MSc in Biomedical Engineering

The University of Bern's MSc in Biomedical Engineering is run through the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research under the Faculty of Medicine, jointly with Bern University of Applied Sciences, and is taught entirely in English. It is 120 ECTS — at least 90 of coursework plus a 30-ECTS thesis — normally taken over four semesters, with five- and six-semester and part-time routes available. Entry is for the autumn semester only.

The programme's defining feature is its proximity to a hospital. The ARTORG Center sits alongside Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and its research groups work on image-guided therapy, surgical robotics and navigation, cardiovascular engineering, artificial organs, musculoskeletal biomechanics, ophthalmic technologies and computational medicine — with clinicians as project partners rather than distant stakeholders. Students choose a specialisation track and take the thesis inside one of those groups, so the degree produces engineers who have worked on clinical problems and clinical data rather than on textbook approximations.

Two admission details need flagging early because they surprise applicants. First, the Bachelor's degree must normally be no more than five years old — this is not a route for engineers a decade into a career. Second, Bern requires the GRE from applicants holding a degree earned outside Switzerland, and no minimum score is published, which means the test has to be planned and sat well before the April deadline. Up to 30 ECTS of bridging coursework can be imposed where a profile is short, which extends the degree.

On cost, Bern's fee schedule for students starting from the autumn 2026 semester is CHF 850 per semester in base tuition plus a CHF 1,700 per-semester surcharge for students without Swiss residency — roughly CHF 5,100 a year, or about LKR 1.89 million, with a CHF 300 graduation fee at the end. Some programme pages still display the older, lower figure, so confirm the amount with Bern admissions before budgeting. Even so it sits far below a UK or US biomedical engineering master's; the genuine expense of studying in Switzerland is living there, and applicants requiring a study visa are explicitly required to apply within the regular deadline rather than any late window.