Frequently Asked Questions

If you interrupt your studies for one or more semesters to complete your military service (as supported by a copy of your marching orders), the maximum duration of the current cycle may be extended for the same period. During this semester(s), you will remain enrolled at EPFL. Your status is “on leave”, and will be indicated on your enrollment certificate for the semester(s) in question.

For more information, please see the following two pages:

• Interruption of studies during the Master’s program
• Military duty

If you decide not to enroll in a Master’s program consecutive to your Bachelor’s degree, you can interrupt your studies at EPFL for a year or more without giving a specific reason. Since you are no longer a Bachelor’s student and not yet a Master’s student, you cannot remain enrolled at EPFL. For special cases, please consult this link.

If you have not attended another study program in the meantime and wish to pursue a Master’s program consecutive to your Bachelor’s degree (Master’s program in the same field of study), simply contact [email protected] (no later than June 30 for enrollment for the autumn semester, or December 31 for the spring semester).

For more information, please see the following two pages:

• Interruption of studies between the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs
• End of studies and re-registration

Students with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Communication Systems may begin their studies in a consecutive Master’s program in the spring semester.  All other students will only be able to begin their studies in the autumn semester, after they have been formally admitted.

Current EPFL students are automatically enrolled in the Master’s program in their field of study and only need to confirm their registration on IS-Academia. They do not need to go through the application process to continue their studies in the same field. If their Bachelor’s degree is consecutive to more than one Master’s program, they can request to be enrolled in one of these programs at the beginning of their first semester at the Master’s level using the FRAC form.

Current EPFL students who wish to change their field of study or enter a specialized Master’s program must go through the full online application process. A minimum grade point average of 4.50 over the entire Bachelor’s program is required for admission. However, this criterion does not guarantee admission, as the quality of the application, the relevance of the completed Bachelor’s degree compared to the desired Master’s program, and the candidate’s motivation are also evaluated. Current EPFL students are exempt from providing referees’ contact information. For more information, please visit the following page: Master admission criteria & application

You can enroll in a IC Master’s program if you lack no more than 10 credits from the last year of the Bachelor’s program. These credits must be made up in the first year of the Master’s program.

• Minimum of 3 semesters of courses (with an average of 30 credits per semester), maximum of 6 semesters of courses to complete the master’s cycle;
• Mandatory internship in industry, of 8 weeks duration during the summer, or 6 months during a semester;
• A Master’s project of 18 weeks duration (including 1 week of vacation) if conducted at EPFL (or ETH Zurich for Cyber Security students), or 26 weeks (including 1 week of vacation) if conducted in industry or at another university (30 credits).

Yes, excess credits from Group 1 will count towards Group 2. Thus, the student may complete their Group 2 with courses from Group 1.

No.

Yes, you can take courses in Group 1 to obtain the minimum 30 ECTS credits required. However, if you choose courses from Group 2 – options, the credits will not count towards your Master’s degree (Group 2 – options is passed with a minimum of 42 ECTS credits) and the courses will be placed in “Courses outside the study plan”.

Yes, it is possible to fail more than one exam, either in Group 1 – core or Group 2 – options. Please note that grades below 4.0 are taken into account when calculating the average, except for subjects graded NA. For more information, see the following page: Requirements for passing the Master’s degree

If you fail an exam twice, you cannot repeat the subject again. You must earn the missing credits by successfully passing another subject, within the deadline of 6 semesters of courses maximum.

The failed subject must be taken in the academic year directly following the year of the first failure. After this period, the result of the first attempt becomes final. The result of the second attempt replaces the result of the first attempt, even if it is lower. It is not possible to keep the result of the first attempt after the second attempt.

For any absence from an exam, whether it is during the semester or during the exam session, you must provide a justification: a medical certificate, a death or birth certificate, or for elite athletes, a training certificate.

• For continuous exams graded during the semester: The teacher must be notified of the absence as soon as possible, and the justification must be submitted within three days at the latest. If possible, the teacher will offer a substitute exam before the end of the semester. If this is not possible, the missed exam will be graded “M” and must be retaken the following year. The teacher is not authorized to change the grade distribution in the course and disregard this exam from the final grade.
• For exams during the exam session: The absence must be announced as soon as possible to the teacher and the justification submitted to [email protected] (with a copy to the teacher) within three days at the latest. The missed exam will be graded “M” and must be retaken the following year. There is no substitute exam session.
• N.B.: In both cases, it is possible to retake only the exam marked “M”. This means that the student who received an excellent score on the other course evaluations or on the final exam may retake the entire course or only the exam where the absence was justified. Note that if the grading of the course has changed, you may be required to take all the tests rather than only the one you have missed.  

You will find more information on the following page: Withdrawing from subjects and tests and missing tests

No, you cannot replace or remove a course for the calculation of the GPA. If you do not want a subject to appear on your transcript, you must ensure that you withdraw from the exam/course (with the exception of courses marked “no withdrawal”) via the IS-Academia portal before the withdrawal deadline. For more information, see the following page: Withdrawing from subjects and tests and missing tests

No, you cannot choose the subjects. In addition, insufficient subjects will be taken into account when calculating the average, even if no credits are earned (e.g., within a group or a block completed by accumulating credits). However, subjects graded R, E, D, or NA are not considered in calculating the average. For more information, see the following page: Transcripts of records and grade sheets

Computer Science and Communication System students can choose either a specialization or a minor. Data Science students cannot enroll in a specialization. Cyber Security students cannot enroll in either a specialization or a minor.

A minor is equivalent to 30 credits that must be earned during the duration of the Master’s program and are taken in courses offered by another section. The 30 credits count toward the 120 credits of the Master’s degree in accordance with section regulations, and replace 30 credits in Group 2. The minor will be mentioned in the Diploma Supplement.

No.

No, every course counts only once and in one place.

Registration deadline on IS-Academia: end of the 1st semester of Master’s studies.

No, it is not possible to drop one or more courses for calculating the general average of the minor.

If you do not want a subject to appear on your transcript, you must ensure that you withdraw from the exam/course (with the exception of courses marked “no withdrawal”) via the IS-Academia portal before the withdrawal deadline. For more information, see the following page: Withdrawing from subjects and tests and missing tests

You cannot move subjects (passed or failed) from your minor to “Courses outside the study plan”. Once you have registered, a course remains in the group to which it belongs. For more information, see Art. 5.D of the « Ordonnance sur le contrôle des études menant au Bachelor et au Master à l’EPFL » (only in German, French or Italian): https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2015/476/fr

Yes, under the following conditions: you must not have more than 8 missing credits in your Master’s cycle, you must have completed the semester project, and you must not have reached the end of the Master’s cycle. This means that you must complete your Master project in the Lausanne region.