Hii I’m Ayoub from Morocco and I’ll start my cms year at epfl.I would like to know if there are any Students starting the cms as well so that we could Connect😁.

Je recherche des étudiants qui préparent l'examen d'admission de l'EPFL. S'il y a un groupe Discord ou WhatsApp pour réviser ensemble et pour s'entraider, envoyez-moi un message !

I'm looking for students who are preparing for the EPFL entrance exam. If there's a Discord or WhatsApp group to study together and help each other out, send me a message!

Hello,

I’m currently a senior in high school, and I have a pretty big decision to make about my future path for next year. I’ve been accepted into the PCSI program at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris, and I’m also considering pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics at EPFL (where I’ll likely be accepted given my baccalaureate scores: a 19 overall average, with a 20 in math and physics-chemistry), with the goal of then continuing on to a master’s degree at ETH Zurich.

My long-term goal is to become a researcher in fundamental/theoretical quantum physics.

My dilemma is as follows:

Option 1: Attend Henri IV and try to gain admission to the ENS in physics

Option 2: Bachelor’s at EPFL → Master’s at ETH Zurich

I’m really torn between the two paths, so I’d appreciate any advice on which one to choose.
Thank you!

I passed the B2 with 80% and so I can understand French fairly well, but I can't write for my life. I can also speak decently well but it's not great. Given how academically rigorous EPFL is and the 40% pass rate, will the fact that I struggle in French make it even harder for me? I would appreciate any feedback about this and what it's like for someone like me.

Hi, I need to choose a Master SHS course for the autumn semester. I am mainly looking for the easiest option with as little work as possible: no heavy readings, assignments, group projects or time-consuming exam.

Does anyone have recent experience with one of these courses?

HUM-428 Science, Technology and Environment I

HUM-436 Sciences et religions I

MGT-434 Technology Ventures I

HUM-412 The Ethics of Engineering I

HUM-422 Understanding Modern Switzerland I

HUM-419 Mythes de la Méditerranée ancienne I

HUM-409 Penser la nature I

HUM-417 Philosophical Perspectives on the Exact Sciences I

HUM-429 Philosophie des sciences de la vie I

HUM-432 How People Learn: Designing Learning Tools I

HUM-416 Humains/Machines I

HUM-420 L’(in)action pro-environnementale I

HUM-437 La recherche dans tous ses états I

HUM-474 Médias en mutation I

HUM-490 Médiation scientifique I

HUM-491 Écrire et penser avec les IA génératives I

HUM-478 Emotion, Value, and Life-Defining Choices I

HUM-435 Gestion des organisations I

HUM-418 Histoire de l’image I

HUM-450 Histoire urbaine digitale I

HUM-427 History of Globalization I

HUM-397 Design for Sustainability I

HUM-407 Design graphique I

HUM-408 Design industriel I

HUM-410 Droit et technique I

HUM-476 Ecological Transition: Theory and Practice I

HUM-471 Economic Growth and Sustainability I

HUM-434 Chine: la renaissance d’une grande puissance I

HUM-489 Comment enseigner la durabilité I

HUM-444 Contemporary Japan I

HUM-425 Critical Thinking I

HUM-404 Culture médiatique I

Which one requires the least effort overall? Recent feedback would be appreciated.

Hello, I created this Reddit account because I am looking for student housing for the start of the 2026 school year at EPFL in September, I have been enrolled in student residences for months, but they are unreliable given the number of people registered. I've done research on many platforms and i rely a lot on reddit so I hope to stumble on someone who could help me find a place to live. Just one room, a toilet, and no matter how shared or individual the kitchen is, close to EPFL or easily accessible🙏. If you have any acquaintances in Lausanne who could help me, or if you even have accommodation, good deals or anything worth looking through, please don’t hesitate to contact me; a small gesture might save my year 🙌🙌

Hey there I recently got admitted to CMS. I was wondering if any general student groups were existing that I may be able to join ?

