Exchange Semester ETH Zurich

The semester at ETH Zurich is a mandatory part of the Master’s program.

Students enrolled at EPFL must start the Master’s program in Lausanne. During the program, one semester* must be spent at ETH Zurich:

  • Students have to take courses for 20 – 35 credits.
  • Students must complete a “Cyber Security Learning Agreement” for the semester at ETH Zurich.

*The duration of the semester cannot be extended.

Additional information

For the courses at ETH Zurich, the regulations of ETH Zurich apply.

  • The cyber security course list is published here
  • The course catalogue is published here

To reimburse their expenses, students receive a scholarship for their exchange semester in Zurich. The studies administration will send more information by email after students register for their exchange semester.

Students who plan to do their exchange in the spring semester can benefit from pre-booked housing in Zurich. After registering for the semester in Zurich, students will receive additional information directly from ETH Zurich by email. Students need to pay rent. 

For students who plan to attend ETH Zurich in the autumn semester, no pre-booked housing is available. We recommend the following links to search for housing in Zurich:

During the month of April, an email will be sent to students who may be able to go on exchange to collect registrations for the autumn semester at ETH Zurich. For the spring exchange semester, this email will be sent in October.

Frequently Asked Questions

General information

This form must be validated in order to remain enrolled in the Master’s program. Even if you are on an exchange at ETH Zurich, you must log in to your secure IS-Academia access and validate the form to confirm that you are continuing your studies and to verify your personal information. After you have validated this form, you must download and pay your semester invoice from the “Personal details” tab. For more information, please see the following page: Student CMS, Bachelor and Master

No, the exchange with the partner school will last only one semester.

The first semester must be spent at EPFL. After the first semester, the student is free to choose the period in which he·she wishes to go to Zurich for the exchange semester.

Students remain enrolled at EPFL and continue to pay EPFL tuition fees. Certain taxes or tuition fees can be claimed by the host institution. It is therefore highly recommended to inquire with the host university about their policy as soon as possible. For more information, please see the following page: Tuition fee and other fees

Optional courses

The semester at ETH Zurich must be dedicated to the courses offered in the list “ETHZ Cyber Security courses“. However, you have the possibility to select courses from the Faculty of Computer Science at ETH Zurich at Master’s level, which will be considered as optional courses and are credited in Group 2.

You have the possibility to select “other optional courses”, which are courses offered by the ETH Zurich Department of Computer Science. If these courses are not listed as “Depth requirement”, the credits will be counted as optional courses of Group 2.

Furthermore, it is not possible to take EPFL courses during your mandatory semester at ETHZ. This exchange semester must be dedicated to courses given in Zurich.

Before the start of the semester at ETH Zurich, the study plan must be approved by Jasmine Locatelli. The study plan can be modified during the first two weeks of the semester. Any changes require approval and must be communicated immediately to Jasmine Locatelli. Without approval, courses may not be accepted.

Access

Students receive their accesses in mid-June for the fall semester and in mid-December for the spring semester.

SHS modules

On this link (course catalogue ETH Zurich) you will find the “GESS courses” offered at ETHZ.

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

If you enter the search above, you will get links to all available courses. You can select “Type A” and “Type B” courses. Language courses are not counted.

Yes.

Research project

Please refer to the dedicated page where you will find all the necessary information: ETH Zürich

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

If the research project is carried out at ETH Zurich, there is no registration on IS-Academia.

No, the research project must be related to the field of Cyber security. 

No.

No, if the research project takes place at ETH Zurich, the supervision is done at ETH Zurich.

Contact

Administrative Specialist
Jasmine Locatelli

Office hours – INN 112
Morning: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10:00 > 12:00
Afternoon: Monday, Thursday: 14:00 > 16:00

Access map