FAQ Cyber Security

Current EPFL students are automatically enrolled in the Master’s program in their field of study. They only need to confirm their registration in IS-Academia and do not need to go through the application process to continue their studies in the same field. Since your degree is consecutive to more than one Master’s program, you may request to be enrolled in the Cyber Security Master’s program at the beginning of the first semester, using the Academic Registration Form (FRAC).

No. If you start the Master’s in Cyber Security at ETH Zurich, ETH Zurich remains your home institution throughout the program, and you must complete the majority of your studies there. As part of the joint curriculum, you are also required to complete between 20 and 35 ECTS at EPFL.

You must apply to the institution where you intend to complete the majority of your studies, which will become your home institution for the duration of the program. Admission decisions are coordinated between the two institutions.

• If you apply to EPFL and are admitted, you will be enrolled at EPFL where you will complete the majority of your studies. As part of the joint curriculum, you must complete between 20 and 35 ECTS at ETH Zurich.
• If you apply to ETH Zurich and are admitted, you will be enrolled at ETH Zurich where you will complete the majority of your studies. As part of the joint curriculum, you must complete between 20 and 35 ECTS at EPFL.

As an EPFL student, you must begin your Master’s program in Lausanne. After your first semester at EPFL, you are required to complete between 20 and 35 ECTS at ETH Zurich. How and when you do this depends on your starting cohort:

• Started before Autumn 2026: You follow the Mandatory semester pathway – one full semester at ETH Zurich, as before.
• Starting in Autumn 2026 or later: During your first semester, you must choose one of two options:
  • Residential semester – relocate to Zürich for one semester after your first semester at EPFL and register for at least 20 (up to 35) ECTS there. May include a mobility stipend and, for the Spring semester, access to pre-booked accommodation.
  • Flexible option – spread your 20–35 ETH Zurich ECTS over more than one semester after your first semester at EPFL, taking courses at both institutions concurrently, without relocating. No mobility stipend and no pre-booked accommodation.

The IC Section will send you a form midway through your first semester at EPFL so that you can confirm your choice. If your plans change afterward, contact the IC Section (Jasmine Locatelli) before making any changes to your study arrangements.

Options at a glance

No. Your pathway is fixed by the regulations in effect when you entered the program. If you started before Autumn 2026, you remain on the Mandatory semester pathway; the Residential semester and Flexible option are only available to students starting in Autumn 2026 or later.

Changes are not automatic. If your plans change after submitting the form midway through your first semester at EPFL, you must contact the IC Section (Jasmine Locatelli) before making any changes to your study arrangements. Do not assume a switch is possible until it has been confirmed with the IC Section.

Yes, you must validate this form to remain enrolled in the Master’s program, regardless of which pathway or option applies to you. You must still log in to your IS-Academia account and validate the form to confirm that you are continuing your studies and verify your personal information. After validating the form, you will need to download and pay your semester invoice under the “Personal details” tab. For more information, please see the following page: Student CMS, Bachelor and Master

No, students remain enrolled at EPFL throughout their studies and continue to pay EPFL tuition fees. For more information, please see the following page: Tuition fee and other fees

This depends on your pathway and when you started the joint Master’s program:

• Mandatory semester (started before Autumn 2026): the first semester must be completed at EPFL; after that, you are free to choose which semester you relocate to Zürich.
• Residential semester (started Autumn 2026+): the first semester must be completed at EPFL. Midway through your first semester, the IC Section will send you a form to confirm both your choice of the residential option and the semester during which you plan to relocate to Zürich.
• Flexible option (started Autumn 2026+): there is no single semester to choose after your first semester at EPFL. Midway through your first semester, the IC Section will send you a form to confirm your choice of this option. Your ETH Zurich credits are spread across more than one semester, without relocating.

