🎓 Top Research Universities in Switzerland
Universities and colleges in Switzerland ranked by the total citations their research has received (OpenAlex).
All entries · 50
10k100k1M10M
1
ETH Zurich287,898 papers
33,270,754
2
University of Zurich215,145 papers
25,814,639
3
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne147,775 papers
17,675,826
4
University of Geneva143,541 papers
17,466,072
5
University of Bern294,031 papers
15,782,509
6
University of Basel118,849 papers
12,343,294
7
University of Lausanne99,765 papers
9,782,168
8
University of Fribourg39,399 papers
2,137,972
9
University of Neuchâtel27,285 papers
1,355,875
10
Università della Svizzera italiana17,605 papers
1,118,749
11
University of St.Gallen19,120 papers
701,176
12
ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences12,291 papers
346,486
13
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland5,823 papers
275,799
14
FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland8,583 papers
255,169
15
HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland9,714 papers
228,884
16
Bern University of Applied Sciences9,162 papers
161,713
17
Swiss Finance Institute4,601 papers
135,231
18
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies6,853 papers
130,425
19
University of Lucerne7,245 papers
106,426
20
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts6,752 papers
103,642
21
International Institute for Management Development1,694 papers
77,457
22
HES-SO Valais-Wallis2,931 papers
75,656
23
University Centre of Legal Medicine1,181 papers
73,717
24
Life Science Zurich507 papers
69,004
25
HES-SO Genève3,254 papers
55,434
26
Graduate Institute of International Studies1,178 papers
44,052
27
HES-SO Fribourg1,530 papers
35,737
28
University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen962 papers
23,769
29
Thurgau University of Teacher Education480 papers
23,453
30
University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil802 papers
22,250
31
UniDistance Suisse911 papers
15,384
32
OST - Ostschweizer Fachhochschule1,768 papers
14,072
33
School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg681 papers
13,593
34
School of Health Sciences - HES-SO Valais-Wallis413 papers
13,440
35
Interstate University of Applied Sciences of Technology Buchs340 papers
13,429
36
Swiss Data Science Center685 papers
12,994
37
La Source School of Nursing, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland479 papers
12,372
38
Pädagogische Hochschule Bern820 papers
11,029
39
Zurich University of Teacher Education1,911 papers
10,846
40
Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel289 papers
10,779
41
Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie244 papers
9,327
42
Haute école d'ingénierie et de gestion du canton de Vaud, HES-SO Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale496 papers
8,768
43
Zurich University of the Arts1,611 papers
8,743
44
Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training SFUVET503 papers
8,456
45
University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons969 papers
8,095
46
Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences448 papers
7,889
47
Haute École Pédagogique du Canton de Vaud1,302 papers
7,230
48
St.Gallen University of Teacher Education507 papers
7,047
49
University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland477 papers
6,716
50
Webster University Geneva435 papers
6,546
Highlights
Within Switzerland, ETH Zurich ranks first in 2026 with 33,270,754, followed by University of Zurich (25,814,639) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (17,675,826).
Across 50 entries, values run from 33,270,754 (ETH Zurich) to 6,546 (Webster University Geneva), with a median of 49,743.
Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers, 2026. Unit: citations.
Source: OpenAlex, citations received by each institution's papers · CC0 1.0 (OpenAlex) · fetched Oct 13, 2026 — Counts every citation to papers by authors affiliated with the institution, so large and old universities score high. It measures research impact, not teaching quality.