Our Professional Pathway into the EHL Bachelor Program

The first semester at EHL Campus Passugg focuses on immersion in practice and self-reflection. The students should be able to identify: Who am I and what am I able to do? They will be introduced to practical kitchen and service skills in close cooperation with industry experts. They are given responsibility in our in-house restaurants and take care of their first guests.

The students are also introduced to the basics of our "affective hospitality" vision and a personal assessment helps them to recognize their potential. Emotional intelligence and soft skills are central to the hotel and restaurant industry. This is why we specifically promote team spirit, self-confidence, independence and customer orientation.

In the second semester, students further deepen their practical operational knowledge assisted by experts, with a focus on the guest relations and room divisions. In the front office area, students learn empathetic contact with guests at a practice reception desk, especially set up in the school hotel. Housekeeping teaches them what is involved in operating a hotel infrastructure.

In addition to the first practical experience gained within the EHL structures, the students are prepared for their first internship and promoted in the areas of self-management, professional appearance and communication.

For the first time, students immerse themselves in practice in the third semester. They now gain their first practical experience outside of the school. Personality development and self-reflection, among other things, are further deepened through regular feedback from the internship companies.

The fourth semester serves to deepen the skills needed to manage a hotel and its various areas in an international context. Students develop into independent managers. They take on more responsibility, contribute their knowledge from previous semesters and lead the younger classes as supervisors.

The students can apply their knowledge into real projects, contribute their creative ideas and implement them independently. They also learn to present and sell themselves and their ideas and projects to other students and guests in the best possible way and adopt a professional attitude.

In the previous semesters, students were trained to take on roles of leadership and responsibility and to empathize with cultural differences. They were also able to develop their own ideas and concepts. These skills now need to be deepened in management departments and successfully applied in practice.

The last semester serves to deepen and focus on the specific interests of the students. In the sixth semester, students can choose between two majors:

• Culinary Arts
• Wellness & Spa Management

On the basis of best practice cases and workshops, students discover how emotions and experiences can be created. In practical projects, business plans and diploma theses they apply networked thinking. In a team they solve problems, make independent decisions and convince customers of their ideas.

Throughout the semester, students have various opportunities to take the initiative and test their own ideas. They have to show perseverance and bite in order to receive the diploma as stage directors who can play the emotional claviature of their guests.

Minimum 18 years of age when entering the professional path into the EHL Bachelor Program at EHL Campus Passugg

17 years of age if starting with the Professional Internship Foundation (PIF).

Excellent written and verbal command of English is required. As proof, you are asked to submit one of the following international English certificates:

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) academic module, with a minimum score of 6.0
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a minimum score of 87 (iBT)
• Cambridge Advanced Examination, with a C minimum
• First Certificate Examination, with a score of A only

Alternatively you can submit evidence that English was the main medium of instruction during your last three years of secondary/high school studies.

EHL Campus Passugg now also houses an official IELTS test center. The dates for the test days will be published on the website.

• Final secondary school certificate/high school diploma in home country
• Professional diploma (apprentice certificate)

Should you be in the final year of secondary or high school and wish to apply, evaluation will be based on predicted grades and/or results from previous years.

You can submit the results of your final exams and diploma certificates later, but always before the start of your studies at EHL Campus Passugg.

• EHL applicants with hospitality work experience are given credit towards the total time required for completing the Swiss Professional Degree of up to one year (work certificates required).
• EHL applicants who have not yet worked in the hospitality industry are required to gain 24 months total work experience by the beginning of the 6th semester. During the Swiss Professional Degree, two 6-month internships are integrated into the program and may be extended to allow for missing work experience.
• EHL Campus Passugg recommends having at least 6 months’ work experience before starting the Swiss Professional Degree and offers to place applicants through our Professional lnternship Foundation (PIF) course.

• Letter of recommendation: At least one letter of recommendation from a former teacher, school counselor or employer.
• Motivational letter: A statement of motivation for entering the hospitality industry, and EHL Campus Passugg in particular. Please cover the following four questions and limit your statement to no more than two A4 typed pages: 

  • What attracts you to the hospitality industry?

  • What attributes do you think you have to be successful in the hospitality industry?

  • Why have you chosen EHL Campus Passugg and Switzerland?

  • How do you think EHL Campus Passugg can help you to achieve your goals?

• Personal interview: Our admissions officer will schedule the appointment as soon as all documents have been received.

How to apply to EHL Campus Passugg? Find here our step-by-step guide to a successful admission process!

Admissions Process