also show how important the study information day is for many: This autumn, 3,080 new students started their studies at ETH Zurich. The proportion of female students is slowly rising from 33.6 to 36%. However, the current target of over 40% has not yet been reached.
New design
To match the new presentation at the study information days in content and design, the newly designed leaflet on physics studies also provides detailed information about the structure of the studies and the course of the academic year. The leaflet and other downloads and links on the subject are available on our website. The study administration of the Department of Physics will also be happy to answer any question you may still have. Alternatively, you can simply visit during the next information event on 4 and 5 September 2019. We are already looking forward to welcoming all those interested.