To be eligible for a Master’s program in Computer Science, candidates must either:
- hold a Bachelor’s degree in computer science, or
- hold a Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as communication systems, electrical engineering, mathematics, mechanical engineering or physics, with excellent results: additional admission requirements (Bachelor’s courses) might apply, or
- hold a HES Bachelor’s degree in computer science (from a Swiss University of Applied Sciences) with a grade point average of at least 5.0: 60 credits of the HES Gateway must be acquired before the admission to the Master’s program in Computer Science is effective.
EPFL bachelor’s students who wish to change their field of study for their master’s degree must complete the full online application process. A minimum grade point average of 4.50 over the entire bachelor’s program is required for admission. The quality of the application, the relevance of the completed bachelor’s program in comparison to the desired master’s program, and the candidate’s motivation are also evaluated. Successful completion of additional ECTS credits (up to 60) may be required for admission to the desired Master’s program. These additional credits must be acquired in the first year in addition to the 120 credits of the Master’s program.
Admission requirements must be met in the first year of the master’s program if the student has 30 credits or less. Priority should be given to these courses.
If the student has more than 30 credits to complete, these courses must be acquired before admission to the master’s program. Thus, the student must complete at least one additional semester to acquire these credits. This semester does not count toward the maximum of 6 semesters for completion of the master’s cycle. If the student has acquired at least half of the required credits in the first semester, she/he may be admitted to the master’s program and must acquire the remaining credits in the second semester (always giving priority to the admission requirements).
Master ConditionsAdmission ChangSection IN DS SC Cyber [PDF].
Additional information
Admission principles
Admission decisions are based on the curriculum of the Bachelor’s program, your grades, the statement of purpose, the reference letters, the academic reputation of your school and other elements.
GPA
Excellent Bachelor-level grades are expected.
Language requirements / GRE
The program is taught entirely in English. Therefore, excellent English skills (B2 level minimum, corresponding to one of the following certificates) are required to follow the Master’s program in Computer Science:
- TOEIC with 785-940 pts
- TOEFL (iBT, MyBest score) with 72-94 pts
- IELTS with 5.5-6.5 pts
- FCE First certificate in English
To apply, your GRE test results are not required, but they are highly recommended.
Financial support
Financial support is available primarily through the Research Scholars MSc program, which provides financial support from the first days of studies and is open to all students. It gives a student an opportunity to work on research projects in one of the laboratories of our school. Additionally, EPFL awards a small number of MSc excellence fellowships that provide financial support. Students can also arrange research assistantships paid by the hour in direct communication with the professor of the hosting laboratory; these are part-time during the semester and up to full time during the holidays. Hourly research may commence from the start of studies for Swiss and EU students or after an initial six-month period for all remaining students.