EPFL Bachelor/Masters Degree
Deadline: 15-30 April (annual)
Study in: Switzerland
The next course starts September 2023
Brief description:
EPFL offers a limited number of fellowships at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level to students with outstanding academic records. Some of the fellowships are financed by EPFL directly and others through partnerships with foundations or companies.
Host Institution(s):
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland
Field of study:
Eligible Master’s Programme offered at University
Number of Awards:
Limited
Target group:
All students including international students
Scholarship value/inclusions/duration:
The fellowship includes CHF 10’000 per semester and a reservation of a student room in a student residence.
For Bachelor’s studies, the fellowship is spread over three years while for Master’s studies, the fellowship will be paid for 4 semesters (students must have obtained at least 50 ECTS credits and have an overall average of 5,0/6 for the fellowship to be renewed.)
Eligibility:
EPFL grants a limited number of fellowships to the most deserving candidates based on their academic records. They are intended for students who have achieved remarkable results throughout their pre-university curriculum, in both school and extracurricular activities.
Application instructions:
In order to be eligible for the Bachelor Excellence Fellowship, students in their final year of high school must check the corresponding box on their Bachelor’s application form before 30 April and provide the requested application file.
In order to be eligible for the Master Excellence Fellowship, candidates should apply via the same online form than their application to a master’s program by 15 April or 15 December (there is a box to tick indicating that the candidates profile should also be considered for an excellence fellowship).
It is important to read the EPFL Bachelors Fellowship Guidelines and EPFL Masters Fellowship Guidelines and visit the official website (link found below) to access the application form and for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.
Website:
Official Scholarship Website (Bachelor Excellence Fellowship): https://www.epfl.ch/education/bachelor/bachelor-excellence-fellowships/
General/academic questions: Student Desk (services.etudiants@epfl.ch).
Questions about excellence scholarships: e-fellowship@epfl.ch
Official Scholarship Website (Masters Excellence Fellowship): https://www.epfl.ch/education/master/master-excellence-fellowships/
General and academic queries: Student services desk student.services@epfl.ch
• Queries about the number and type of courses to choose (course content, approval of a specific study plan variation etc.): program deputies or program secretaries
• In case of inability to study (see section 4.6.): e-fellowship@epfl.ch
• General questions about the excellence fellowships program: e-fellowship@epfl.ch
Required documents
All documents should be in English, French, German, or Italian. Please join a legalized translation of all documents in another language.
- Your resumé (curriculum vitae).
- Copy of your University degree(s), if already available.
- Complete transcripts from each university you have attended.
- A statement of purpose. See below for a detailed explanation.
- The contact details of three academic referees, who will each be asked to produce a recommendation letter for you (except for holders of an EPFL Bachelor’s degree, and those who hold a Bachelor’s degree from ETH Zürich or a Swiss university or FHS/HES and are applying for a Master’s program in the same field of study). See below for a more detailed explanation.
- Your identity card or passport.
Extra documents, such as TOEFL or GRE scores, research publications, or other portfolios of your previous work, are welcome but not compulsory. We will only consider documents uploaded in your online application form (no documents sent by postal mail).
Additional requirement to apply for Architecture: a work portfolio is also required and must be uploaded to a dedicated web server. You will receive the access details for the server by email after you have complicated and paid for the online application. Candidates for Architecture must also have twelve months of professional experience. Please upload the work certificates in the online application form if already available.
All accepted candidates will be required to have certified academic documents sent before their matriculation at EPFL.
Recommendation letters
Holders of an EPFL Bachelor’s degree applying in another field of study do not need to supply any recommendation letters.
Candidates from ETH Zurich or from a Swiss university or FHS/HES applying for a Master’s program in the same field of study as their Bachelor’s degree do not need to supply the recommendation letters. This only applies when the whole 180 credits of the Bachelor’s program were acquired in the same field of study (e.g., no 30- or 60-credit minor in another field). Candidates from UNIL who are applying for the Master’s program in Sustainable Management and Technology are also exempted from providing such letters.
All other candidates are required to provide the contact details of three referees. The recommendation letters must be issued by professors who are aware of your work and achievements. These recommendations are confidential and will only be accepted if they are submitted by the referees themselves, through the electronic application process. The application will not be processed if EPFL does not receive at least two reference letters.
During the application process, you will be requested to give your referees’ contact details. Validating your electronic application will generate a personal e-mail to your referees, requesting them to fill in the recommendation form.
Make sure to leave enough time to your referees to fill in the recommendation letter, by validating your electronic application form early enough. You will be notified by email when each referee has provided his or her recommendation.
Be aware that the reference letters must be uploaded to the system. The deadline for receiving the letters is one week after the application deadline. The exact day is indicated in the confirmation e-mail you receive once your application is validated. The online application form will close on December 15 and respectively April 15.
Statement of purpose
The statement of purpose should not exceed 1000 words. You are required to describe your academic background and your career strategy. Please be precise about the objectives you wish to reach through your studies at EPFL.
For details and online application:
Online application ‒ Admission ‐ EPFL
Entry/Visa and Residence Permit
Within 14 days of entering Switzerland, EU/EFTA citizens must register with the local authority (Einwohnerkontrolle, Residents’ Registration Office) at the place of residence and apply for a residence permit.
You will need to present the following documents:
- Personal application for residence permit
- Valid passport or identity card
- Proof of registration at the university
- Evidence of sufficient funds (e.g. certificate or certified document of a bank authorised in Switzerland)
- Proof of address at place of residence
- 2 passport photographs
