Study abroad

EPFL students can spend their third year of the Bachelor’s program abroad, and can also complete their Master’s project at a partner institution. The administrative steps for a third-year exchange take place during the second year, and the SMX mobility coordinator, Dr. Cyril Cayron, organizes an information session to guide you through them. For more information, visit the exchange website.

3rd year Bachelor exchange

Conditions to submit an application

  • Grade average: You need a minimum average of 4.5 at the propedeutic year (the required minimum is 5.0 for École Polytechnique (Paris), École Normale Supérieure (Paris), and École Normale Supérieure de Lyon).
  • Students must have completed their first two years of studies at EPFL.

Procedure

  • Choose your destination and contact the mobility coordinator.
  • Check the application deadlines here.
  • Reports from former students: Read the reports of students who went to your first- and second-choice universities.
  • Study plan: Prepare your list of courses, making sure it takes the mandatory SMX courses into account. Contact Dr. Cyril Cayron if you need help.
  • Submitting your study plan:
    • Send it as an Excel table to Cyril Cayron and schedule a meeting to discuss it.
    • If the host university does not offer official semester projects, you can ask a professor there to supervise an unpaid research project worth the required credits (1 credit = 14 lab hours). Once the project is completed, the supervising professor must send a letter (in French or English) to Cyril Cayron stating your name, the project title, and whether the project was completed satisfactorily. You must also submit a final electronic report, which is not graded.
  • Limited places: If places are limited, candidates are selected based on their application.
  • During the exchange: Stay in touch with the mobility coordinator by email and report any changes to your study plan.
  • Missing credits: You may be conditionally admitted to the Master’s program if no more than 10 credits are missing at the end of the exchange year.

Master thesis at a university abroad

Conditions