The degree programme can also be completed on a part-time basis, extending the total duration to five or six years. Students may switch between part-time and full-time or vice versa at the beginning of each academic year. Part-time students put together their own timetable based on the timetable of full-time students. Feedback from part-time students suggests that an employment level of no more than 60% is advisable alongside your part-time study commitments. 
A prerequisite for part-time study is that your professional commitments are flexible enough to accommodate your academic schedule.

In the foundation course, you expand your language and cultural expertise, i.e. your linguistic and communicative skills, and acquire cultural knowledge of the countries where your three chosen languages of study are spoken. You deal with topics in the field of linguistics and gain contextual knowledge in various subject areas relevant to your future career, including business, marketing and technology.

The main study period combines content that is standardised for all students with specialisation-specific topics on professional skills and capabilities.

You take three languages of study: your primary language (usually your mother tongue), a first foreign language and a second foreign language. Different language combinations are possible depending on the chosen specialisation. English is obligatory for all students, who must choose it either as their first or their second foreign language.

From the third semester, you can add a third foreign language. The languages of study available here are French, Italian and Spanish (these are taught at the same level as the first and second foreign languages) as well as Arabic, Chinese and Russian (basic prior knowledge is required for these courses).

The fifth semester is dedicated to a semester abroad or internship. Around two-thirds of students make use of this opportunity and spend their fifth semester at a partner university in Switzerland or abroad or on an internship.

Semester abroad

A semester spent abroad studying at another university provides an excellent opportunity to gain in-depth experience of another culture and establish an international network to improve your future employment opportunities. On our blog, you can find reports from the semester abroad from locations all over the world as well as additional information.

Internship

An internship with a company or organisation in Switzerland or abroad allows you to gain valuable practical experience and make contacts in the professional world that may even help you to get your career started after graduation.

The programme begins in autumn. Each semester comprises 14 weeks of teaching, two weeks of examination preparation and two weeks of examinations. There are no classes in the time between examination weeks and the start of the semester.

The teaching period is divided into three blocks, each lasting four weeks. Between these blocks, there is a week without lessons (in weeks 5 and 10 of the semester) to give students time for revision, reading and project work.