• Mandatory semester (started before Autumn 2026): the IC Section emails registration instructions in April (for the following Autumn semester) or in October (for the following Spring semester). Follow the instructions in that email. You must announce your course selection at ETH Zurich via the Cyber Security Learning Agreement.
• Residential semester or Flexible option (started Autumn 2026+): the IC Section sends you a form midway through your first semester at EPFL to confirm your chosen option (and, for the residential semester, your chosen semester in Zürich). You must complete the ETH Zurich Study Plan Form and keep it updated throughout your studies

This applies only if you are relocating to Zürich, i.e., under the Mandatory semester pathway or the Residential semester option. It does not apply to the Flexible option.

• Spring semester: limited places for pre-booked housing are available. After registering, you will receive an offer for a furnished room via email from the ETH Zurich International Students Office. You are responsible for paying rent and complying with the offer’s conditions.
• Autumn semester: no pre-booked housing is available. We recommend using the following resources to search independently, and starting as early as possible:
  • WOKO – Student Housing Cooperative
  • ETH Zurich Student Housing Portal

Mandatory semester, or registering for at least 20 ECTS under the Residential semester option, are eligible for a mobility stipend, provided they can show proof of relocation to Zürich. The Flexible option does not include a mobility stipend. The IC Section will send further details before your semester(s) at ETH Zurich.

If you relocate to Zürich (Mandatory semester or Residential semester), it is recommended to keep your main residence in the canton of Vaud and register a temporary/secondary address in Zürich. Within 14 days of arriving in the canton of Zürich, you must register your secondary residence (Wochenaufenthalt) with the appropriate Kreisbüro. To help maintain your main residence in Vaud, you can:

• Ask your commune of residence if you can have an administrative address in Vaud (not all communes accept this, but it’s worth asking).
• Ask a friend if you can register at their home address. In this case, you must also register at the Residents’ registration office in your friend’s commune, and inform your Vaud commune of your temporary address elsewhere.

No. The residence permit guidance above (secondary residence and Kreisbüro registration) applies only if you relocate to Zürich, i.e., under the Mandatory semester pathway or the Residential semester option. Since the Flexible option does not require relocation, it does not apply to you.

Before your departure, you should contact your health insurance provider to find out whether your coverage is valid or not.

For the Mandatory semester and the Residential semester, no. The relocation period is limited to one semester and cannot be extended. The Flexible option is different by design: it lets you spread your ETH Zurich credits over more than one semester after your first semester at EPFL, without relocating.

A key requirement of the Cyber Security Master’s program at EPFL is the completion of at least 30 ECTS out of the 72 ECTS (Group 1 + Group 2) in “Depth” security courses, which may be taken at either EPFL or ETH Zurich. This requirement reflects the program’s strong focus on core cyber security principles and ensures that students benefit from the combined expertise of both institutions.

Depth courses may count towards either Group 1 or Group 2 and must be selected from those marked as “Depth” in the EPFL Cyber Security study plan or in the ETH Zurich Cyber Security course list (Note: all courses in Group 2 from the ETH Zurich Cyber Security course list count toward the depth requirement).

Courses taken at ETH Zurich must be selected from the approved “ETH Zurich Cyber Security course list”. You may also select eligible Master’s-level courses offered by the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich. These count as optional courses in Group 2 of the EPFL study plan

Master’s-level courses at ETH Zurich are generally stable, but a given course is not guaranteed to run every year. The final Cyber Security course list is usually published by the end of November (for the following Spring semester) and by the beginning of June (for the following Autumn semester). Always check the ETH Zurich course catalogue.

This depends on your pathway:

• Mandatory semester (started before Autumn 2026): No, the semester must be fully dedicated to courses offered in Zürich.
• Residential semester (started Autumn 2026+): Yes, you may take courses at EPFL but you must register for at least 20 ECTS and relocate to ETH Zurich for one semester.
• Flexible option: Yes, you may take courses at EPFL and ETH Zurich.

For the Residential semester and the Flexible option, you are responsible for ensuring your course selection is compatible between the two institutions, including attending examinations, midterms, labs, exercise sessions, presentations, or other mandatory activities in person where required. You should not request special arrangements from teachers at either institution. Travel to ETH Zurich or EPFL for single-day visits may still be required.

