Applying for the BA in Multilingual Communication

What are the admission requirements?

To study at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and be admitted to the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI), you must:

• Fulfill the enrollment requirements of UNIGE.

You must hold a secondary school diploma (maturité gymnasia, maturité suisse, French Baccalaureate or a diploma deemed to be equivalent). You are required to familiarise yourself with the Admissions Guide and the University's official enrollment conditions .
In the latter document, you will find enrolment conditions that are specific to the FTI, which are outlined in “ PROCEDURES ET CONDITIONS D’ADMISSION PARTICULIERES ”, as well as conditions for holders of a non-Swiss diploma.

• Fulfill the FTI's admission conditions

You must choose three languages for your combination. Your A language is your mother tongue or language of education. We expect you to have a perfect oral and written command of this language. Based on your A language, you can select your two B languages (also called “passive languages”) from the language combination chart. These three languages make up your language combination.

Also have a look at the general description page for this degree.

What does the entrance exam consist of?

You will be required to sit for three different tests:

• An A language test , to assess your writing skills and knowledge of your native language.
• A test for each of your B languages  that allows us to assess your writing skills and understanding of your non-native languages.

See the description of the BA entrance exam, the description of the Italian Sign Language (LSI) entrance exam and the possible language combinations.

What level of proficiency is required?
You must have a perfect command of your A language. You should be able to write a text that is logical, well-structured and written in a suitable style. With regard to your passive languages, we recommend that you have at least a B2 level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Exemption from the passive language tests:
You may be exempt from a B language test if you hold a diploma or certificate confirming that you have at least a B2 level in that language under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, or if you have completed a minimum of two years of secondary school or university education with that language as the language of instruction, or if your high school marks meet our exemption criteria. Please look at the conditions for being exempt from the B language tests for the Ba. Exemptions are not granted for Italian Sign Language (LSI).

Please note that it may not be in your best interest to request an exemption for a strong B language, since you will not be able to use that language to compensate for potential weaknesses in your other B language; your average will then be based on two marks instead of three. If you are granted an exemption for both B languages, your admission will be entirely based on your A language exam results.

Other exemptions: 
If this is your second attempt at the entrance exam, you can ask to be exempt from the tests you passed on your first attempt and request that those grades be retained (A and B languages). However, your exam results are only valid for a year.

Applicants who don't have French in their FTI language combination must also sit for UNIGE's French exam (a basic language test that is independent of the FTI's entrance exam), unless you meet the University's exemption conditions.

When and where will the entrance exam take place?

The entrance exam will take place online from 15 to 17 April 2025.
Results will be published on 13 June 2025.

How do I apply to the FTI

Prepare the documents to be uploaded: list.

Apply online to register for the FTI entrance exam and apply to enroll at UNIGE. 

We accept applications from 15 January to 28 February 2025.

The FTI will send you an email mid-March to invite you to sit for the entrance exam. Please remember to check your email around this time, as well as your spam folder. 

The tuition fee is CHF 500 per semester, regardless of whether you are a Swiss or foreign student.

Student Secretariat

Admissions and enrolment

Marie-Laure CUDET
Campus building: Uni Mail
Office: 6256
Telephone: +41 (0)22 37 98708
email: admission-fti(at)unige.ch

Office hours: Monday - Thursday, 10:00 - 12:00 am / 2:00 - 4:00 pm