Essential Tips for First-Year Students

The Welcome Day of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Zurich traditionally takes place on the Thursday before the semester begins. On this day, you will get to know your university, your faculty, your major and minor study programs, as well as your fellow students.

In the first part, you will attend the general information session organized by the Office of the Dean of Studies. Afterwards, you will participate in the specific introductions to your study programs. Further welcome events for new students during this week can be found on the Welcome Days at UZH webpage.

Note for MA students in Computational Linguistics: You are warmly invited to attend the BA introductory sessions, especially if you have been admitted with BA course requirements. In addition, a special reception with a pizza apéro will take place on Monday, September 15, 2025, from 5:00 PM in the social room at Andreasstrasse 15, room AND 2.11. During this reception, the Department and the study program will be presented, and your questions will be answered.

Program for Thursday, September 12, 2024

• Greetings and information by the Co-Deans of Studies of the Faculty
• Venue: Aula KOL-G-201 (main building), with live stream in additional rooms at UZH Zentrum

• Key information about the study program and the Department of Computational Linguistics.
• Venue: Room KOL-G-209

• Key information about the study program and the Department of Computational Linguistics
• Venue: Room KOL-G-209

The tour starts after the major introduction in room KOL-G-209. Members of the student association will guide you through the UZH Zentrum campus and then take you to the Oerlikon campus. There you will visit the Department of Computational Linguistics, library workspaces, and lecture rooms.
The Department of Computational Linguistics invites all participants to a free lunch🍽️at the BIN cafeteria.

Material

Presentation First Semester Day 2024 (PDF, 7 MB)

1. You study the guidelines and study regulations (see below) of the major and minor subjects you have taken and determine which courses you should take in the various subjects in the first semester.
2. You use the electronic course catalogue to determine whether time conflicts arise; if such conflicts arise, proceed according to the information in our "FAQ on the Study of Computational Linguistics" under the heading "Course Planning/Modules" "What can you do if courses in major and minor/subjects overlap"?
3. You book the courses with the university's booking tool (please note booking deadlines! see also details on module booking).
4. All CL courses are displayed as campus courses in OLAT. When you book a module, you are automatically registered (after 4 hours at the latest) as a participant in the corresponding OLAT course.

For questions that are not answered in the guidelines and study regulations or the FAQs, please contact the Student Advisor for Computational Linguistics.

If you have no programming knowledge and your timetable permits it, it is advantageous to combine Programming Techniques in Computational Linguistics 1 with a visit to Informatics I. Both offer an introduction to the programming language Python, but have different approaches. But don't overstrain yourself! You should definitely prioritise the modules of the module group Introduction to Computational Linguistics or rather the compulsory courses in your Major/Minor. 

On our download page you will find our most important documents, leaflets etc.

Please always consult the site Student Service of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences which publishes information about dates, admission, student mobility, modules and exams and about the completion of your studies.

Our mailing list "cl-listATlists.ifi.uzh.ch" distributes information (important announcements, excursions, courses, vacant tutoring positions, job offers) to our students. Be sure to subscribe to this mailing list!