Registering for subjects and tests

Registering for subjects

You must register yourself for all subjects taught in the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs, including compulsory topics. Registration is done through your secure access to the IS-Academia application:

  • for subjects taught in the autumn semester: from August to the Friday of the second week of the autumn semester
  • for subjects taught in the spring semester: from January to the Friday of the second week of the spring semester

Depending on your study plan, you may be able to register for a small number of specific subjects, or the Master’s project, as soon as the academic reregistration form (FRAC) has been completed, from late May for the autumn and from mid-December for the spring.

You may only register for subjects once you have completed and submitted the academic reregistration form (FRAC), also on IS-Academia. It is not possible to register for subjects during a semester “on leave” or “on internship”.

Some programs impose specific deadlines to register for certain subjects.

For some semester projects and the Master’s project, you will need to provide details during registration (title, summary, teacher, assistants, etc.). For this reason, it is highly recommended not to register for these subjects “at the last minute.”

If you miss the deadline for registration (the Friday of the second week of the semester), you will no longer be able to register for subjects on IS-Academia. You will then need to come in person to the Student Services Desk and pay a fee for late registration. This rule cannot accept any exception. The final deadline for late registration is the tenth Friday of the semester.

Subjects with a maximum capacity

Some subjects have a maximum capacity.

For SHS courses and projects (including ‘Global issues’) and first-year physics and mathematics courses in English and German the registration process is normal, within the maximum capacity (first come, first served).

For architecture workshops, UEs, and the ENAC week (all ENAC-only subjects), registration is handled by the programs and teachers via a specific procedure.

For other subjects with maximum capacities, registration is open according to the following priority order:

  • From the opening of the FRAC and early registration, students for whom the subject is compulsory, as well as those who failed the subject during the previous year, are allowed to register, within the maximum capacity.
  • During the regular registration period, students for whom the subject is optional may also register, within the maximum capacity.
  • Finally, two weeks before the beginning of the semester, students who have the subject in their minor (Master’s level only) are also allowed to register, within the maximum capacity.
  • Students who do not have the subject in their study plan may not register.

Subjects with maximum capacities are signaled in IS-Academia by means of a fraction in the column indicating the number of registered students (number of registered students/maximum capacity) or by the indication ‘full’ when the maximum capacity has been reached.

Subjects outside of the study plan

With the approbation of your Program, you may register for subjects that are not part of your study plan, when your study plan allows for it, such as:

  • subjects from another EPFL Bachelor’s or Master’s study plan: register as usual on IS-Academia via the ‘Autre matière’ button
  • subjects taught by the EPFL Doctoral School (during the Master’s cycle only, and for a maximum of 12 ECTS credits over the whole cycle): ask for the approbation of the teacher in charge, and then ask to be registered (at the beginning of the course) at the Student Services Desk (for transferrable skills courses and summer schools, registration with the organizers is also required, according to the procedure detailed in the syllabus of the course)
  • subjects taught at UNIL: register on IS-Academia for the subject corresponding to the Faculty teaching the course you wish to take (e.g., ‘Credits obtained at Lausanne University – Faculty of Business and Economics HEC’) and at UNIL for the subject and corresponding test(s)
  • subjects taught at another Swiss higher-education school (EPF/ETH or University): register with that school and request a transcript, to be presented to your Program at EPFL

When registering for a course at another higher-education school (UNIL included), you must comply with the procedures and deadlines imposed by that school.

Registering for tests

Registration for tests (whether these take place during the semester or in the exam session) is automatic for all the subjects for which you have registered.

Some subjects are annual: this means that the subject is taught in two parts, the first during the autumn semester and the second during the spring semester, but examined only once, at the end of the spring semester or in the summer exam session. In such cases, only students who have registered for both parts will be registered for the tests. Students who have only registered for one of the two parts will not be allowed to pass the tests and will not obtain any ECTS credits. This holds for exchange students at EPFL, too.