Franklin University Switzerland is a small, international university located in the southern Swiss city of Lugano. Founded in 1969, Franklin was among the first institutions to bring American Liberal Arts education to Europe, and it is the only liberal arts university in the world accredited in the United States and Switzerland. It is the only university in the world that offers interdisciplinary, experiential learning, placing Academic Travel at the core of its curriculum.
Work directly with our Admissions representatives to find out what makes a Franklin education unique, complete the application process and determine your eligibility for merit or need-based financial aid. See our travel schedule to find out when a representative will be in your area or better yet, schedule a campus visit and come see for yourself.
Regardless of the program, your education at Franklin will be rigorous, academic and professional, with a focus on cross-cultural study and learning through direct experience. Our curriculum encourages multi-disciplinary study, and our Academic Travel program, included in tuition, provides an off-campus study opportunity for two weeks every semester.
Students at Franklin come from over 50 countries. Interacting with students from other traditions and cultures makes social life a part of the Franklin learning experience. Activities, on-campus housing and dining, and a strong support network help you to build lasting relationships with your peers and provide everything you need to be successful in your studies.
Franklin students, faculty and staff are active and involved in many academic and social initiatives. Our calendar is full of events organized by faculty and students for learning and interaction that go beyond the classroom environment. Take a few minutes to read our stories and find out how our students and faculty are succeeding in their endeavors all over the world.
Franklin offers a wide range of services for students, faculty, staff and friends to support life, work and learning on campus. Making use of these services will give you the tools you need to be successful both in and out of the classroom.
AHT 218T Harbor Cities: Architecture, Vision, and Experience (Gdansk, Rostock, Hamburg). Photo by Abigail Simons
Art History and Visual Culture courses investigate the production of art, architecture, and film through the technical, social, economic, cultural, psychological, and epistemological forces at work when they were produced and viewed. The major places a particular emphasis on how images form beliefs and values, taking into account issues of ethnicity, gender, and class.
Gabriel Gee
Hrisanta Trebici Marin
Clarice Zdanski
Johanna Fassl
Addressing questions of chronology, theory, and methodology, the curriculum proceeds from a disciplinary to an interdisciplinary approach, guiding students in the development of analytical and synthetic thinking about visual culture. Students are encouraged to take classes in Communication and Media Studies and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies and to apply the methods from these disciplines to the study of art history and visual culture.
Students who have completed the major will be prepared to enter graduate and specialized studies in art history and visual culture. They may also choose a career in a gallery, museum, auction house, in the art-publishing sector, or some specialized corporate environments.
