The University of Zurich (UZH) was founded on 29 April 1833 and says it was the first university in Europe to be founded by a democratic state rather than by a monarch or the Church. It describes itself as Switzerland’s largest university. UZH has seven faculties: Theology and the Study of Religion; Law; Business, Economics and Informatics; Medicine; Vetsuisse; Arts and Social Sciences; and Science, with more than 150 departments and institutes.
In 2025, 28,785 students were enrolled at bachelor’s, master’s and PhD level. Provisional figures for the start of the 2026 fall semester show 29,037 students, 19.6 percent of them from abroad. Staff numbered 10,323, or 7,882 full-time equivalents, in 2024. Michael Schaepman has been President since 1 August 2020.