Leave of Absence

You can request a leave of absence for the coming semester within the specified periods in “My Requests and Invoices” in the student portal.

Leave of absence can only be granted from the second semester of study onward. In the event of illness, accident or maternity leave, exceptions can be made.

Depending on the reason for the leave of absence, the responsible faculty decides, whether deadline can be extended (i.e. deadline to complete the assessment level). When studying medicine, leave of absence can only be granted for certain reasons due to the limited study places. Any decision and information can be found in the request for leave under "Documents" (Faculty decision).

Cancellation of Modules

Modules that have already been booked for the semester of leave will be canceled by the University of Zurich after approval of the leave of absence has been granted.

Restrictions during a Leave of Absence Semester

During a semester of leave at UZH, it is not allowed to book modules, acquire ECTS credits and register for the graduation.

A leave of absence may be requested for the following reasons:

Independent mobility: If coursework completed at another university is to be credited at the University of Zurich, you cannot request a leave of absence. Instead, you must remain enrolled as a regular student. Some of the semester fees to be paid to the University of Zurich will be reimbursed if you must also pay foreign fees.

You can see the processing status of your request at any time directly in the request under "My Requests and Invoices." A separate request for leave must be submitted each semester.

• Request the leave in "My Requests and Invoices" in the student portal during the specified periods. Any necessary documents that are not yet available may be submitted later. After the request has been submitted it will be reviewed by the University of Zurich Student Administration Office (request status: "To be verified"). Documents to submit: Please do not use umlauts and special characters in the document names.

• If a document must be submitted later or a document that has been submitted is illegible, etc., you will receive a letter from the Student Administration Office via the student portal (with notification by e-mail). It can be found in the "Leave" request under "Documents." The status of the request will change to "Incomplete."

• Upload the required document as a PDF file in the request ("Documents" tab) and submit the request again by clicking on the "Resubmit" button (lower right-hand corner).

• The processing status will be "To be verified" until your request has been processed by the Student Administration Office.  

• Once your request has been processed, the status will change to "Approved" or "Rejected." If the request is approved, you will directly receive the "Confirmation of Leave of Absence"; if it is rejected, you will receive a letter specifying the reason for rejection. You will find both in the request under "Documents" (with notification by e-mail). The invoice for the mandatory semester contributions is uploaded to the "Enrollment" request at the beginning of June and the beginning of December (with notification by e-mail).

Following approval of the request: The previous enrollment will continue to be displayed in “My Enrollment and Personal Data,” but it will not be possible to book modules, etc.

Following rejection of the request: You remain regularly enrolled in the previous degree program/study programs.

Following the end of the semester of leave: For the coming semester the original enrollment will be proposed in “My Enrollment and Personal Data” and once the semester invoice has been paid, it will be valid. A new request must be submitted to extend the leave of absence.

You must continue to pay the mandatory semester contributions during the semester of leave. However, no tuition fee is due.

The invoice for the mandatory semester contributions is uploaded to the student portal at the beginning of June and the beginning of December (with notification by e-mail). You will find the invoice in the "Enrollment" request for the corresponding semester.

If you have already received an invoice for the full semester fees, this will automatically be deleted after approval of the leave of absence has been granted and a new invoice for the reduced amount will be uploaded.

If you have already paid the full semester fees, the Student Administration Office will initiate a reimbursement for the difference. You will receive a letter by mail.

Maximum leave duration:

Confirmation of Leave of Absence:

Once your leave has been approved, the Student Administration Office will automatically upload the "Confirmation of Leave of Absence" to the student portal. The confirmation of leave can be downloaded in the "Leave" request. Please note that no proof-of-matriculation vouchers are issued for semesters of leave of absence.

UZH Card and Use of UZH Infrastructure:

You can validate your UZH Card and continue to use University of Zurich infrastructure during your semester of leave (libraries, cafeterias, Academic Sports Association Zurich (ASVZ), etc.).

The UZH Card can only be validated after the invoice for the mandatory semester contributions has been paid, but not before 1 August for the Fall Semester and 1 February for the Spring Semester.

During the publication phase of your doctoral thesis, you can request four additional semesters of leave. Leave must be requested again for each semester.

Leave may be taken at the start of the publication phase if:

• you are currently enrolled as a regular student,
• conferral of your doctorate has been confirmed by the faculty,
• you do not utilize any University of Zurich services during the coming semester (with the exception of libraries, the Academic Sports Association Zurich (ASVZ) and cafeterias).

Students who are registered for more than one degree program at the same time may only request leave for all degree programs at the same time. However, a separate request must be submitted for each degree program. Exception: For leave during the publication phase of a doctoral thesis, studies may be continued in the other degree programs.