Students are encouraged to create a personal study plan at the start of the Master’s program to structure their studies and ensure all requirements are met (Depth requirement, ETH Zurich credits, SHS modules, the Research project, and Group 1/Group 2 courses at EPFL).

• Mandatory semester: complete the Cyber Security Learning Agreement once the relevant ETH Zurich course list is published, listing all courses you plan to take, and submit it to the IC Section before the semester begins.
• Residential semester or Flexible option: complete the ETH Zurich study plan form. You are responsible for keeping it up to date throughout your studies.

Yes, provided that you do not exceed the maximum of 35 ECTS credits at ETH Zurich. You must keep your ETHZ Study Plan form up to date and inform the IC Section of your selected course(s) before the start of the semester.

Yes, but before the start of the semester at ETH Zurich it must first be approved by the IC Section. Modifications can be made during the first two weeks of the semester; any changes require approval and must be communicated promptly to Jasmine Locatelli. Courses that have not been approved may not be recognized toward your degree.

No, you must register for courses yourself at the beginning of the semester via ETH Zurich’s “MyStudies” platform. Exam registration is separate and must be completed during the 3rd and 4th week of the semester: see Examination Information.

While taking courses at ETH Zurich, you are subject to ETH Zurich’s own academic regulations, procedures, and deadlines, and you are responsible for meeting them, including course and exam registration deadlines. Students with disabilities or chronic illnesses who need special study or examination arrangements must submit requests directly to ETH Zurich.

Yes, but the deadlines depend on the type of courses (semester performance, end-of-semester examination, session examination). Please refer to the specific Deregistration Deadlines, and update your Learning Agreement or ETH Zurich study plan accordingly and send it to Jasmine Locatelli for validation.

For the Mandatory semester and Residential semester (which each require a minimum of 20 ECTS within one semester), if you do not reach that minimum, you will be required to complete the missing ETH Zurich credits remotely during an additional semester while at EPFL.

Under the Flexible option, there is no fixed per-semester minimum, since credits are spread across several semesters.

If you are concerned about your overall progress toward the required 20–35 ECTS, contact the IC Section (Jasmine Locatelli) to review your study plan.

On this link (course catalogue ETH Zurich) you will find the “Science in Perspective” courses offered at ETH Zurich.

Search for Courses

• Semester: Select the desired semester
• Level: Master’s Degree Programme
• Department: Computer Science

Structure

• Program: Cyber Security Master
• Section: Science in Perspective

The search will display all available courses under this category. You may choose both “Type A” and “Type B” courses. Please note that language courses are not credited.

Yes, you can take either 3 or 6 ECTS of “Science in Perspective” courses, depending on how many SHS credits you still need to complete at EPFL.

Please refer to the dedicated ETH Zurich page, where you will find all the necessary information. If the research project is carried out at ETH Zurich, there is no registration in IS-Academia.

The duration of a research project carried out at ETH Zurich must be 14 weeks, the same as for a project carried out at EPFL. You should agree on the project dates with your ETH Zurich supervisor at the beginning of the semester.

No, the 12 ECTS mandatory research project must be related to the field of Cyber Security. 

No, if the 12 ECTS mandatory research project is carried out at ETH Zurich, it must be supervised by an ETH Zurich cyber security-authorized faculty member.

No, the ETH Zurich Cyber Security course catalogue only offers the mandatory 12 ECTS research project.

Yes, in addition to your time at ETH Zurich for coursework, you can also carry out your Master’s thesis there. The duration will be 26 weeks (including one week of vacation). Your Master’s project must be supervised by both an EPFL cyber security-authorized professor and an ETH Zurich-authorized professor. In such cases, students must have completed and validated either a short (8-week summer) or long (6-month semester) internship in industry beforehand.

No, the Master’s project must be related to the field of Cyber Security.