Students remain registered at EPFL during the exchange and continue to pay EPFL tuition fees. They are, however, exempt from paying tuition fees at the host university.
Some host institutions may charge small mandatory fees to cover services such as public transportation, laboratory access, student associations, or sports facilities. Students who receive a cantonal or social scholarship will continue to receive their grant during the period of the exchange.
All EPFL students who are doing an academic exchange at a partner university will receive an exchange scholarship (not based on socio-economic criteria). The amount depends on the destination:
The amount of funding provided by EPFL for exchanges outside Europe is yet to be confirmed. For information, the scholarship awarded to exchange students in 2026-27 was CHF 2,000 for the entire academic year.
Exchange at Carnegie Mellon University
Students selected for the exchange at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) will receive in addition to the financial support from EPFL, the Severin B. Hacker Fellowship amounting to CHF 2’500 for the year. This fellowship will be granted to students studying at CMU during the academic years 2026-27 and 2027-28 only.
The Student Exchange Office will send the instructions regarding the payment of the scholarship to the students who are concerned.
Exchange at the University of Michigan
Students selected for the exchange at the University of Michigan will receive, in addition to the grant provided by EPFL, a donor-funded scholarship of USD 2,000 for the academic year.
This scholarship is paid directly by the University of Michigan after the student’s arrival on campus.
The amount of funding granted by EPFL for exchanges at ETHZ and at the Università della Svizzera italiana has yet to be confirmed. For information, the grant awarded to exchange students in 2026-27 was CHF 500 for the entire academic year.
Following the vote of 9th February 2014, the European Commission has excluded Switzerland from the Erasmus+ programme. Since then, Erasmus+ has been replaced by the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP). Switzerland is currently preparing for a possible reassociation with the Erasmus+ programme from 2027 onwards. The political process is ongoing, and discussions regarding Switzerland’s participation and its funding are currently being held in Parliament. A decision is expected in spring 2027.
Should Switzerland rejoin the Erasmus+ programme, the scholarship amounts will be confirmed at that time.
If Switzerland does not rejoin Erasmus+, the SEMP programme will remain in place, and the corresponding SEMP grant amounts will also be confirmed in spring 2027.
For information, the SEMP scholarship awarded to exchange students in 2026-27 amounted to CHF 3,800 for the academic year.
The National Agency Movetia provides liaison between the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SSERI) and Swiss universities.
The SEMP scholarships are financially supported by Movetia. Movetia promotes exchange, mobility and cooperation within the fields of education, training and youth work – in Switzerland, Europe and worldwide.
Official communications from SSERI are available on the SSERI‘s website.
Students with special needs
A student whose disability, or physical or mental health condition would make it complicated to participate in a mobility exchange under the Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP) may apply for a supplementary subsidy (up to CHF 12,000) through Movetia. This support helps cover certain costs related to the student’s specific situation during the exchange. It only covers expenses that are not already funded by third parties.
Requests for financial support must be submitted to Movetia through the Student Exchange Office as soon as the student has been selected for an exchange.
For more information, please contact the Student Exchange Office as early as possible.
Language courses
A refund of the language course is possible and subject to funding availability of the Student Exchange Office as far as your exchange is taking place.
For information, the costs of language courses at our partner universities are usually amounting to 100-500 Euro.
The amount of the refund will be determined according to the effectif costs of the course and the available funds. Furthermore, the language course must take place either in Switzerland or in the country of the host university.
In order to receive a refund, please provide the invoice of the course, the attestation of participation to the course as well as your bank details to the Student Exchange Office.