FAQ Master

Both cycles of the Master program must be completed within a fixed maximum duration:

• Master cycle: max. 6 semesters (+ 1  internship semester if registered as FRAC stage)
• Master project: max. 2 semesters

Additional details can be found here.

The deadline for course registration is on Friday, two weeks after the start of the semester. 

Yes within Group 2, you can take up to 10 credits of courses not listed in the Life Sciences Engineering study plan. Please contact the section for courses validation.

You can find all the necessary details on the requirements for passing the Master degree’s page.

Group 2 is passed when 44 credits are obtained. The 44 credits can include the 30 credits for a Minor or a Specialization (both optional).

Courses from Group 1 and Group 5 (except MTE courses) may be counted in Group 2 if they are not validated in Group 1 or 5.

Yes you can, knowing that you can validate a course only once (either in Group 1 or in Group 2). Please contact the section if you’d like to move Group 1 courses to Group 2.

Note: If you reached 12 credits in Group 1, extra credits acquired won’t be transferred into another Group.

In order to validate Group 6, you have to register for it in MA1 or MA3.

The introduction to the project (3 credits) takes place during the autumn semester and the project (3 credits) takes place during the spring semester. 

Only a limited number of students will be selected (max. 12), based on their application file. The selection usually takes place in February.

Timeline:

• Project design: during the spring semester (BA4, BA6, MA2)
• Project execution: during the summer
• Competition: end of October (BA5, MA1, MA3)

Bachelor in Life Sciences Engineering:

• BIOENG-390 – Bachelor project in Life sciences (5 credits); registration in BA6

Master Life Sciences Engineering (Group 2):

• BIO-510 – iGEM (12 credits); registration in MA3
• BIO-511 – iGEM Lab (7 credits)

Students who took iGEM as a Bachelor project (BIOENG-390) may validate additional 7 credits (BIO-511) in the Master; registration in MA1, MA2 or MA3.

Lab immersion projects are available in SV laboratories or other EPFL Schools (with the agreement of the section). You cannot do a Lab immersion of 8 or 12 credits outside EPFL.

Duration

During the semester : 

• 8 credits projects: 16h/week during 14 weeks
• 12 credits projects: 24h/week during 14 weeks

During summer : 

• 8 credits projects: 42h/week (full-time) during 5 weeks
• 12 credits projects: 42h/week (full-time) during 8 weeks

Total workload = 240h (8 credits) or 360h (12 credits)

Registration

When you register on IS-Academia, please download the pdf form, ask your supervisor to sign it and send it on the LSE support platform.

It can be either in academia or in industry. 

Download, complete and then submit the relevant form on the LSE support platform. 

Additional considerations:

• External Master students cannot validate more than 30 credits outside EPFL. This implies that external Master students can do either 22 credits Lab immersion outside EPFL or a 30 credits Master project outside EPFL but not both
• It is possible to validate a maximum of 38 credits in industry (including the industry internship)

No more than 30 credits can be taken for Lab immersions (including a minor project).

For students who take iGEM lab or iGEM no more than 24 credits can be taken from Lab immersion.

A Lab immersion 22 credits in industry cannot be combined with a PDM in the same company, as students are limited to 38 credits in industry, with 8 credits already allocated to the industry internship.

However, a Lab immersion 22 credits in academia may be combined with a PDM in the same institution (except for external Master’s students).

There is no geographical limitation for the internship provided it is done in a company.

A company eligible for an internship includes any organization, even non-profits, that isn’t involved in higher education.

In institutions like University Hospitals, internships are only allowed in service areas like central laboratory, imaging, nuclear medicine, pharmacy, etc. Fundamental research labs within the clinical setting are not acceptable, except if clearly linked to an industrial application.

After the validation of your internship (see procedure), registration has to be done through the IS-Academia internship portal. If you have found the internship by your own means, add it to the portal.

Important: do not to register for the BIOENG-596 

Unless required by the company, the SV section doesn’t require you to write a report for your internship. 

However a written evaluation from your internship supervisor, as well as your evaluation of the internship is mandatory for the validation of the internship by the SV internship coordinator. An email will be automatically sent two weeks before the end of the internship to your supervisor and to yourself.

The Swiss authorities (service de l’emploi) expect an internship to be paid about CHF 2’000/month in Switzerland. This will be a requirement to deliver the working authorization for students coming from countries located out of the European Union.

No, it is your responsibility to check if you have appropriate insurances covering illness, accidents and personal liability.

Usually a two-way contract will be signed between the student and the company but EPFL also requires an internship agreement to be signed by the company, the student and EPFL (represented by the SV internship coordinator). This agreement covers all the issues related to an internship position, and in most cases is accepted by the companies.

If a company is not willing to sign this document and proposes another agreement, please contact the SV internship coordinator through the LSE support platform.

To have an internship validated retroactively, the following conditions must be met:

1. The internship was completed no more than 2 years before starting the EPFL Master program
2. It wasn’t already validated for a previous university degree
3. The internship contract must be provided
4. The internship meets EPFL’s standard criteria for industry internships
5. Your supervisor can still evaluate your internship, even if he/she changed jobs

Please send your request on the LSE support platform.

You can combine your industry internship with your Master project (PDM) in the same company, under certain conditions: 

1. The internship should focus on industrial objectives, while the PDM should deepen your knowledge in life sciences and show your ability to do independent research or advanced development work.
2. The internship must be completed before the PDM, and you need to have finished all other Master’s cycle groups/blocks (except the “Industry internship” group).
3. You can do either the PDM or a lab immersion in industry (22 credits), but not both.
4. The validation process of the industry internship combined to the PDM has to be done independently:
   1. Industry internship: The usual rules and process apply, check above for detailed procedures.
   2. PDM: Duration is 17 weeks (plus 1 week holiday) or 25 weeks (plus 1 week holiday). You need an EPFL supervisor to approve the PDM topic and submit a registration form on the LSE support platform. An agreement for the PDM is optional, under the supervisor’s responsibility. Please refer to the Master project page for details and documents

Yes a Lab immersion 22 credits in industry can be combined with an industry internship 8 credits. You can either start with the industry internship or with the Lab immersion provided you follow the specific procedure and duration of each independently:

• Lab immersion 22 credits: follow the registration procedure mentioned on our website under “Lab immersion outside EPFL”. The duration is of 14 weeks full-time.
• Industry internship 8 credits: follow the registration procedure mentioned on our website. The duration has to be minimum 8 weeks, maximum 6 months.

Important: if you do a Lab immersion in industry (22 credits), your PDM will have to be done in Academia.

Validation of a Specialization is optional and requires at least 30 credits under the same label (B, J, K, L) from Group 1 and 2. Be aware that a course can only be validated once, either in Group 1 or in Group 2.

With agreement of the SV section, only one 8 credits Lab immersion can be validated within a Specialization.

Validation of a Minor is optional and requires at least 30 credits from the corresponding Minor study plan (bottom of the page). 

No more than 32 credits can be validated for a Minor.

Read the webpage of the chosen Minor and follow their instructions.

If you cannot find a study plan in the Minor study plan page (bottom), you should contact the person responsible for the chosen Minor. 

No, you can only do one Specialization or one Minor.

You have until the beginning of the second semester to register for a Specialization or a Minor (FRAC renewal). Also, you have to indicate which one you choose when you register on IS-Academia.

If you stop your Minor before completing it, the section will determine which validated credits can be transferred to Group 2.