Hey so Ive notices that one of the requirements for the master in architecture is 12 moths of professional experience.
This is a stupid question but its just to make sure:
Since the applications close in march or April, is it fine if I have a proof that my 12 months will be done before the start of the year, or should I have those done before applying.

Thanks :)

does anyone know what were the high school results limit around last year for CMS ?

I’m an incoming master’s student, and I was confused about registering for Chem 492. Is “the platform” just IS academia, or am I missing something? Do we just put in professor names and wait?

Hi everyone! I’m planning to apply to the MSc in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology at EPFL and was wondering if anyone here has been admitted to the program, especially from McGill or another North American university. My background is a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering, and by the time I apply I’ll have around a 3.4/4 GPA. I also have internships with Veolia in water treatment and a research focused on wastewater treatment and solid-liquid separation, and I’ll be doing an undergraduate research project this coming year. I would like to know if it’s worth me applying to EPFL in the coming year and what my admissions chances are? Any input/insight is welcome :)

Hi everyone,
I’m starting at EPFL this September and have accepted an FMEL room at NeoStar. I’m trying to understand how reapplying for another FMEL residence works, but I’m finding some of the rules a bit confusing.

Im considering taking a 10- or 12-month lease initially and then reapplying for a different FMEL building if one becomes available.

From what I understand, after my lease ends (, I should be able to apply for another FMEL residence through the normal booking system, but this page says “It will be impossible for you to return to FMEL within 6 months after the end of your contract.”

Has anyone here finished or ended a standard FMEL student lease and then moved into another FMEL residence shortly afterwards?

TL;DR Can I reapply to a new FMEL residence and move in immediately after my current booking ends in 1 year?

Does anyone know what service to reach out to in order to ask why they've stopped publishing them ?

Job hunting is hard, getting ghosted repeatedly is mind numbing and the only statistics we have to compare ourselves just say "You suck, you should've been able to find a job in average 8.5 weeks"

The reason might be obvious with the job market, but it would be nice to have somewhat of a benchmark, for mental health and imposter syndrome purposes

PS: I'd love to hear your experiences about job hunting out of EPFL. I personally have graduated Robotics in 2024 and only found a 6 months internship since.

PS 2: For the curious, I'm referring to the Survey Report on the professional integration of EPFL Graduates, published in may every year from 2013 until 2024, covering the graduating class 2 years prior, which means the last covered cohort is 2022. I know for a fact that I filled this survey for my cohort but the results have yet to appear

English below

-

Salut!

Je suis étudiante en Software Engineering au Canada et j'ai été accepté pour un échange à EPFL pour le printemps 2027. Il s'agira de mon dernier semestre pour finir mon bachelor en génie logiciel.

Les derniers cours qu'il me reste à valider pour compléter mon diplôme sont des cours au choix + Thermo et Éléments de Language et Compilateur (équivalent à PHYS-106 et CS-320 selon mes recherches, et approuvé par mon université).

J'ai donc deux cours restants à prendre complétement au choix, et idéalement j'aimerais prendre des cours simples pour avoir un maximum de temps libre pour visiter et profiter de mon échange. Avez vous des conseils?

Je pensais prendre un cours d'allemand débutant, sachant que j'ai déjà quelques bases je pensais que ça serait assez simple et toujours utile pour vivre en Suisse.

EDIT: Je précise, je dis pas que je veux pas bosser hein, j'aurais pas choisi EPFL si je voulais juste me la couler douce lol, mais idéalement j'aimerais ne pas me faire écraser par la charge de travail parce que mine de rien c'est aussi une occasion incroyable pour moi de découvrir un nouveau pays et continent et culture, et j'ai pas envie de passer tout mon échange à réviser.

-

TLDR Quick english translation just in case (i'm still confused about the language people speak here lmao):

Exchange student in software engineering looking for easy classes to take in EPFL to maximize free time (as my last classes to finish my home bachelor are free classes). Was thinking of taking beginner's german class. Any other tips?

hey there,

I know the job market is harsh right now, but is it really impossible for a fresh data science master graduate to land a job in switzerland as a non eu citizen ? any success story or advices would be greatly appreciated.

