Logo Kanton Bern / Canton de BerneUniversities of Bern Counselling Centre

Study and disability

The implementation of equal opportunities in education aims to ensure that people with disabilities have as equal access as possible to the course of study. You can find information on accessibility at the Universities of Bern here.

Equal opportunities in education

The universities contribute to equal opportunities for people with disabilities by means of structural and technical measures. They strive to ensure barrier-free access to buildings and lecture halls, but also to websites and teaching resources.

In addition, under the Disability Equality Act (BehiG), universities are obliged to grant what is referred to as «compensation for disadvantages» to persons with disabilities. The «compensation for disadvantages» comprises individual measures that help to avoid or reduce disadvantages for students with disabilities. This involves adapting learning and examination conditions without changing the learning or examination content.

Compensation for disadvantages may include, for example:

  • a technical aid
  • personal assistance
  • more time for certain tasks
  • a change in the form of the examination (e.g. oral instead of written)
  • and much more

You can find further information on compensation for disadvantages in the Canton of Bern on the website of the Education and Culture Department (BKD) of the Canton of Bern: 

Persons with disabilities who wish to study should be sure to contact the university concerned at an early stage. This will enable them to clarify specific questions about the organisation of studies, physical or technical access options or compensation for disadvantages in good time. You can find relevant information and useful links under «Relevant links to Universities of Bern».

We would also like to highlight the website «swissuniabilty». It offers comprehensive information about a course of study free of obstacles for those affected, interested parties and also the universities.

In addition, you will find information on the Swiss universities' contact points for people with disabilities as well as helpful tips on topics such as compensation for disadvantages and financing studies.

Further useful links

Independent of the higher education sector, there are numerous institutions and organisations that generally support the concerns of people with disabilities or impairments.

A list of relevant contact points can be found on the website of the Federal Office for the Equality of People with Disabilities (EBGB), which is part of the Federal Department of Home Affairs:

Please also see our website below for further topics that may be of interest to you. 

  • Equal opportunities and diversity (overview)

  • Counselling services (overview) 

  • Psyche and well-being (overview) 

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