All students selected for an exchange must take a language test or provide an attestation which demonstrates that their language level is sufficient. The test is taken after the selection.
Please note that partner universities may change the language requirements at any time. Specific information regarding these requirements can be found on the website of the partner universities or in certain cases on the exchange information sheet.
Exchange to the USA, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom
The students selected for an exchange in the USA, Canada, Australia or the United Kingdom must pass a language test according to the requirement of the host university. Le English certificate obtained for the test of the 1st Bachelor year is not accepted.
The test is refunded by EPFL for the first attempt only. 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 your student exchange coordinator at the Student Exchange Office.
| Universities in the USA | Tests accepted and level required by the host university | Deadline to pass the test |
| Carnegie Mellon University | see fact sheet (PDF document) on the website of the partner universities | February 28 |
| Johns Hopkins University | see the website of the partner | February 28 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | see fact sheet (PDF document) on the website of the partner universities | January 31 |
| University of California, San Diego | see the website of the partner | January 31 |
| University of Washington, Seattle | see the website of the partner | January 31 |
| Universities in Australia | Tests accepted and level required by the host university | Deadline to pass the test |
| University of New South Wales | see the website of the partner | March 15 |
| University of Sydney | see the website of the partner | March 15 |
| Universities in Canada | Tests accepted and level required by the host university | Deadline to pass the test |
| McGill University | see the website of the partner | January 31 |
| University of Toronto | see the website of the partner | January 31 |
| University of British Columbia | see the website of the partner | January 31 |
| University of Waterloo | see the website of the partner | January 31 |
| Polytechnique de Montréal | no English test required, courses in French | – |
| Université de Montréal | no English test required, courses in French | – |
| Université Laval, Québec | no English test required, courses in French | – |
| Universities in the United Kingdom | Tests accepted and level required by the host university | Deadine to present the certificate |
| University of Edinburgh | see this website as well as this website | according to the application deadline of the partner |
| Imperial College London | see the website of the partner | according to the application deadline of the partner |
| University of Nottingham | see the website of the partner | according to the application deadline of the partner |
The language tests for German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese are organized by the Language Centre. The tests will take place at the beginning of March 2023 at the Language Center.
The students who have passed an English test at the Language Center during their 1st Bachelor year need to provide this attestation to the host university who requires an English certificate.
- Germany, Austria: German and/or English, if study plan in both languages
- Belgium: English, if flemish host university and at UCL – Ecole Polytechnique de Louvain. No test for other universities
- Brazil, Portugal : Portuguese. Except Instituto Superior Tecnico (IST) : English
- Danmark, Finland, Ireland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden, Turkey, UK : English
- China, Korea, India, Singapore, Israel : English
- Chile, Spain, Mexico : Spanish
- France: English for Polytechnique Paris, ENS Lyon. No test for other universities
- Italy: Italian. Politecnico di Torino : language of the majority of courses (Italian or English)
- Japan : English test at EPFL + certificate of Japanese level (eg. course attestation)
- Switzerland: Mendrisio: Italian. ETHZ: language of the majority of courses (German or English)