Franklin University Switzerland is a private university in Lugano, Switzerland. Founded in 1969, Franklin is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe and the first established in Switzerland. Franklin offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science degrees accredited in both the United States and Switzerland.
History
Formerly Fleming College, the university was founded in 1969. It is named after Benjamin Franklin.
Academics
Franklin's curriculum promotes international awareness and critical thinking, emphasizing an interdisciplinary and liberal arts perspective. The majority of courses are taught in English, with the exception of language courses, including upper-level language courses on film, culture and literature.
Undergraduate students must achieve proficiency in Italian, French, or German through fulfilling a three-year language course sequence. Additionally, it has a core curriculum consisting of Intercultural Competencies (humanities and arts), International Engagement (political science, history and economics) and Social Responsibility (sciences and cultural studies). A full year's study in these three categories is required. Courses in mathematics and writing are required as well. The university offers an internationally focused interdisciplinary curriculum, with 17 majors and 21 minors in its undergraduate program.
Franklin University Switzerland’s graduate programs take advantage of its cross-cultural environment and central location in Europe to provide internationally-focused Master of Science degree programs.
The average class size at Franklin is 16, with no class exceeding 30 students.
Accreditation
Swiss
Franklin University Switzerland is accredited in Switzerland by the Swiss Accreditation Council AAQ as University Institute.
US
Franklin University Switzerland is accredited in the United States by the MSCHE. The institution is authorized to offer bachelor's and master's degrees through the State of Delaware.
Campus
The main campus (known as Kaletsch Campus), acquired in 1985, is composed of a private villa with attached library, auditorium, and classroom wing, surrounded by a wooded park. Also on this campus is a dining hall called the "Grotto". In 2005 the university acquired an additional campus nearby (known as North Campus), adding administrative, education, athletic, social and residential capacity. The current campus spans . The Franklin campus is residential, and is on a hillside overlooking the town of Lugano, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
Franklin University Switzerland has eight residence buildings, seven in Sorengo and one in Lugano. Airone is in an old hotel directly between the main campus and North Campus with singles and doubles. All rooms have their own bathrooms and some of which have kitchenettes. The ground floor houses the office of Student Life, and one of the student lounges, the "Falcon's Nest". Alba is in Lugano 5–10 minutes from North Campus on the way downtown. Leonardo da Vinci (LDV) is on the grounds of North Campus; this is the only all-freshman student dormitory. Giardino, nestled below the Sorengo monastery: This residence is mainly multiples (4-6 bedrooms and a shared kitchen) with some triples for freshmen. Panera is on the main campus grounds next to the Grotto (one of two dining halls) with apartment-style triples. Each apartment consists of four rooms: a bedroom, bathroom (with bathtub), separate kitchen, and a large common room with three desks and a couch. The Panera Lawn is a common meeting place and hang out for many students, no matter what residence they live in. The final three buildings are the as-of-late unnamed New Buildings (A, B, and C) located across via Ponte Tresa from Panera. New Building A has four bedroom apartment-style housing, while New Building B has two, three, four, five, and six bedroom apartments, some of which are two stories. New C, the newest building on campus, offers singles, doubles, and four-person apartments. All rooms in both New Buildings have arguably the biggest kitchens on campus with at least one bathroom (with a shower) per two students. New Building B offers a noise-free, substance-free rooming option with an emphasis on healthy living for students.