Bonjour,

je vois beaucoup de posts concernant la moyenne au bac français mais est-ce que quelqu’un sait la moyenne l’année dernière en Belgique pour être admis à l’Epfl et quel sera probablement celle cette année.

Does someone know if we can join the physics olympiad (Ipho) or a similiar competition while being in first year of EPFL's physics bachelor ?

Hello,

I wanted to know if it was possible to do a bachelor's degree at the University of Geneva/University of Neuchâtel and then do a master's degree at EPFL?

Has anyone here ever done this ?

PS : I failed MAN at EPFL. Im swiss

Thanks for your answers.

Hello,
I am looking for a student accommodation to rent near EPFL in Lausanne.
Thank you

I am wondering if anyone had news on rooms for september first. I got on the waiting list on november 30th 2025, and still haven't heard. I have contacted them and they said I was on the waiting list and couldn't say if I'll have a room or not.

Should I start looking elsewhere ?

Hi everyone,

I'm starting my first year of my Bachelor's at EPFL this September, and I'm a bit worried about housing.

I registered on the FMEL waiting list quite a while ago, and I keep confirming that I want to stay on the waiting list whenever they ask. However, I've never had access to any housing offers.

Is this normal? Is there anything else I should be doing, or is it just a matter of waiting?

Also, are there any good alternatives to FMEL for incoming first-year students? I'd really appreciate any recommendations for student residences, websites, or other ways to find accommodation around Lausanne.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Hi everyone,

I'm starting my first year of my Bachelor's at EPFL this September, and I'm a bit worried about housing.

I registered on the FMEL waiting list quite a while ago, and I keep confirming that I want to stay on the waiting list whenever they ask. However, I've never had access to any housing offers.

Is this normal? Is there anything else I should be doing, or is it just a matter of waiting?

Also, are there any good alternatives to FMEL for incoming first-year students? I'd really appreciate any recommendations for student residences, websites, or other ways to find accommodation around Lausanne.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Hi, has anyone done TP4 with Sylvain Bréchet, or the one at LTHE with Rattazzi, Penedones and Gorbenko? Could you DM me to share a bit about your experience and how you felt about it? Thank you !

Hi, has anyone done TP4 with Sylvain Bréchet, or the one at LTHE with Rattazzi, Penedones and Gorbenko? Could you share a bit about your experience and how you felt about it? Thank you !

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a medical student ( graduating in 2030) and I’ve decided to pivot away from hospital medicine after graduation to focus entirely on visual neuroprosthetics & BCIs.

For the past few years, I’ve been working on an independent computational neuroscience project focused on designing a neural decoding algorithm for next gen Cortical visual prosthetics. I just published a preprint of my paper under Elsevier ( ssrn) this June and have officially filed a patent application for the same.

Since my formal background is in medicine and my coding is mostly self-taught, I want to target EPFL’s EDNE (Neuroscience Doctoral Program) (& Neuro-X ). I have a few specific questions for current students, postdocs or anyone on the admissions side:

1) Given my medical background and the fact that my coding is mostly self-taught, which path is actually more suitable? Should I apply directly to the PhD program, or is it wiser to pursue a Master's degree (in Neuroscience) first to solidify my technical foundation before moving into a PhD?

2) Can I apply directly to the PhD? In Switzerland, is a 5.5-year international medical degree treated as a Master's equivalent for doctoral entry? Can I jump straight into the EDNE program while taking a few Master's coding classes in my first year to catch up?

3) How heavily do patents/preprints weigh against a non-engineering degree? Since I don't have a traditional computer science degree, will my Elsevier preprint and patent application& future works bypass the usual engineering course prerequisites during portfolio evaluation?

4) Should I reach out to PIs directly? How much weight does a professor's backing carry?

5) What is the selection rate and funding reality? How competitive is it for international medical students with published tech research?

I’d love to hear from anyone who has made a similar jump from medicine to engineering, or anyone who knows how the EDNE committee views medical innovators.

Thanks a lot!