Costs and application details

Costs

Until October 27, 2025: CHF 7900.–  (plus CHF 200.– application fee)
As of October 28, 2025: CHF 8800.– (plus CHF 200.– application fee)

As part of the off-site event, additional costs of maximum CHF 800.– per person will be incurred in the third teaching module of the CAS Design Leadership programme. These are payable locally by course participants.

By completing the online registration, the general terms and conditions are accepted and the registration is legally binding.

Admission procedure

There is a great demand for the CAS Design Leadership. A maximum of 25 participants will be admitted to the program. The admission procedure takes place in two cycles.

Application deadline for Early Birds (Ocotber 25, 2025)

In order to claim the early bird price, the registration fee of CHF 200.– must be paid by October 25, 2025. The date of receipt of payment applies. After the registration deadline for Early Birds, all registrations received will be reviewed and the admission decision made and communicated.

Regular registration deadline (January 5, 2026)

If study places are still available, the registration window remains open until January 5, 2026. The Programm Managers will review the remaining applications and the admission decision will be made and communicated.

Applying online

Applications for the CAS Design Thinking programme are processed directly through ZHdK’s online tool (ONLA). You can find more information on how to use ONLA below.

→ The applications window for the CAS Design Leadership 2026 will open here in august 2025

  • You can interrupt the application process at any time and complete it at a later date. The information you have entered will be saved. Mandatory fields are marked with a *.

    Once you have entered all your information, complete the process by clicking on “Finish entry”. The data can no longer be amended. Your submission will be reviewed by the Continuing Education Office.

    Please check your e-mail spam folder during the application period. If you have any further questions about online application or experience any technical difficulties, please contact the Continuing Education Centre: Contact

  • If you already have a ZHdK login, you can sign in with your normal access data. Those without a ZHdK login require a SWITCH edu-ID in order to apply online. You can create one really easily here.

  • Curriculum Vitae
    A brief and clear list of your education and professional career history.

    Covering letter
    Set out your reason for applying for the continuing education degree programme on a maximum of one side of A4. If you do not have a university degree, please describe your professional experience up to this point and why you are applying for your chosen continuing education degree programme (maximum of two sides of A4).

    Photo of yourself in JPG format
    Upload a recent photo in passport photo quality (at least 320 x 400 pixels). The photo must be high-contrast and your face must be clearly visible. It may not feature other people or objects.

    Social security number
    If you live or work in Switzerland, you will find your Swiss social security number (756…) on your OASI card or on your Swiss health insurance card. 

    Further documents

    • Transcripts
    • Degrees
    • Certificates

    The documents must be uploaded in PDF format. If you have several individual PDF files, you can upload these one after another.

  • Video portrait
    For a successful registration, an individual video portrait must be submitted in addition to the listed documents (further information can be found in the instructions below):

    • The video shows the applicant
    • The video can be recorded with a commercially available smartphone
    • It consists of three parts (see “Contents of the Video Portrait”)
    • Save the video as a single file in MP4 format
    • The maximum length is 5 minutes.

Terms and conditions

For applications for the CAS Design Leadership programme, the Continuing Education Centre’s general terms and conditions apply.