UNDERSTANDING THE FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY SWITZERLAND EXPERIENCE
What is a Liberal Arts University?
A liberal arts university like Franklin University Switzerland emphasizes a broad-based education in the liberal arts and sciences. This educational approach nurtures critical thinking, creativity, and intellectual curiosity, preparing students for a wide range of careers and advanced studies. At FUS, the liberal arts tradition is deeply integrated into every aspect of the student experience.
To go beyond, Franklin doesn't just prioritize traditional liberal arts competencies but also stresses practical skills that are highly sought after in today’s job market. For example, students build strong analytical abilities, effective communication techniques, and technological proficiency. These skills are crucial for adapting to different professional environments, such as business, technology, NGOs, and the arts.
Start Here. Learn Everywhere.
Franklin offers an internationally focused interdisciplinary curriculum leading to the Bachelor's degree. Our core requirements ensure that every Franklin graduate develops a common set of competencies. These central experiences are what define Franklin graduates and give them the foundation on which to build further understanding, establish a career, and rise to leadership. Franklin's undergraduate learning goals articulate the competencies, skills, and state of development that all Franklin students should reach by the end of their university careers, regardless of their specific field of study.
The Educational Model at Franklin University Switzerland
At Franklin University Switzerland, the educational model is designed to provide a comprehensive liberal arts education through a combination of the Core Curriculum, majors, and minors. This model ensures that students receive a well-rounded education while also allowing them to specialize in their areas of interest.
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES WITH A LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION AT FUS
A liberal arts education at Franklin provides students with a wide range of skills that open up diverse opportunities for their future. In addition to traditional career paths, the skills acquired at FUS, including advanced communication, intercultural understanding, and quantitative reasoning, prepare graduates for various sectors, such as global business, sustainable development, and creative industries. Franklin graduates are well-prepared to think critically, adapt to changing environments, and lead with a global perspective, making them ready for the job market and capable of making significant contributions to society.
First Two Years: Core Curriculum
During the first two years at FUS, students focus on fulfilling the Core Curriculum requirements. The Franklin Core Curriculum merges academic skills with a strong focus on international and intercultural competencies. These courses give you the tools you need to study, research, communicate and live responsibly, while crossing borders and traveling far from home. The university core represents the heart of the Franklin experience.
The Core begins with the First Year Seminar, a course that helps students adapt to academic expectations and the university experience. Your First Year Seminar (FYS) pairs you with a professor, who also serves as your academic advisor, in a discipline of interest to you. The First Year Seminar courses have varying topics but all focus on Franklin's unique culture and the larger Swiss community, providing a basis for cross-cultural interactions and real life in a multicultural environment.
Academic Travel is Franklin's signature program, and it is probably a factor in every Franklin student's choice to attend. Three-credit Academic Travel courses are regular semester courses with a 10-14 day travel period designed to add an experiential learning piece to what is studied in the classroom. Many strong relationships are built between students on Travel, and those experiences are a fundamental part of what defines a Franklin graduate.
Being a student at Franklin means learning to write well in English, as well as being able to use that skill in other languages. After the first year seminar, students enroll in an academic writing course (WTG 150 and/or WTG 200) as part of the year long experience and then later enroll in W-designated courses that are writing intensive. The writing requirement culminates with the capstone course, thesis, or senior project.
Students choose two courses from each of three Areas of Knowledge: Intercultural Competencies, International Engagement and Social Responsibility. These Areas of Knowledge are designed to increase your appreciation for a variety of world views, bring you to a better understanding of the processes and consequences of globalization, and help you develop an awareness of social justice. These 18 credits go beyond experiencing cultural differences and begin to open the door to understanding and guiding change for the future.
As part of the university's mission to help you learn intercultural competencies and to make the most of your experience in Switzerland, the final piece of the Core involves gaining intermediate proficiency in a Swiss language. Students take a sequence of language classes in French, German, or Italian to help them improve their language skills and to integrate in the local community.
Understanding and effectively communicating with numerical data, patterns, and structures is called Quantitative Literacy. Whether it's election polls, weather forecasts, economic growth projections, or trends in household income, a lot of the information we get every day is based on numbers. Being fluent in this language is essential to tell apart facts from fake news. To do this, you need to understand the rules, uses, and logic behind numerical data and be able to recognize when it's used inappropriately or incorrectly. The Quantitative Literacy requirement gives students the tools they need to do this in a way that fits with their interests. Students who meet this requirement will show that they have the math and numerical skills needed to develop good ideas and come to valid conclusions.
Third and Fourth Year: Choosing a Major and Minor
After completing the Core Curriculum, students choose a major and, optionally, a minor to focus on for the remainder of their studies. This typically occurs at the end of the sophomore year. The majors and minors at FUS are structured to provide depth in a specific discipline while encouraging interdisciplinary perspectives.
It’s flexible. You can design your own academic plan working with an academic advisor. You could decide to get a double major, a combined major, add a minor, or go for the 4+1 and finish with a master’s degree. Do what works for your interests and the career you want to pursue.
ACADEMIC TRAVEL
Four semesters of Academic Travel are required at Franklin, and most students take a Travel course every semester since it's included in their tuition. Travel is at the center of Franklin's educational mission, and we believe that there is no classroom experience that will provide the same level of understanding as actually packing your bags and going to see, feel, and taste a place that you have studied. Academic Travel courses are taught by professors who have personal knowledge of the location to be studied and academic, professional, or research interest in the country that will be visited. Over 20 Academic Travel courses are offered each year, with destinations including India, Japan, Iceland, Southern Africa, Thailand, and the US, not to mention various urban and rural locations in nearly every country in Europe.
MORE
There is too much to tell in one page. We have a great Honors Program that promotes student research, an exceptional First Year Experience curriculum to jump-start your cultural foundations, a Three-Year Bachelor's for those wanting to push toward a career path, and many courses in our catalog that are of particular note, depending on your own interests and career goals.
