18 Best universities for Development Studies in Switzerland

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Switzerland ranked based on their research performance in Development Studies. A graph of 1.11M citations received by 33.8K academic papers made by 18 universities in Switzerland was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Zurich

Switzerland | Zurich

For Development Studies

#41 in Europe

#168 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 19%
Enrollment: 25,732

2. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

Switzerland | Zurich

For Development Studies

#42 in Europe

#172 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 23,420

3. University of Geneva

Switzerland | Geneva

For Development Studies

#78 in Europe

#255 in the World

Enrollment: 17,744

4. University of Bern

Switzerland | Bern

For Development Studies

#105 in Europe

#344 in the World

Enrollment: 19,608

5. Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne

Switzerland | Lausanne

For Development Studies

#111 in Europe

#361 in the World

Enrollment: 12,576

6. University of Basel

Switzerland | Basel

For Development Studies

#119 in Europe

#385 in the World

Enrollment: 12,896

7. University of Lausanne

Switzerland | Lausanne

For Development Studies

#122 in Europe

#398 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Enrollment: 16,908

8. University of St. Gallen

Switzerland | St. Gallen

For Development Studies

#129 in Europe

#416 in the World

Enrollment: 7,666

9. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Switzerland | Geneva

For Development Studies

#277 in Europe

#806 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Enrollment: 1,141

10. University of Italian-speaking Switzerland

Switzerland | Lugano

For Development Studies

#380 in Europe

#1119 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Enrollment: 3,017

11. University of Fribourg

Switzerland | Fribourg

For Development Studies

#421 in Europe

#1275 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 33%
Enrollment: 10,366

12. University of Neuchatel

Switzerland | Neuchatel

For Development Studies

#490 in Europe

#1550 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Enrollment: 4,282

13. University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland

Switzerland | Delemont

For Development Studies

#563 in Europe

#1839 in the World

Enrollment: 21,038

14. University of Lucerne

Switzerland | Lucerne

For Development Studies

#567 in Europe

#1862 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Enrollment: 2,944

15. Bern University of Applied Sciences

Switzerland | Bern

For Development Studies

#609 in Europe

#2066 in the World

Enrollment: 6,970

16. University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland

Switzerland | Brugg

For Development Studies

#681 in Europe

#2419 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Enrollment: 12,646

17. University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Italian Switzerland

Switzerland | Manno

For Development Studies

#796 in Europe

#3080 in the World

18. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences

Switzerland | Lucerne

For Development Studies

#901 in Europe

#3738 in the World

Enrollment: 7,066

The best cities to study Development Studies in Switzerland based on the number of universities and their ranks are Zurich, Geneva, Bern, and Lausanne.

Economics subfields in Switzerland

Actuarial Science11

Agricultural Economics6

Econometrics and Mathematical Economics18

Environmental Economics13

Finance19

International Economics13

International Relations and Diplomacy10

International Trade13

Investment Banking and Stock trading13

Political Economy13