Master’s Project (PDM)

Procedure:

1. Find a Master’s Project (PDM) and a supervisor

You must find a teacher willing to supervise you before accepting the company’s offer. It’s up to you to find your own supervisor.

• The topic must be defined together with your academic supervisor.
• Please observe the following guidelines: Faculty STI – Master’s Project in Industry.
• Please consult the following pages:
  • EPFL website on PDM in industry
  • EPFL website on PDM in universities
• To find inspiration for your PDM topic, please check the websites of IGM/SGM¹ labs and take a look at past projects here.

2. Supervision:

The PDM must be supervised by a professor affiliated to the Mechanical Engineering Institute (IGM), who will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the PDM.

• In-house lecturers may also supervise the PDM, with prior approval from the Section Director.
• If the PDM is to be carried out in a company, in a lab affiliated to another section, or at another university, you must have an IGM co-supervisor.

3. Before registering

All the administrative details of your PDM (dates, subject, conditions…) must be settled between the employer and the professor supervising your work before finalizing the registration.

• Every party involved (student and supervisor) must accept the section’s evaluation criteria.
• In the case of a PDM in industry (PDMe):
  • you will probably be offered a contract stating that it is a private contract binding you to the company and the professor: this is independent from the section, and no agreement will be signed by the section.
  • Please note that no NDA will ever be signed by EPFL teachers.
  • An optional Master’s project agreement (link – restricted access to professors) can be signed upon request by the supervising professor or the partner company (optional). Not to be signed by the section.
  • The academic supervisor, in collaboration with the company, must complete the PDMe contribution agreement (link – restricted access to professors) defining the PDM framework, which must be sent to the section.

4. PDM Registration on IS-Academia

Registration dates:

• As soon as FRAC/registration opens, until the second Friday of the semester.
• Late registration: after this deadline, a fee of CHF 50.00 will be charged (at the student counter).

How to register your PDM:

• Go to IS-Academia –> “Master’s Project” tab
  • Enter all PDM details and name of supervisor
  • FRAC: update according to this table
• E-mail the registration form, signed by your IGM supervisor, to the section:
  • After saving the project in the main Projects tab, you’ll see a PDF button at the top of the page. Clicking on this button generates the form for signature.

Project title:

If the project title is missing, please enter “To be defined”.

• PDM title change: Report any title change by the day of the defense at the latest.

Attention!

• Dates and PDM supervisor cannot be changed once the PDM has started.

5. Dates

All PDMs can start:

• Spring semester: between January 1 and May 31
• Autumn semester: between June 1 and December 31
• In all cases, they must start on a Monday.

Attention!

• Under no circumstances may a PDM begin before the Master’s degree (or conditional pass) has been validated (see below: conditions)!

6. Duration

Whichever the duration, the Master’s project (PDM) is worth 30 ECTS credits.

• At an EPFL lab:
  • 17 weeks (+1 week vacation)
• In industry or host university:
  • 25 weeks (+1 week vacation)

7. Conditions

• Completion of 90 ECTS in the Master’s program.
  • Enrollment in the PDM can be conditional from 82 ECTS, with the missing 8 credits to be made up before the end of the Master’s curriculum.
• Completion of the mandatory engineering internship (except in cases of PDM in Industry)
• Under no circumstances may the PDM begin before successful completion of the Master’s program (or conditional admission to the Master’s project) has been verified after the examination session
  • Autumn Semester: first Monday of the spring semester for the winter exam session
  • Spring Semester: last Monday of July for the summer exam session.
• Once you have passed the 90 ECTS (or 82 ECTS conditional), you have one year to complete the PDM.
  • –> The PDM must be completed within two semesters of completing the Master’s cycle.
• If you are doing an internship and take a leave of absence, the deadline is suspended during the internship.

Details

• The format and language of the PDM (report, poster and defense) are to be decided with the PDM supervisor.
• If you do your PDM abroad: please keep in mind visa delays when planning for the start of your PDM!

8. In the event of failure

If the first attempt at the PDM is unsuccessful, a significantly different subject must be chosen for the second attempt (although a change of supervisor is not mandatory).

• A second attempt is granted only if the time required to pass the PDM allows it.
• The second attempt must take place at an EPFL lab
• The PDM must be passed within two semesters of successful completion of the Master cycle (or conditional admission to the PDM, where applicable).

9. PDM Submission

To validate your PDM, you must submit:

• Your PDM report (Master’s Thesis)
• The PDM poster
• An oral defense

Report:

• The report must be handed in by the PDM end date, Friday at noon.
• Versions to be handed in (mandatory):
  • Upload a PDF of the report into IS-Academia
  • Send a PDF copy to the section, copying your supervisor and the expert to the e-mail (if the attachment is too large to send by e-mail, feel free to use a service such as Swisstransfer.com).
  • Confidential reports cannot be uploaded to IS-Academia (see “Confidentiality and anti-plagiarism control” below).
• Attention
  • The student cannot continue working as a student once the report has been submitted.

Poster:

• The poster is due no later than the date of the oral defense.
• A PDF copy must be e-mailed to the section, copying to your supervisor and the expert to the e-mail.
• The poster is mandatory, even if the subject is confidential.
  • If it is not confidential, it will be displayed in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) building at the end of September.
  • Confidential posters will not be published.
  • To help you design your poster, you can read our instructions and take a look at previous work displayed in the ME building (hall on the 2nd floor, 1st floor hallways).

PDM Defense

• The PDM defense takes place at the latest between two and four weeks after the report submission date (as agreed with your supervisor).
• Magistrale subtlety: if you wish to be included in the Masters’ graduation ceremony on October 4, 2025, the grade must be entered into IS-Academia by your supervisor no later than September 19, 2025: your defense must take place as soon as possible after submission.

10. Confidentiality and anti-plagiarism control

Confidentiality:

• After discussion with your company, but as early as possible in the process, you can decide that your PDM report and Poster are confidential.
• After the registration deadline, confidentiality can only be changed by the SAC.
• If the PDM is confidential, neither the report nor the poster will be published or posted, but must be sent to the section.

Procedure:

• When registering your PDM, tick the confidentiality box in IS-Academia, which will then be validated by your supervisor.
• The confidential report must not be uploaded to IS-Academia.

Anti-plagiarism check

• Once the report has been uploaded to IS-Academia, it will automatically be sent to the school’s anti-plagiarism software.

12. Regulations and legal texts

Further information and links to legal texts are available here.