Choosing a Swiss hotel school
Seven questions worth more than a ranking
Switzerland has several serious hospitality schools. They differ in ways a league table will never show you — so here are the questions that actually separate them, answered for BHMS with the sources attached.
How to use this page
We answer for ourselves. You collect the rest.
You will not find competitor fees or statistics on this page, and that is deliberate.
Schools change their fees, intakes and entry requirements every year. Publishing second-hand numbers about EHL, Glion, Les Roches or the Swiss Education Group schools would be a disservice to you and unfair to them — whichever direction the error ran. So this page does something more useful: it sets out the seven questions that genuinely distinguish one Swiss hotel school from another, answers each one for BHMS with a figure you can check, and leaves you a column to fill in from every other school's own material.
If a school cannot answer one of these clearly and in writing, that is itself an answer.
The comparison
The seven questions
- 01
Is an internship built into every year — and is it paid?
This is the single biggest structural difference between hospitality schools. Some build a paid placement into every year; others offer one optional placement, or none.
The BHMS answer
Three compulsory six-month placements across the bachelor — one after every academic semester. 18 months total. BHMS publishes CHF 2,390/month gross for placements in Switzerland.
- 02
Who actually awards the degree?
A Swiss school may award its own diploma, a foreign university degree, or both. It determines how the qualification is read outside Switzerland and whether it opens postgraduate study elsewhere.
The BHMS answer
The bachelor is awarded jointly by BHMS and Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen (UK) — 180 ECTS, 360 UK credits. The MSc and Graduate Certificate are also dual-awarded; the Postgraduate Diploma is a BHMS-only award.
- 03
What is actually inside the published fee?
Headline tuition is not comparable across schools until you know what it covers. Accommodation, meals and insurance can add a great deal to a figure that looked lower.
The BHMS answer
Tuition and career services, accommodation in a shared 3–4 bed apartment, meals, health insurance, first airport pickup and visa support. Excluded: about CHF 500/month personal expenses. Year 1 CHF 38,600; three undergraduate years about CHF 118,700.
- 04
Can you leave after one or two years with a real qualification?
Plans change, money runs out, families relocate. A programme with genuine exit awards is a materially lower risk than one where leaving early means leaving with nothing.
The BHMS answer
Yes. Year 1 exits with the Diploma in Business & Hospitality Management, Year 2 with the Higher Diploma, Year 3 with the BA. Each is a full award in its own right.
- 05
What are the English requirements, and are they stated consistently?
Entry thresholds decide whether you apply this year or next, and an inconsistent published requirement is worth catching before you book a test.
The BHMS answer
Undergraduate entry: BHMS currently publishes two different figures — IELTS 5.5 on the BA programme page, IELTS 5.0 on the central Requirements & Intakes page and the FAQ. Confirm with admissions before testing. Postgraduate Diploma: IELTS 5.0. Graduate Certificate and MSc: IELTS 6.0.
- 06
How many intakes a year, and how long is the visa wait?
More intakes mean less dead time if you miss one. Visa processing decides how early you must commit.
The BHMS answer
17 August 2026 · 16 November 2026 · February 2027. Swiss student visas take 8–12 weeks for non-EU citizens and 4–6 weeks for EU citizens, so apply about four months ahead. Third-year transfer entry is August only.
- 07
What outcome statistics does the school actually publish?
Ask for the primary source behind any placement or employment percentage you are shown. A number without a published, checkable source is marketing, wherever you see it.
The BHMS answer
BHMS publishes a QS subject rank (#12 worldwide in Hospitality & Leisure Management, QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026) and a QS five-star institution rating. It does not publish a graduate placement rate — so this site does not quote one. Judge us on the structure and the accreditations instead.
Take this with you
The blank column
Print this, or keep it open in a tab while you read every other school's prospectus.
| Question | BHMS | School B | School C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid internship every year? | Yes — 3 × 6 months, CHF 2,390/mo gross in Switzerland | ||
| Who awards the degree? | BHMS + Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen (UK) | ||
| Accommodation in the fee? | Yes — shared 3–4 bed apartment | ||
| Meals in the fee? | Yes — 3/day weekdays, 2/day weekends | ||
| Health insurance in the fee? | Yes | ||
| Exit award after year 1? | Yes — Diploma | ||
| Published placement rate? | None published — we do not quote one | ||
| Total, 3 undergraduate years | About CHF 118,700 |
BHMS column: 2026 figures from bhms.ch, researched July 2026. Fees are reviewed annually — verify against your admissions offer.
In fairness
Where BHMS may not be your answer
A comparison page that only flatters the school publishing it is worth nothing. Three cases where you should look elsewhere.
You want the internship optional
On the undergraduate path the placements are compulsory, not a choice. If you need three uninterrupted academic years — for a professional accreditation elsewhere, or a visa constraint — this structure will fight you.
You want to work alongside your studies
If you need a Swiss student visa, you may not work outside the internships included in your programme. Students who plan to self-fund through part-time work should plan differently.
You want a Swiss placement without a Swiss language
BHMS states plainly that placements inside Switzerland depend very much on German, French or Italian. Placements abroad are available, but if a Swiss placement is the whole point for you, take the language modules seriously or look at your options honestly.
Questions
Straight answers
Why does this page not compare BHMS fees against other schools directly?
Because we will not publish figures about other institutions that we cannot source to their own current material. Fees, intakes and entry requirements change every year, and a stale or second-hand number would mislead you in either direction. The questions on this page are the ones that matter — take them to each school and get the answers from the source.
Which schools should I be comparing?
The Swiss hospitality education sector includes EHL Hospitality Business School, Glion Institute of Higher Education, Les Roches, the schools of Swiss Education Group, and BHMS among others. They differ substantially in degree structure, awarding body, internship model and cost — which is precisely why a question-by-question comparison beats a ranking.
What is the most under-asked question on this list?
Whether you can leave after one or two years with a recognised qualification. Prospective students focus on the final degree and rarely ask what happens if circumstances change in year two. At BHMS each year carries its own exit award — the Diploma, then the Higher Diploma, then the BA.
Is a higher-ranked school always the better choice?
No. Subject rankings measure reputation among academics and employers, which is useful but partial. They say nothing about whether the internship in your second year is paid, what your fee actually includes, or whether the degree is recognised where you intend to work. Use rankings as one input among the seven questions here.
How current are the BHMS figures on this page?
They are the 2026 rates and figures published on bhms.ch, researched in July 2026. Fees are reviewed annually. Where the BHMS site contradicts itself — as it currently does on undergraduate IELTS levels — this page says so rather than picking the more flattering number.
Compared everything? Then the next step is a conversation.
Next intakes: 17 August 2026 · 16 November 2026 · February 2027 · Lucerne, Switzerland
Every academic semester is followed by a six-month paid internship — CHF 2,390/month gross in Switzerland, three times across the bachelor. How the internship model works →