Fribourg - Education

Education

Schools at the compulsory and pre-university level are available in both French and German. The University is officially bilingual, meaning students are expected to have a passive knowledge of both languages, even though it is possible to graduate with a degree exclusively in either language, or both. It is also reputed abroad for its legal and theological studies.

The Villa St. Jean International School was also located in Fribourg.

• University of Fribourg
• University of Applied Science Fribourg : offers applied tertiary education in technical and management disciplines. Part of UAS Western Switzerland/HES-SO.
• Ecole de multimedia et d'art de Fribourg: multimedia and art school, Fribourg, is a professional school on new media communication, image and technics.

Fribourg is home to 5 libraries. These libraries include; the BCU Fribourg, the Deutsche Bibliothek Fribourg, the Bibliothèque de la Ville, the Haute école de santé Fribourg and the Ecole d’ingénieurs et d’architectes (EIA-FR). There was a combined total (as of 2008) of 3,531,605 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 611,405 items were loaned out.

In Fribourg about 11,649 or (32.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 5,671 or (16.0%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 5,671 who completed tertiary schooling, 47.7% were Swiss men, 31.2% were Swiss women, 12.4% were non-Swiss men and 8.7% were non-Swiss women.

The Canton of Fribourg school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend a three or four year optional upper Secondary school. The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs. After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship.

During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 14,170 students attending 974 classes in Fribourg. A total of 4,966 students from the municipality attended any school, either in the municipality or outside of it. There were 25 kindergarten classes with a total of 385 students in the municipality. The municipality had 117 primary classes and 2,037 students. During the same year, there were 117 lower secondary classes with a total of 2,313 students. There were 470 vocational upper Secondary classes and were 186 upper Secondary classes, with 4,012 upper Secondary students and 4,840 vocational upper Secondary students The municipality had 46 specialized Tertiary classes and were 13 non-university Tertiary classes, with 273 non-university Tertiary students and 310 specialized Tertiary students. With its vast diversity of languages and course offerings, University of Fribourg is a popular destination for students on their Erasmus Programme.

As of 2000, there were 8,234 students in Fribourg who came from another municipality, while 305 residents attended schools outside the municipality.