With its 28,000 enrolled students, the University of Zurich (UZH) is Switzerland's largest university. Founded in the year 1833, UZH was Europe's first university to be established by a democratic political system; today, UZH is one of the foremost universities in the German-speaking world. Made up of seven faculties covering some 100 different subject areas, the University offers a wide variety of Bachelor's, Master's and PhD programs. In addition, UZH's continuing education programs offer excellent learning opportunities.

As a member of the "League of European Research Universities" (LERU) and "Universitas 21" (U21) network, the University of Zurich belongs to Europe's most prestigious research institutions. In 2017, the University of Zurich became a member of the Universitas 21 (U21) network, a global network of 27 research universities from around the world, promoting research collaboration and exchange of knowledge. Numerous distinctions highlight the University's international renown in the fields of medicine, immunology, genetics, neuroscience and structural biology as well as in economics. To date, the Nobel Prize has been conferred on twelve UZH scholars.

The academic excellence of the University of Zurich brings benefits to both the public and the private sectors not only in the Canton of Zurich, but throughout Switzerland. Knowledge is shared in a variety of ways: in addition to granting the general public access to its twelve museums and many of its libraries, the University makes findings from cutting-edge research available to the public in accessible and engaging lecture series and panel discussions.