Welcome to the University of Lausanne Switzerland

Founded in 1537, the University of Lausanne is composed of seven faculties where approximately 12,400 students and 2,300 researchers work and study. Emphasis is placed on an interdisciplinary approach, with close cooperation between students, professors and teaching staff.

The University of Lausanne is situated at the heart of the French-speaking region of Switzerland, in the middle of Europe - close to France, Germany, Italy, and Austria.

The UNIL campus is spread across three locations, the largest of which is in Dorigny, on the shores of Lake Geneva. This picturesque landscape, with views of the Alps and the lake, provides the ideal setting for study and research.



The UNIL represents:
* An international atmosphere. One fifth of the student population and one third of the teaching staff come from abroad.
* Up-to-date facilities and technology. State-of-the-art laboratories for researchers: spacious, well-equipped lecture halls for teaching staff and students.
* Three faculties unique in their kind in Switzerland. Law and Criminal Justice; Biology and Medicine (FBM); Geosciences and Environment (GSE). New innovations require new synergies.
* Close collaboration with the University Hospital of the Canton of Vaud (CHUV) in order to remain at the forefront of advances in medical knowledge.
* The University and Cantonal Library (BCU), with its two million documents, modern research tools and an ideal working environment overlooking Lake Geneva.
* A philosophy and work ethic expressed in a Charter of Values and precepts drawn up in 2005.
* An exceptionally green and spacious lakeside setting. In just a few minutes an excellent public transport network links the university campus to Lausanne, the capital of Vaud, noted for its varied cultural activities.
* A wide range of continuing education and interdisciplinary courses, as well as countless sporting and cultural activities in fields as varied as: language and IT courses, football (soccer), capoeira, fitness or underwater diving at the Sports Centre; societies, cinema, exhibitions or theatre at the Grange de Dorigny.



For more than 450 years...
The Academy, the forerunner of the UNIL, was founded in 1537. Its vocation at that time was to train ministers for the church. The university enjoyed a certain renown due to the fact that it was the only French-language Protestant school of theology.

As the centuries passed, the number of faculties increased and diversified until, in 1890, the Academy received the name and status of a university.

In 1970, the university moved progressively from the old city of Lausanne, around the Cathedral and the Château, to its present site at Dorigny. The end of the 20th century witnessed the beginnings of an ambitious project aiming at greater co-operation and development among the French-speaking universities of Lausanne, Geneva and Neuchâtel, together with the EPFL. In 2003, two new faculties were founded concentrating on life and human sciences: the Faculty of Biology and Medicine; and the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment.