Eligibility criteria and application

Summer in the Lab participants must commit and complete the following components in order to successfully validate their participation in the program:

• Provide the research proposal according to the given template
• Complete eight weeks of research internship in an EPFL laboratory
• Attend the two-day transversal skills workshops organized in the program
• Participate and present their research work during the Research Symposium
• Complete the program feedback surveys in due time

Conduct:

• Behave appropriately at all times towards their peers and supervisors
• Respect and comply to the EPFL laboratory principles and policies during the time of the research internship

In case of non-compliance with the above requirements, EPFL may withhold or definitively cease the undersigned’s scholarship and/or expelled the participant from the program. Moreover, the official certificate of completion of the Summer in the Lab Excellence Program conferred with the Bachelor’s degree will not be delivered.

Derogations to the above elements are only be possible in specific cases (e.g. study abroad, illness with medical certificate, etc.). Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

International students who are not eligible for the Summer in the Lab internship program have the opportunity to apply to the following programs (distinct eligibility rules apply):

• Students from target universities from North America and Singapore: Excellence Research Internship Program
• International students in Computer and Communication Sciences: Summer@EPFL Program
• International students in Engineering: E3 Program
• International students in Life Sciences: Summer Research Program

Your motivation statement (max. 800 words) should highlight your interest in pursuing this program and your expectations in terms of outcomes. It must contain the following information:

• Your qualification and research experience
• Your motivation, interests and expectations in undertaking a research internship at EPFL
• Your choice of laboratories: justify your choices with respect to your profile and explain why you are suitable for the laboratories – This section is particularly important as it will be reviewed by the laboratories to determine if you are a good fit in their group
• Your ambition: describe your future professional and personal objectives and explain why you have a potential interest in a research career

In case you already have an agreed project with an EPFL professor, please describe the project in detail instead of providing a choice of laboratories.

You can choose one format from the three options proposed above to handle your answer.

Official transcripts stating your academic results for all your study semesters at EPFL.

Transcripts downloaded from IS-Academia are considered official.

Your referee may be a tutor, professor, former employer, internship supervisor, or any other person who knows you well and can provide meaningful insight into your skills, motivation, and potential. The referee can be from within or outside EPFL. Please choose your referee carefully, considering their knowledge of your background and their ability to support your application in relation to your research interests and selected laboratories.

Once you submit your online application form, an automatic request for a recommendation letter will be sent to your referee.

Your application file will be considered complete if it contains at least one reference letter.

You are responsible for ensuring that your reference letter is submitted before the deadline. You can monitor the status of your reference letter directly through the application portal.

EPFL hosts around 500 laboratories and research groups with cutting-edge infrastructure in all disciplines. Browse the list of laboratories and research groups or look by research domain. Please note that research centers and hubs affiliated with EPFL are also possible options for your internship.

In the online application form, please indicate the name of your three favorite laboratories and the name of their heads.

To increase your chances of working in the laboratories of your choice, make sure your profile is a good match. Your preferences will be taken into consideration during the selection and placement process, but we cannot guarantee that you will be placed in one of your three selected laboratories. Therefore, we encourage you to carefully consider your choices and explain clearly why your profile is a good fit for each laboratory.

If you come with a specific project agreed upon in advance with an EPFL professor, please follow the guidelines provided in the application form to submit your laboratory choice.