Introductory course
- Common course “Sustainability” (ENV-101) Tuesday 5:15-7:00 p.m.
The SIE section and the SHS program have joined forces to offer a common foundation in sustainability to the entire EPFL student community, starting in 2025-2026. Under the academic direction of Jérôme Chappellaz and with the assistance of a dozen specialists from EPFL and UNIL (climatologists, economists, biologists, sociologists, etc.), the course introduces students to issues such as planetary boundaries, interdependencies in complex systems, and social justice. The interdisciplinary approach also introduces first-year students to group work, scientific communication, and systems thinking.
Bachelor, semester 3
- Course module “Global Issues” Tuesday, 3:15-5:00 p.m.
The “Global Issues” module builds on the objectives of the ENV-101 course by developing the ability to take a systematic approach to more specific issues that also affect all populations around the world and future generations: food, communication, climate, AI, energy, health, transportation, etc. Often taught by pairs of instructors from EPFL and UNIL, each class addresses one of these issues from both a basic science or engineering perspective and a humanities and social sciences perspective. During team projects, students are invited to imagine, evaluate, represent graphically, and present orally their ideas for solutions.
Bachelor, semesters 4 to 6
BA 4: Tuesday 3:15-5:00 p.m.
BA 5 and 6: Tuesday 1:15-3:00 p.m.
During the second half of their bachelor’s degree, all EPFL students choose one SHS course per semester from six subject areas:
- Anthropology and Sociology
- Psychology and Linguistics
- History and Philosophy
- Arts and Design
- Law and Political Science
- Economics and Management
This part of the curriculum is called the “free plan” because there are no specific constraints on course selection other than personal interest and the number of places available. To encourage discussion and varied teaching methods, these courses are limited in size.