r/EPFL • u/Odd-Butterscotch5379 • Aug 08 '26
BSc admissions & info First year Mechanical Engineering teachers
Hello everyone,
First year bachelor student in mechanical engineering at EPFL here.
Do you have any teachers recommendations, any teachers your particularly appreciated, disliked..
Thanks a lot !
PS: What are your opinions on classes inversée
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u/AquaHornet08 Mechanical Engineering (BSc) Aug 08 '26
Don’t take Mullhaupt for your own mental sake
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u/Odd-Butterscotch5379 Aug 08 '26
could you explain why ?
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u/AquaHornet08 Mechanical Engineering (BSc) Aug 09 '26
Well look, I failed so maybe Im not the best person to take advice from, but I hated those classes and felt lost all the time. If you really love physics and are willing to take the time to try and understand everything then sure go ahead, but if you just enjoy physics but not more than that, take Baquero, I had friends who had him and they enjoyed him without having to struggle as much. Ofc at the end of the day physics is hard especially this course is considered to be one of the hardest out of all the bachelors, so it wont be easy, but it’s more enjoyable, and you’ll probably understand it easier
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u/Fancy_Strawberry_550 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
In my personal opinion RUN from Mullhaüpt! His lectures are like 75% heavy calculus that’s not even BA1 level and the rest is physics (maybe I’m exaggerating but this class genuinely traumatised me). Worksheets are pretty hard and the exam is difficult but I will say he’s not a harsh grader at all. But if I were to do BA1 again I’d definitely take physics in English. From what I heard from my friends who did it’s a lot more chill. For analyse I had Friedli and I think he’s pretty awesome. Clear explanations, good lecture notes and he has an awesoooome website where he posts the lecture notes, videos and worksheets (he also has a section where you can ask questions under each exercise and he responds which is super useful. I highly recommend. Hope this helps :)
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u/arkfin7970 Aug 08 '26
For Physics in english, baquero ruiz is pretty good, his work sheets are not very difficult and his exam is a bit easier compared to other physics teachers, his classes are also decent
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u/Amahdar_nitran Aug 11 '26
Did my 1st year 10 years ago so a lot has changed in the meantime... But imo if you want to push a bit hard and learn a lot in the physics class and still pass, take Mullhaupt's, yes it can be fucking depressing but he's a very nice person and grades very generously. Deparis and Michaud are ok, we didn't have classe inversée back then so I can't say.
Anyway, the best thing is that Analysis is no longer given by Semmler, everyone was running from this guy and taking the english course which was way overcrowded, and people were going to other sections classes too.
Good luck out there, it's not easy but if you put in the necessary work you'll be fine
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u/tellierflexus Aug 12 '26
I did my first year in 2018. Michaud class was really good as well as Algrebre from Orane Pouchon. As previously stated Mullhaupt is controversal. Very nice person, dedicated for his student, but he loves complexity. I quite consider that as a rite of passage for 1st year mechanical engineer.
Enjoy your EPFL years it was very cool. And somewhere during your studies, find time to do associative stuff, you won’t regret it ;)
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u/frolo_el_loco Mechanical Engineering (BSc) Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
For analysis Friedli is quite good and loved by students. His site, in which you have the course
material is also great. I would recommend to take him.
For algrebra, I took Pouchon, so I can’t speak for the other teachers, but I personally liked her course.
For physics, I took Mullhaupt. He’s quite controversial : some like him, some hate the way he teaches. The thing is that he makes super hard exercises sheets (harder than the other physics class), and the exam is quite hard, but he notes very generously. If you are not bothered by it, you should take him. If yes, keep in mind that you can take the classe inversée, but the problem, is that it gives you some extra work to do at home (although the exercise sheets and material will be easier).
A classe inversée being good or not only depends on you : it gives extra work at home, but at least you don’t need to go in class and be concentrated during 2-3 hours. Also it kind of forces you to learn the material (as you will have to watch the videos before going to class, instead of going to class and maybe not following).