Registration and admission process

Major – BA in Music, Cello

Thank you for your interest in the Bachelor’s programme in Music, Cello at Zurich University of the Arts.

Bachelor students must first register for a major. They begin their degree programme with the selected major and choose a minor during their first year of study. They begin studying the selected minor in their second year of study. 

→ Detailed information on the Major-Minor programme structure

Admissions requirements

For admissions and matriculation requirements, please refer to the Regulatory Framework for Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at Zurich University of the Arts (RO § 19–24).

For additional terms (including the language skills) required for admission to the chosen major, please refer to the Programme Regulations of the Bachelor of Arts in Music at Zurich University of the Arts (StO BA Music § 4 ff.). 

  • Application documents

    Please ensure you submit the following documents when submitting your application:

    1. Application video for preliminary selection 
      Link to playlist with recordings (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) containing the following:
      • Three movements or parts of works from different eras with or without accompaniment (usually piano). Total duration 12 to a maximum of 15 minutes.  

      • Oral statement of motivation for studying at ZHdK, freely structured (maximum 2 minutes).

        → Link to the file on technical requirements (PDF)

    2. CV: Personal details (Full curriculum vitae/please indicate dates with all information: School education, previous musical training: instruments, tutors, ensemble experience; other studies, professional activities, work experience
      → CV template (Word document for download)
       
    3. Letter of motivation (typewritten, in German or English)
      Why do you wish to study music at Zurich University of Arts (ZHdK)? Please give reasons for choosing this major. What are your career plans?
       
    4. Matriculation number
      The field “matriculation number” only concerns applicants who have already studied at a university or applied university in Switzerland. Applicants who have studied abroad (not in Switzerland) are not required to fill in the field “matriculation number”. 
      All students receive a matriculation number when they register for the first time at a university or an applied university in Switzerland or at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH in the shape of a yellow sticker, which is affixed to the reverse of their qualifying diploma (e.g. baccalaureate certificate, Swiss Federal Certificate of Competence). Please provide this number when registering and submit your university entrance qualification certificate as a PDF file.
       
    5. Ex-matriculation certificate
      Confirmation of ex-matriculation is issued at Swiss universities upon graduation or upon termination of studies. If issue is pending, confirmation must be submitted later.
       
    6. Social security number
      If you live or work in Switzerland, you will find your Swiss social security number (756...) on your AHV card or on your Swiss health insurance card. Applicants who wish to come to Switzerland to study do not yet have a Swiss social security number and therefore do not need to provide one.
       
    7. Photograph JPG
      Please upload a recent passport quality photo – no copies/screenshots of the passport page or identity card. The photo must be a frontal shot of the face that is 2/3 of the frame and at least 320 x 400 pixels.
       
    8. Identity card or passport
      A copy of the identity card (both sides) or passport must be uploaded. If a residence permit for Switzerland is available, please also submit a copy of it.
       

    9. Language skills
      The language skills required are listed for each degree programme in the programme regulations. Language skills can be demonstrated as follows:
      –    Native speaker (does not have to be proven)
      –    Required language as a subject in the educational certificate, passed or at least grade 4 (submit the upper secondary education transcript as a PDF)
      –    Recognized certificate (according to the list “Recognized Certificates for Language Requirements”)
      –    University degree (Bachelor’s/Master’s) in a degree programme where the language of instruction corresponds to the language skills required by the study regulations (submit diploma supplement or official confirmation from the university as a PDF)

      Note: The language certificates should usually be no more than five years old. The decision on whether the admission requirements regarding language skills have been met is made during the formal review of the documents.

    10. Further documents
      Please submit the corresponding transcripts, diplomas and certificates to provide evidence of your:
      • Educational qualifications
      • Professional activities (relevant to your degree programme/chosen specialization)
      • Internships (relevant to your degree programme/chosen specialization)

    Documents must be uploaded in PDF format. If you wish to upload several individual PDF files, you may do so one after the other.

    The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is permitted and must be stated when submitting the registration.

  • Aptitude test

    There is a two-stage process:

    After a preliminary selection (application videos and portfolio), the examination board (main subject lecturers and major programme directors or their representatives) decides on a selection of candidates who will be invited to Zurich for the aptitude test.

    The examination comprises three sections:

    1. Instrumental audition (cello) and interview
      Duration: ca. 20 minutes, individual

      Required programme for the audition
      Candidates prepare a programme of 20–30 minutes with pieces/movements from different periods/epochs, including at least one from the 20th/21st century. Playing by heart is desired but not required.
      The jury will be listening to a selection of 15 minutes maximum.

      Interview
      The audition is followed by an interview with the committee.

      Examination panel for part 1
      The panel comprises lecturers from the relevant major and representatives from the Department Committee.

