International Office

Please note: Students who wish to apply to HKB for an exchange semester rather than as regular students can find further information further down this page under ‘Exchange Students’.

Before you can commence your studies in Switzerland, you will need to make various preparations. In particular, entry requirements for international students, especially those from non-EU countries, are clearly defined.

The links below provide detailed information on the following topics:

• Entry/visa
• Residence permit
• Proof of financial support
• Finances
• Insurance coverage
• Housing

In the information sheet for international students, we have summarised the key information on entry requirements.

If your university is one of HKB’s partner institutions, you can apply for an exchange semester. If it is not on the list, please contact the International Office

Please make sure to familiarise yourself with your preferred HKB degree programme and contact the international office or the person responsible for international affairs at your home institution well in advance to arrange your exchange semester. Exchange students remain enrolled at their home institution and continue to pay their tuition fees there. At the end of the exchange semester, students receive a confirmation of their academic achievements at HKB (Transcript of Records). The Learning Agreement, signed by both the home institution and HKB, guarantees that the credits earned at HKB will be recognised by your sending institution.

The assessment of your application may take up to two months. You will be informed of the decisions and the next steps. Offers are only ever made for the upcoming semester. Please note that HKB usually receives significantly more applications than there are places available. Consequently, only a small proportion of applicants are offered the opportunity to take part in a SEMP exchange semester at HKB. Applying therefore does not guarantee a place on an exchange programme at HKB.

The Swiss European Mobility Programme (SEMP)

The Erasmus+ programme does not apply to Switzerland. Instead, Swiss universities participate in the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP). This programme enables students from European partner universities to study at Bern Academy of the Arts (HKB) for one or two semesters. Exchange students are exempt from all tuition fees at HKB. The SEMP scholarship is awarded per semester and amounts to CHF1’900 or CHF 2’200, depending on the country of origin (see below). Additional funding is available for students with special needs to help organise their SEMP exchange stay.

SEMP scholarships by country of origin:

• DK, FI, IS, IE, LI, LU, NO, SE, UK: 1900 CHF / Semester
• AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FR, GR, HR, HU, IT, LT, LV, MK, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, RS, SI, SK, TR: 2200 CHF / Semester

Language requirements

The language of instruction for our Bachelor’s programmes is German or French. For an exchange semester at HKB, we recommend a B2 level of proficiency in the language of instruction.

Our Master’s programmes are taught in English or German (a basic knowledge of German is an advantage in any case).

Further information on the language of instruction can be found on the website of the respective degree programme under ‘Unterrichtssprache’ (‘Language of Instruction’).

Nomination

The nomination form for the Spring Semester 2027 is now available. Please note that the spring semester is not open to music students. Mobility coordinators are invited to submit nominations by 1 November 2026. Nominated students will receive further application instructions via email. Please note that only nominations submitted by mobility coordinators via this form can be considered.

Application

Nominated students will receive a detailed email with application instructions. If you have not yet been nominated or have not received any instructions, please contact via international@hkb.bfh.ch. The following documents must be prepared for the application:

• Letter of motivation
• Transcript of Records
• Curriculum Vitae
• Portfolio / audio recordings
• Music applicants are kindly asked to include a Learning Agreement with their application, indicating (in the highlighted yellow section) the modules that they wish to attend during their exchange at HKB (maximum 30 ECTS). For any questions, please contact the International Office.

Deadlines for an Exchange in the Autumn Semester

• Nomination: 1 April (Music students: 1 March)
• Application: 15 April (Music students: 15 March)

Deadlines for an Exchange in the Spring Semester

• Nomination: 1 November
• Application: 15 November

Please note that music students may only apply for the upcoming autumn semester. Applications for the spring semester are not open to music students.

Academic Calendar

Autumn semester: Mid-September to the end of January
Spring semester: Mid-February to mid-June

For detailed information on the academic calendar at HKB, please see: Programme Structure

Living in Switzerland

You will find all the information you need to prepare for your exchange semester at HKB (e.g. on Swiss entry requirements, insurance, accommodation and costs) under the following links:

ESN – making contacts quickly

We recommend that you register with the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) before you come to Switzerland. The ESN is a Europe-wide student organisation that helps exchange students integrate socially and personally.

Would you like to spend a semester abroad or do an internship in a foreign country? Do you want to encounter different working methods and study content? Improve your language skills? And gain valuable experience? You can do all of this with a semester or internship abroad.

HKB students can find detailed information on the various options in the relevant division in the “Study abroad” section of the BFH Campus App.

Do you work at an Erasmus/SEMP university and would like to do a teaching assignment or job shadowing at HKB? Or are you interested as a HKB employee in learning about the working methods of your colleagues abroad, with the desire to network internationally, deepen cooperation and gain valuable experience?

SEMP supports not only exchange students but also exchanges of staff and lecturers. For lecturers, funding is available starting from a minimum of eight lessons given on at least two days or within a maximum of two months at a partner university. Employees can receive funding from a minimum stay of two days up to a maximum of two months. A combination of teaching and other forms of work exchange (e.g. job shadowing, workshops) is also possible.

This offer is available both to employees of partner universities who wish to come to HKB and to HKB employees who wish to spend some time at a partner university in another European country.

The International Office at HKB will be happy to assist you with planning your teaching or further education stay. Please contact us via international@hkb.bfh.ch.

Further information for HKB staff is available on myBFH.

HKB has wide-ranging contacts with other universities and continually works on expanding its international network. The lecturers at the university likewise have numerous international contacts that can be activated at any time and can be helpful during a stay abroad. If you are interested in a university that is not yet a partner of HKB, please contact the International Office directly via international@hkb.bfh.ch.

The following list is currently being updated. You can find an up-to-date overview of HKB’s partner schools here.