Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences

About Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences

Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences is an independent, private institution within Switzerland’s university-of-applied-sciences sector. Swissuniversities includes Kalaidos among the country’s accredited higher-education institutions, while the university states that it holds institutional accreditation from the Swiss Accreditation Council under the Higher Education Funding and Coordination Act. This confirms that the record represents an operating, degree-granting higher-education institution rather than a training provider using the word “university.” The institution traces its foundation to 1997. Its official history describes the creation of predecessor business schools that year, their consolidation in 2001, federal approval to establish and operate Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in 2005, and later accreditation developments. A 2025 reorganization placed its academic activity into schools covering business, applied psychology, law, and health; the broader subject offering also includes music. Kalaidos reports more than 4,300 students as of 31 December 2024. Its defining model is education compatible with continued employment and family responsibilities. This orientation shapes scheduling, teaching formats, and the emphasis on transferring learning into professional practice. The institution also carries out applied research and development and provides continuing education and services. Applicants seeking a traditional full-time residential campus should compare the model carefully: Kalaidos is organized primarily around working adult learners, flexible participation, and several Zurich teaching locations rather than an all-purpose residential campus.

Kalaidos applies program- and school-specific admissions rules rather than one universal threshold. Its central admissions page links separate requirements for business, law, applied psychology, and health, grounded in Swiss legislation and university-of-applied-sciences admission rules. Applicants should choose the exact degree first and then follow that school’s current requirements. For the current Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, accepted educational routes include a Swiss vocational, specialized, or academic baccalaureate and certain higher professional qualifications. Applicants with an academic baccalaureate or a qualification outside the commercial field generally need at least 12 months of relevant work experience. Holders of certain federal professional qualifications may need an entrance examination. Prior higher-education or professional study can lead to credit recognition or a shortened pathway, but the amount depends on the credential. The business school states that foreign upper-secondary qualifications such as A Levels, the Abitur, or International Baccalaureate are assessed for equivalence. Where equivalence is confirmed, applicants must also document German at C1 for the cited business pathway; otherwise an entrance examination may be required. This requirement should not be generalized to every Kalaidos program, but it demonstrates that international applicants need both credential and language review. No university-wide acceptance rate or single application deadline is published. Start dates can occur several times annually in some programs, while others admit once or twice per year, so applicants should use the live program page and seek an individual admissions assessment.

Kalaidos distinguishes between degree education and university continuing education. Its degree education includes Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts qualifications as well as consecutive Master of Science and Master of Arts qualifications. The university explains that a standard bachelor’s degree comprises 180 ECTS credits; its part-time bachelor’s model commonly extends across eight semesters. Consecutive master’s degrees build on an appropriate bachelor’s qualification and comprise 90 to 120 ECTS credits. These degree categories should not be confused with continuing-education awards such as CAS, DAS, MAS, MBA, or EMBA. The subject portfolio covers business, law, applied psychology, health, and music. Examples documented on current official pages include business administration, business information technology, business law, law, psychology-related study, and nursing. Availability, language, attendance expectations, and start frequency differ substantially among programs. Some business and law offerings use the HyFlex+ format, allowing participation online by livestream or on site in Zurich-Oerlikon; from May 2026, specified programs also provide lesson recordings and digital examinations. Health programs may retain required in-person components at the Careum location. Teaching is deliberately connected to employment. The institution says lecturers and students bring current professional experience into class, while guided self-study and applied assignments link academic concepts to workplace problems. Research support includes an e-library, a survey server for online studies, research-method instruction, and sessions supporting final projects. Prospective students should verify the curriculum and delivery mode of the exact degree, since features described for one school or program do not automatically apply across Kalaidos.

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.