Become a student at the HEG-FR

Getting ready for your stay

Our International Office

The International Office is responsible for organising the exchange and reception of students and teachers, as well as providing administrative support during the exchange. Your university must have an exchange agreement with the HEG-FR and you have to be registered as a degree-seeking student at your university. You do not have to pay fees at the HEG-FR, only at your home institution. You can come to the HEG-FR for one semester/ a year or for a short-program.

Step-by-step incoming student guide

1. Key date - Academic calendar

Academic Year 2024-2025

	Fall Semester	Spring Semester
Orientation	One week prior to semester start	One week prior to semester start
Start of the Semester	September 16, 2024	February 17, 2025
End of the Semester	January 17, 2025	June 13, 2025
Exams	January 20-24, 2025	June 16-21, 2025
Exams Results	End of February	Mid July

Download Fact sheet 2024-25

2. Nomination

Nominations must be sent by the home university. We will not accept nominations directly from students.

To nominate student(s), the home university must complete our Student Nomination Survey, this survey will ask the partner university to provide us with all the necessary information to process their nominations.

This survey will be issued via email to our partners. Should you have any questions please email the International Office.

Please note the below deadlines:

Nomination deadline for Full Year & Autumn Semester:

- - Non EU/EFTA Nationalities : Mid April, 2024
  - EU/EFTA Nationalities : Mid May, 2024

Nomination deadline for Spring Semester:

- - Non EU/EFTA Nationalities : Mid September, 2024
  - EU/EFTA Nationalities : Mid October, 2024

3. Application process

Once the nomination has been accepted by the HEG-Fribourg, the nominated student must complete an online application to study at HEG-FR.

During online registration, the following documents must be uploaded:
• Academic transcript of records
• Motivation letter
• Up-to-date CV in English
• Proof of language skills (for non-native speakers)
• Copy of passeport
• Learning agreement
• ID photo (digital; passeport standard)

The deadlines for students to complete their application are as follows:

- Application deadline for Full Year & Autumn Semester:
- - - Non EU/EFTA Nationalities :May 1st, 2024
    - EU/EFTA Nationalities : June 30, 2024
- Application deadline for Spring Semester:
- - - Non EU/EFTA Nationalities : mid-october 2024
    - EU/EFTA Nationalities : mid november 2024

4. Letter of acceptance

Your acceptance letter will send by email in May for students who have applied for a Fall semester or full-year exchange, and in November for students who have applied for a Spring semester exchange.

You will also receive other important information such as the visa application process (NON-UE students), how to apply for residence and information regarding insurance.

5. Visa

Please note that if you are not a UE citizen, you may need a visa to enter Switzerland.

You need a student visa. You can obtain the visa application form from the Swiss embassy or consulate in your country of residence. Please note that it can take up to 4 months to obtain a visa.

The following applies to study visits lasting more than 90 days. A tourist visa does not allow you to study in Switzerland, nor does it allow you to enter the country and then apply for a student visa.

Check the following website to see if you need a visa to enter Switzerland: https://www.swiss-visa.ch

Start as soon as possible the visa application process.

6. Enrollment and course selection

Exchange students register for courses through the international office. Before your arrival we will ask you for your learning agreement and will register you accordingly.

For exchange students: see the list of available courses here.

For the Diploma in financial management, please click here.

7. Orientation week and semester start

One week before the beginning of each semester, the International Office organize a dedicated week for the incoming students.

During this week, you will have the chance to learn more about Switzerland and to make new friends.

You will :

- get information on life in Switzerland and about the school,

- get familiar with the campus and the surroundings

- receive support throughout the registration process with the canton and city

- take part in a cultural excursion

8. Grading system and transcripts

Credit system - ECTS

The credit system is based on the European Credit Transfer System ECTS. European Credit Transfer System ECTS. At the HEG-Fribourg, 1 ECTS credit is equal to 25-30 hours of academic work. The ECTS credits measure the total amount of work that you have undertaken (including hours present in lectures/seminars, as well as the personal time required outside tuition hours).

A degree-seeking student would have 30 ECTS per semester. Exchange Students usually take less as the teaching and learning is in another language. This has to be discussed prior to departure with the home university coordinator.

Grading system

The HEG-Fribourg uses a grading scale ranging from 0 to 6 with 4.00 representing a passing grade.

	Signification	HEG grades
A	Excellent	6
B	Very good	5.5
C	Good	5
D	Satisfactory	4.5
E	Sufficient	4
F	Fail	under 4

Transcripts

A transcript of Records will be issued no later than 2 months after the assessment period has finished at our institution. Transcript will be sent directly to your home university.