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First-generation students: measures for more equal opportunities
24.04.2026 Two thirds of the student body at BFH are first-gen students. Bern University of Applied Sciences thus assumes a central role in equal opportunities and social advancement and is developing targeted measures.
Key points at a glance
- Around two thirds of students at BFH have parents who do not hold a university degree. They are ‘first-generation students’.
- Together with HSLU and ZHAW, BFH is developing measures to promote more equal opportunities and social advancement for first-generation students.
- The cross-university project is supported by a project contribution from Swissuniversities.
First-generation students are people whose parents do not hold a university degree. They are more likely to come from an immigration background or from disadvantaged socio-economically backgrounds than students with academically educated parents. These various dimensions of social inequality are explicitly taken into account in the ‘First-generation students at universities of applied sciences’ project.
The project involving several universities aims to develop cross-university support measures based on an existing study on the situation of first-generation students. As the leading house, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) is in charge of the aspects of coordination and reporting in collaboration with BFH and ZHAW.
Supported by a project contribution by swissuniversities, the project aims to promote equal opportunities and social advancement for first-generation students at universities of applied sciences. The outcome will include a catalogue of measures comprising support offers, materials, assessment results and communication recommendations that other universities can adopt.