      On request, ZHdK will provide an accompanist for the instrumental/vocal examination (prior rehearsals are not possible). → Application form
       

    2. Written examination in music theory
      Duration 2 hours, individually on a computer.

      Content
      • Identification of intervals (up to the octave, both notes played simultaneously)
      • Identification of triads (tonal triads, all inversions, played in four parts).
      • Melody dictation (upper voice and bass voice)
      • Rhythm dictation
      • Aural analysis: describing short musical excerpts from the 15th–21st centuries
      • Score analysis: Describing short score excerpts from the 15th–21st centuries.
      • Written realization of a simple figured bass in four-part harmony (triads only, in all inversions, including dominant chords with suspensions).
      • Harmonic analysis of a four-part texture (triads only, in all inversions, including dominant chords with suspensions).

        → A sample exam can be found here. 
         
    3. Integrated aptitude test
      Duration 40 minutes in groups of 3-4 candidates each

      Content
      • Group improvisation:
        • The group improvisation examination is conducted as a series of continuous solo and duo improvisations and is concluded with a trio improvisation.
        • The improvisation is free, ie. not bound to a particular style.
        • Assessment criteria are musical communication skills, empathy, spontaneity, imagination, rhythmic security, reliable ear, and instrumental realization.
        • Duration: approx. 5 minutes.
      • Theory skills:
        • Keyboard skills: A simple bass line is given in a major or minor key with up to three accidentals. The left
        • hand plays this bassline while the right hand adds the corresponding triads.
        • Sight-reading of rhythms in simple (3/4, 4/4 etc.) and compound (6/8, 9/8 etc.) meters. The rhythm is spoken on an arbitrary syllable while the pulse is tapped.
        • Sight-singing of tonal and atonal melodies.
        • Sight-singing of a part of a Bach chorale (women: alto; men: tenor or bass), the remaining three parts will be played on the piano by the examiner.

          → You can find more information about the required theory skills here.

    Examination panel for part 2 and 3

    The panel comprises ZHdK lecturers in music theory.

  • Dates

    Information day

    20 November 2025

    Online application

    6 January – 1 March 2026

    Admissions examination

    –    Audition: 30 April / 1 May 2026
    –    Theory: 28/29 April 2026

    Publication of the results

    Mid-May 2026

    Course commencement

    14 September 2026

  • Registration and examination fee

    The registration fee for the admissions process is CHF 100 Registrations are valid once the registration fee has been paid. Payment should be effected online by credit card, TWINT or PostFinance Card. Applicants who are invited to the second part of the aptitude test (interview or examination) pay an additional examination fee of CHF 200 for participation in the second part of the aptitude test. The payment request is sent by e-mail. Once the payment has been transferred, the invitation with the examination dates will be made available in the online registration.
    Fees are based on the Directive on Tuition Fees of Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the corresponding fact sheet on Tuition Fees at ZHdK.

  • Entry into Switzerland

    Different rules apply for entry to Switzerland. In principle, a distinction is made between nationals of EU/EFTA countries and third-country nationals. An overview of ID and visa provisions according to nationality can be found on the webpage of the State Secretariat for Migration SEM.
    Third-country nationals who require a visa to study in Switzerland must apply in person for a student visa at the relevant Swiss consulate abroad (embassy or consulate-general). Visa applications should be made at least 3 months before the envisaged entry to Switzerland.
    International students from countries that do not require a visa to study (stays of more than 90 days) may apply for their residence permit directly at their place of residence in Switzerland after entering the country.

    You can find the checklists to prepare your entry into Switzerland at: www.zhdk.ch/migration

    Importing musical instruments into Switzerland

    Please note the regulations for importing musical instruments into Switzerland. If you intend to import musical instruments into other countries, please consult the corresponding import regulations upon leaving Switzerland.

  • Information regarding online application

    • Login with ZHdK or SWITCH edu-ID

      • If you do not have a ZHdK login, you will need a SWITCH edu-ID to register online. This ID has to be created once.
        → How to create and use a SWITCH edu-ID

      • If you have a ZHdK login, you may apply with your ZHdK login, provided that it is still valid until the end of the admission procedure. The ZHdK login must be valid until the end of the admission procedure. The ZHdK login remains valid until the end of the studies.

    • You may interrupt your application at any time and continue at a later stage. Any information entered will be stored.
       
    • Compulsory fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

    • Once all the data has been entered, the registration must be completed by clicking on ‘Complete entry’ and the registration fee must be paid. The registration cannot be changed afterwards. The registration is only considered to be submitted and checked once the registration fee has been paid.

    • If the registration has not been completed, including payment of the registration fee, the data will be deleted after the registration deadline.

→ Online registration BA Classical Music, Cello

Questions concerning the aptitude test?

Please contact us via email.