Principles of teaching
Whether in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, architecture or management, ETH Zurich degree programmes convey knowledge with a long half-life and enable their graduates to address fundamental issues and challenges.
Vision for teaching
ETH wants to enable its students to solve the problems of an unpredictable future. It not only wants to equip them with knowledge and skills but also to cultivate the resilience and adaptability needed for coping with failures and turning these into opportunities for learning and problem solving.
The Download vision for teaching (PDF, 325 KB) describes how ETH intends to deal with the challenges of the next ten to fifteen years and what will characterise the quality of teaching in the future.
Comprehensive training
ETH imparts not only methodological competences and disciplinary knowledge, but also interdisciplinary and system-oriented ways of thinking. It trains its students to act independently, work in international teams and to express themselves in several languages. It fosters a culture of personal responsibility for learning which both challenges and supports students’ individual strengths. You can find an overview of these competencies in the ETH Competence Framework.
Foster critical thinking
Graduates of ETH Zurich are distinguished by their intellectual agility, critical thinking, and entrepreneurial approach. They draw on socially relevant, ethical and sustainability aspects in their activities.
Development of curricula
To maintain their high educational level ETH degree programmes are revised at regular intervals, for example to adapt them to the changing demands of the labour market. Here attention is given to feedback from students, graduates and firms.
Teaching policy
The Download Teaching policy at ETH Zurich (10 October 2016) (PDF, 135 KB) sets out the guiding values which shape ETH Zurich’s understanding of quality in the area of teaching.
ETH’s teaching policy is the foundation for the development and evaluation of teaching at the institution. However, it does not address organisational matters related to teaching. These are governed by the ETH Zurich Organisational Ordinance.
Quality criteria for teaching
What makes for good teaching, actually? An answer is provided in Download Quality in teaching at ETH Zurich (4 October 2016) (PDF, 203 KB). The criteria listed in this document come from ETH’s teaching policy. They define the quality criteria for curricula and courses, and the university’s expectations of all those engaged in teaching processes, from students to lecturers to administrative and technical staff.
Curriculum development
The document Download Policies regarding curriculum development and the curricula of degree programmes (PDF, 159 KB) sets out the standards for the revision or creation of degree programme curricula. It includes central questions which may be useful in the curriculum development process.
Admissions strategy
The Download admissions strategy of ETH Zurich (German only) (PDF, 381 KB) is based on the requirements of the ETH Board defined in the external page Strategy regarding the development of student numbers in the ETH Domain". The admissions strategy defines the goals in admissions and serves to ensure the quality of admissions decisions.