Academic globalisation and the internationalisation of scientific knowledge currently place higher education between two forces: global competitiveness and innovation on the one hand, local attractiveness and diversity on the other. In view of this double requirement, this paper aims to examine language policy and analyse its impact on language choice and language knowledge requirements in Higher Education Institution curricula. For this purpose, language policy documents of three French-speaking Swiss universities will be compared so as to shed light on their reasons for enhancing plurilingual sciences or hindering academic multilingualism. The study brochures of different disciplines and faculties will be perused and discussed with reference to language needs and language proficiency requirements. It appears that if an explicit and institutionalised language policy is desirable for a coherent and productive teaching and learning outcome on the vertical scale, the influence of the nature of the disciplines on the relation they have with language is a substantial factor in determining language choices. A clear overview of the relationships between factors will contribute to a successful top-down decision.