Survey of Matura Graduates

Why Do Matura Graduates (Not) Opt for Studies at ETH Zurich?

The results of ETH’s survey among Matura graduates are available now. In 2011, Equal! interviewed more than 600 Matura graduates from Swiss upper secondary schools regarding their choice of what and where they would like to study and, in particular, their perception of ETH Zurich. The results provide valuable information on what ETH can do in order to become more attractive for female and male students.

The proportion of female students at ETH has remained static at around 30% over the past few years. In technology and some natural science subjects, the proportion of women is even significantly lower. The proportion of female students is supposed to be increased to 35% by 2015 – a goal which will hardly be achieved without further efforts.

Therefore, in 2011, Equal! looked for the possible causes of the phenomenon of stagnating female student numbers. Since the proportion of female Matura graduates with a MINT profile (mathematics, IT, natural sciences and technology) and that of female students at the Swiss universities studying in a corresponding field were both significantly higher than the proportion of female students at ETH, we had reason to believe that ETH could better exploit its potential with regard to women interested in MINT areas.

In a survey involving over 600 Matura graduates from Swiss upper secondary schools, we asked the participants what made them decide on their future field of studies and their preferred institution for studying. We were particularly interested in what they already knew about ETH and what their opinion of ETH was. Their answers helped us find out what ETH could do in order to become more attractive for both female and male students.

A factsheet containing a summary of the most important results and recommendations is available for download in English. The report on the survey is available in German only.