Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences

Key Highlights

• Private, institutionally accredited Swiss university of applied sciences
• Founded in 1997, with federal approval to operate Kalaidos UAS granted in 2005
• More than 4,300 students reported as of 31 December 2024
• Academic organization spans business, law, applied psychology, health, and music

Student Life & Environment

Student life at Kalaidos is shaped by its working-adult and commuter profile. Many programs are structured so students can remain employed while studying, with evening or Saturday teaching, guided independent study, online participation, or combinations of these formats. Interaction therefore tends to center on classes, professional networks, research activities, and subject events rather than residence halls or a conventional full-time campus community. Students have formal opportunities to contribute through class representatives and written or oral feedback processes. Current students and graduates may join the Kalaidos alumni association, and the university points to networking opportunities such as meet-and-greet events, specialist conferences, and its professional blog. Academic support includes education advising, research-method resources, an e-library, and university-wide sessions addressing stages of the final-project process. Published regulations also cover appeals, academic integrity, use of generative AI in written work, protection from discrimination and harassment, and disability-related adjustments. Kalaidos does not present university housing as part of its core student offer on the reviewed official pages. Students relocating to Zurich should therefore confirm accommodation independently and ask their school which activities require physical attendance. This is especially important because business, law, and applied psychology primarily use Zurich-Oerlikon, while health teaching is associated with the Careum site.

Location & Surroundings

Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences is headquartered at Jungholzstrasse 43, 8050 Zurich, in the Oerlikon area. The same address is listed for the Business School, Law School, and School of Applied Psychology. The Careum School of Health operates at Gloriastrasse 18a, 8006 Zurich. Music and partner-linked offerings may use other arrangements, so the relevant program page and enrollment confirmation should determine where a student actually studies. The university’s flexible model reduces the need for daily campus attendance in some programs. Current business offerings may permit either livestream participation or attendance in Zurich-Oerlikon, while some health programs explicitly include in-person components at Careum. Students should not assume that an online option, attendance policy, or campus address applies to every subject. For decision-making, the main location question is therefore not simply whether a student wants to live in Zurich, but how often the chosen program requires travel to a particular site. Applicants should compare scheduled evening and Saturday sessions, examination arrangements, and any clinical or practical attendance requirements before arranging work, commuting, or housing.

Costs & Career Outcomes

Kalaidos is private, and swissuniversities’ 2026–27 fee overview directs students to the institution’s own pages because charges vary by program. There is no reliable university-wide tuition figure. As a current example, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration lists CHF 990 per month, including the first attempt at examinations, plus a one-time CHF 100 matriculation fee and literature costs. The distance version of that degree lists CHF 37,920 in total, or CHF 4,740 per semester, plus the same matriculation fee. These figures apply to those named offerings and should not be transferred to health, music, psychology, law, master’s, or continuing-education programs. Applicants should request a complete written cost schedule covering tuition, registration or matriculation charges, books, repeat assessments, travel, and any required on-site activity. The reviewed sources do not establish a university-wide difference between domestic and international tuition, a standard housing budget, or guaranteed institutional financial aid. Employer sponsorship may be relevant for working students, but payment arrangements and third-party contributions should be confirmed directly. Career preparation is embedded in Kalaidos’s model through employment-compatible scheduling, professionally active lecturers, and assignments connected to workplace practice. Outcomes remain program-specific. Business administration can support roles across management, finance, marketing, consulting, and related functions, while law, health, psychology, music, and technology lead toward different professional pathways. The university does not provide a verified institution-wide placement rate or graduate salary figure on the reviewed pages, so students should ask the relevant school for recent, program-level outcomes and any profession-specific recognition requirements.