Master Thesis

For detailed information, please refer to the official website of the Registrar’s Office.

Students may choose one of the following three options for their Master’s thesis:

  1. Master thesis (PDM)at the Institute of Materials (IMX) or another EPFL Institute
    • Duration: 18 weeks (including 1 week of vacation)
    • The thesis may be carried out in a laboratory of IMX or in a laboratory of another institute at EPFL.
    • Some laboratories list available Master’s thesis projects on their websites.
    • Supervision Requirements:
      • The EPFL supervisor must be a Professor or MER from SMX.
      • If the project is carried out in a laboratory of another EPFL institute, co-supervision by an SMX professor or MER is mandatory.
  2. Master thesis (PDM) at an external university or academic institute 
    • Duration: 18 to 26 weeks (including 1 week of vacation).
    • Before accepting an offer, students must secure an SMX supervisor (professor or MER).
  3. Master thesis in industry with engineering internship (PdMe)
    • Duration: 26 weeks (including 1 week of vacation).
    • Before accepting an industrial offer, students must secure an SMX supervisor (professor or MER) who agrees to oversee the project in accordance with the applicable guidelines.
    • The PdMe may also be undertaken if the engineering internship has already been completed.

Enrollment procedure

  • Register your Master’s project on IS-Academia as soon as registrations open, using the course registration module.
  • Submit the signed registration form (PDF format) to smx@epfl.ch.

Registration & Dates

  • Spring semester: Master’s projects may start between January 1 and May 31.
  • Fall semester: Master’s projects may start between June 1 and December 31.
  • Start date: Projects must begin on a Monday.
  • Graduation timeline: To be eligible for the current year’s graduation ceremony(Magistrale, held in early October), the Registrar’s Office must receive the final grade by the end of September.

Report Submission

  • Send the electronic version of your master’s project in PDF format by e-mail (or via a transfer service if the file is too large) to the section as well as to your supervisor and expert, on the date indicated in IS-A (Friday), no later than 12:00 PM (local Swiss time).
  • For non-confidential master’s projects, the report must also be uploaded to IS-A on the day of submission, before noon. Please ensure that the PDF file does not exceed 20 MB.
  • The project title may be modified in IS-A until the day of report submission. The title will be appear on the student’s diploma supplement.
  • The oral examination usually takes place two to four weeks after report submission. The exact date is agreed upon by the student, the EPFL supervisor, and the expert, and is entered in IS-A by the EPFL supervisor.