Bring Your Own Device in Study Programmes

Download Mobile computers are mandatory (PDF, 22 KB) for all students starting a new degree programme in the autumn semester 2024.. This applies to all levels: Bachelor¡¯s degree programme, Master's degree programme, continuing education and teacher training as well as special students. Students on joint Master's degree programmes, doctoral students and exchange students are also affected if they take courses in their study programmes for the first time. The mandatory BYOD policy also applies to students progressing to a consecutive or non-consecutive Master's degree programme, changing degree programmes or re-entering ETH in the autumn semester 2024.

You can purchase your device from any point of sale of your choice. The external page Project Neptun offers advice to students at many Swiss schools and universities as well as equipment at special rates. Please take into account the recommended minimum configuration when purchasing your device.

Find out about available scholarships here.

If you are unsure whether your laptop meets the minimum requirements, please seek advice from your trusted specialist dealer or from external page Projekt Neptun or other sales outlets.

A minimum configuration is recommended for the laptop, which will be sufficient for ten consecutive semesters. If your current device deviates downwards from the minimum requirements, this is at your own risk, and you cannot revoke to the phrase: "My laptop can't do that because ...".

There is currently a risk that the new ARM processors are not yet fully supported on the software side and that compatibility problems may therefore occur. This may be the case in particular with specialised applications that have yet to be recompiled for the ARM processor. It is also not yet clear how well the emulation of the various x86 (specialist) applications will work.
For more information, please also consult the external page Microsoft FAQ page on ARM-based Windows PCs and the notes on potentially incompatible peripherals such as monitors, printers, mice, keyboards, etc. there. Due to the risk of incompatibilities in the area of software and peripherals that do not work due to a lack of compatible device drivers, we currently advise against purchasing a notebook with an ARM processor.

A minimum configuration is recommended for the laptop, which will be sufficient for ten consecutive semesters. Of course, devices that exceed this minimum configuration are also suitable. Please also consider the weight and power consumption of the device. Both should allow you to carry the mobile device for a whole day of study without any problems.

Tablets or Chromebooks are not suitable as main devices, as many software applications do not run on them. However, you may of course use tablets or smartphones as supplements in addition to a suitable laptop.

The software you need for various courses and performance assessments is announced by the respective degree programmes or lecturers.

We recommend that you wait until you arrive at ETH before purchasing software. ETH has negotiated special conditions with various software providers. As soon as you have received your ETH login details, you can take these

first steps. Under "Software" you will see a link for setting up Microsoft 365 ) (incl. Office, Teams and other cloud services) free of charge, as well as a link for the IT-Shop.  

There, under "Product Inventory", you can obtain certain other software free of charge, depending on your study programme's requirements.
We advise you to consult the respective lecturers regarding the software required for individual courses. Please also bear in mind that there are open-source alternatives for many commercial software products: external page https://thealternative.ch/

According to the minimum configuration your device must have at least seven hours of battery life while using standard applications, such as word processing and web browsing. Many lecture halls, seminar rooms, laboratories or work areas do not currently have enough power sockets to supply all seats with electricity. If you are concerned about this, you may want to consider purchasing a PowerBank (mobile battery charger) suitable for your device.

Linux is a useful alternative for everyday study at ETH Zurich. Each operating system has its own range of supported software, and some lectures require either Linux or Windows-only software; a problem that can be solved either by dual-booting the two operating systems or by using a virtual machine. On Windows, you may also consider to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) which is a built-in feature of Windows 11.

Some exams at ETH require the external page Safe Exam Browser, which cannot be used in a virtual machine and only runs on Windows and macOS. A dual boot setup is recommended for this.

All compulsory courses, exercises and performance assessments can be carried out with the minimum configuration. Your lecturer will provide you with additional capacities if necessary.

external page Projekt Neptun offers support at special conditions. This also applies to students who have purchased their device from other suppliers. There are also various support services on the open market that you can use. For minor or common problems, search engines on the web or your fellow students may also be helpful.

Instructions on how to connect to the WLAN and further information about the WLAN can be found here.

The lecturers of your study programme will inform you about the extent to which your laptop is used in lectures and other courses and whether certain software is required. If you have any questions, please directly contact the lecturer of the respective course.

If your laptop is required for a performance assessment, this will be indicated in the course catalogue. Bring Your Own Device performance assessments are conducted on ETH premises under supervision. The software required for a specific performance assessment will be announced by the lecturers. All exams can be carried out with the minimum device configuration. Make absolutely sure that the battery of your laptop is fully charged before the performance assessment. If you have any further questions regarding performance assessments, please contact the respective lecturer.

Yes, all students entering a consecutive Master's degree programme or a non-consecutive Master's degree programme as of autumn semester 2024 are subject to the BYOD obligation. This also applies to ETH students who transfer consecutively or non-consecutively from a Bachelor's degree programme to a Master's degree programme.

As an auditor, you are not subject to the mandatory BYOD policy. Please note that a laptop may be required for active participation in certain forms of teaching. Depending on the subject you have chosen, you may also need software licences.

Most doctoral students at ETH have an employment contract. As part of this employment, ETH will provide a mobile device.