Conditions

You must have been selected by your home university, which has to be a partner institution of EPFL.

We expect that you register for a minimum of 20 ECTS credits (European Credits Transfer System) per semester. One French course of 3 ECTS can count towards the 20 ECTS.

An exchange to attend courses at EPFL is authorized for one semester or a full academic year. The exchange cannot exceed two semesters.

It is recommended to have good command of French and/or English (level B2). Bachelor classes are taught in French and to some extent in English. The offer varies from one section to another. Master courses are mainly taught in English.

No language certificate is required for an exchange at EPFL. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient knowledge of French and/or English to follow the courses.

The courses and projects listed here are not accessible to exchange students in 2023-24.

Management of Technology and Financial Engineering
In addition, the access to courses in Management of Technology (MTE) and Financial Engineering (FE) is limited to exchange students. Exchange students may not register to limited places courses.

If a bilateral agreement in MTE or FE has been signed between your home university and EPFL (please contact the student exchange office of your home university to verify this), and that you have been nominated by your home university for an exchange in MTE or FE, you are authorized to register in the corresponding section.

Please take note of the conditions imposed by MTE and FE for students who are registered in one of these sections (see paragraph « For students exchanging in the FE or MTE section »).

If however NO bilateral agreement in MTE or FE has been signed between your home university and EPFL, it is not possible to register in one of these two sections. Access to a very limited number of courses is however possible depending on the section in which you are registered. Please take note of the conditions imposed by MTE or FE for students who are registered in other sections (see paragraph « For students exchanging in other sections of EPFL or UNIL»).

If you are not authorized to take courses in these two sections and still register for classes at the beginning of the semester, your inscription will be cancelled two weeks after the beginning of courses.

 

You are authorized to take French classes only. EPFL offers French courses (intensive in summer and semi-intensive in winter). These courses enable new students to strengthen their French knowledge and facilitate their integration. Access to French courses during the semesters cannot be guaranteed to exchange students.

Credits obtained for French courses do not appear in the official transcript of records. An attestation mentioning the language course credits can be requested at the Language Center.

Exams take place on specific dates. Extramuros exams can be requested, but only under certain conditions. This request must be officialised via this form.

Furthermore, EPFL does not organize remedial examinations. In case of a failed exam or absence during an exam, please contact your home university which is in charge of the validation of your credits.

As exchange students you must observe the same rules as regular EPFL students in regard to registration for lectures, exams, use of computers, etc…

Exchange students from partner universities are exempted from paying the tuition fees at EPFL.