History
From its foundation in 1853, EPFL has evolved into an internationally renowned institution that attracts some of the best intellects in the world. With state-of-the-art facilities, bright and motivated students, and outstanding faculty, EPFL’s reputation as a top-rate teaching and research institution continues to grow.
Education
We offer students and faculty an innovation-oriented environment equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in a cosmopolitan setting. And because we believe in learning by doing, our degree programs place a heavy emphasis on lab sessions and hands-on workshops with direct research applications. EPFL, The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, gives access to most fields of Basic Sciences, Engineering and Architecture. At Master’s level, 25 programs are offered. The are designed to be flexible and give students the opportunity to customize their curricula according to their aspirations.
Research
EPFL is home to over 350 laboratories and research groups, each working at the forefront of science and technology. We have a goal to better understand our world and we aim to improve it. Across its several campuses, EPFL has a diverse, committed and stimulating research community that is active over a wide spectrum of quantitative and design-focused disciplines. To foster trans-disciplinary research we launch strategic initiatives such as the Blue Brain Project, the Swiss Plasma Centre or the Venice Time Machine.
University Ranking
Student services
The "student services" counter is the central point of contact for processing your requests
You are a student or PhD student at EPFL, newly arrived, freshly graduated and you have a problem, a question, a doubt? The student services desk provides the following services:
- Reception and support of student and doctoral student requests by email, phone or in person.
- Immediate response or redirection to the appropriate department, depending on the type of request.
- Depending on the problem, make an appointment for you, with one of the student services staff.
Housing services
Our team informs you on different housing options in the Lausanne area. Some housings are strictly reserved to EPFL community: you must know your status before beggining your housing hunt. You’ll find it on your admission letter, invitation letter or on your work contract. Please note that the majority of apartments / studios in the UNIL-EPFL database are managed by real estate agencies and not by the contact person who published the advertisement. This is the current tenant who has to hand over his lease and who is in charge of making the visits of the apartment and provide the agency with a few files of solvent applicants. So you will always be confronted with the constraints imposed by real estate agencies.
Library services
Located at the Rolex Learning Center, the EPFL Library offers advanced tailored services to EPFL members (students, researchers, professors). As a public library, collections are available for everyone interested.
Campus life
The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is a lively place to live, living up to the rhythm of its events and the activities of its associations. Its buildings with striking architecture house libraries, shops, restaurants and exhibitions.
Throughout their stay, students and staff can also count on numerous resources to support them logistically and administratively.
125 nationalities on campus and more than 50% of professors from abroad make the School one of the most cosmopolitan university sites in the world.
Sports facilities
The keystone of the Sport and Health Center (CSS) of the University Sports Center Dorigny (CSUD) is transversality. Its architecture and organization are part of a permanent search for balance, a harmony that is based both on human qualities and an efficient multidisciplinary approach. This dual vocation allows it to address both athletes looking for a performance that the entire university community, as well as a wide audience anxious to develop a healthy and regular physical practice.
Student clubs
Thanks to more than seventy student associations active on EPFL campus, our community enjoys a dynamic place of studies, where diversity invites itself through various events.Aware of the workload resulting from managing a student association, Educational Affairs provides our students with the tools and resources they need to thrive associative life and make it become compatible with their studies.
The Quality Office manages the Quality Assurance System of EPFL in the fields of Education, Research and School Governance and improves it through internal and external reviews on a regular basis. Its goal is to provide a continuous enhancement of quality aiming at a culture of excellence within the whole institution for the accomplishment of its missions.