ETH for american students

Mitar · #1 24.08.2009, 15:22

Hello,
I am new to the forum and I would like to ask few questions regarding admission at ETH university.

I am a third year architecture student from United States (originally from Montenegro, Europe) and I am considering ETH for my master degree in architecture. So, if anyone has already been admitted to the school, can you tell me if it is hard to get in (for someone whose GPA is around 3.5, mostly A's and B's) and what criteria are they looking for when admitting new students? Assuming that I will be able to meet all the requirements for applying (C1 level German, 6 months internship, etc).

If this is not the correct thread for such a question, can someone direct me to the proper one?

-thanks-

patrickrd · #2 29.08.2009, 02:27

The admission process for international students is still evolving, as most master programs at ETH are only a few years old. So it is probably not possible to answer your question, without either (a) contacting the department you are interested in, or (b) applying and finding out.

I did my masters (engineering) at ETH (I am american and did undergrad in the USA). For what its worth, I found the academic culture at ETH stressful, dry, and above all, absolutely uninspiring. I met no student who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their studies or a project they were involved with (Ph.D. students are a different story).

#3 29.08.2009, 03:00

	Quote:	patrickrd
	The admission process for international students is still evolving, as most master programs at ETH are only a few years old. So it is probably not possible to answer your question, without either (a) contacting the department you are interested in, or (b) applying and finding out. I did my masters (engineering) at ETH (I am american and did undergrad in the USA). For what its worth, I found the academic culture at ETH stressful, dry, and above all, absolutely uninspiring. I met no student who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their studies or a project they were involved with (Ph.D. students are a different story).

I got that feeling but i was no a student- just knew students who seemed scared of their professors! How active is the student body (no naughty jokes please!) do they have a lot of clubs or interest groups? Socially I only got invited to Iranian functions.

#4 29.08.2009, 04:06

	Quote:	patrickrd
	The admission process for international students is still evolving, as most master programs at ETH are only a few years old. So it is probably not possible to answer your question, without either (a) contacting the department you are interested in, or (b) applying and finding out. I did my masters (engineering) at ETH (I am american and did undergrad in the USA). For what its worth, I found the academic culture at ETH stressful, dry, and above all, absolutely uninspiring. I met no student who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their studies or a project they were involved with (Ph.D. students are a different story).

I think that is typical of European universities generally, Oxford and Cambridge certainly excepted, according to my daughter who went to Cambridge. I did my masters and PhD at the Université catholique de Louvain. "Dry, and above all, absolutely uninspiring" I can agree with; "stressful" no, but that probably was because I was a mature student in mid-career.

As always, the following suggestions: Google (or Bing) cleverly because everybody and his neighbour's opinions about everything are on some forum such as this; and visit the school and elicit comments. ("Ask the man who owns one" always has been good advice.)

nelsonpm · #5 29.08.2009, 04:28

my cousin who lives in zurich and studies at ETH a master degree is very stressed but y think it`s a common situation y almost every engineering master in all over the world.

He had a very easy process singning up at ETH, comming from Houston university.