A Brief Introduction
A research institute which specializes in physical sciences and engineering, The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is a University situated in Laussane, Switzerland. The University operates with three main missions: education, research and technology transfer at the highest international level.
It is largely regarded as one of the leading Universities in the world, especially in Sciences. In 2015-16 rankings, The QS World University Rankings ranked EPFL 14th in the world and Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked it the world’s 12th best Engineering school.
Campus
EPFL is located in the French speaking part of Switzerland, whereas its sister institution, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), is located in the German speaking part of Switzerland.
The campus is spread across an area of 136 acres; the campus consists of 65 buildings in total. Since the University has been growing ever since it separated from the University of Lausane in 1974, it includes several types of architectures.
Most of the buildings and structures of the EPFL are on its main campus itself. It does, however, have branches in Neuchâtel ("Microcity"), in Sion ("Pôle EPFL Valais"), in Geneva (Campus Biotech, including the Wyss Center for Bio- and Neuro-engineering) and in Fribourg ("Smart Living Lab").
Student Facilities
Facilities are available on the campus for the students and staff are as :
Libraries: the Learning Center
Restaurants: Le Copernic and La Table de Vallotton
Cafeterias: La Coupole, Le Corbusier, Le Parmentier, Le Vinci, BMX (Bâtiment des matériaux), BC (Bâtiment des communications), L'Arcadie, Le Hodler, Le Klee, L'Ornithorynque
Bar: Satellite
Travel agencies: Swiss Federal Railways and STA Travel
Banks: Credit Suisse and PostFinance
Radio: Fréquence Banane (student radio)
Conference centre: the Swiss Tech Convention Center
Museums: Musée Bolo and Archizoom
Student housing: Quartier Nord (Atrium) and Les Estudiantines.
Cost of living
The cost of living is very high in Switzerland. A typical budget is as follows:
| Monthly (CHF) | Yearly (CHF) |
Tuition (633.- CHF/semester) | 106.- | 1'266.- |
Supplies* | 100.- | 1'200.- |
Accommodation | 700.- | 8'400.- |
Food (20.- CHF/day) | 600.- | 7'200.- |
Clothes and personal items | 160.- | 2'000.- |
Health insurance** | 90.- | 1'080.- |
Transport (subscription) | 60.- | 720.- |
Other | 140.- | 1'700.- |
Total | ~ 1'950.- | ~ 23'500.- |
* For students in architecture the budget is higher due to the study visits. Additional annual budget has to be added of around 1500.- CHF during the first year, 800.- CHF during the next years.
** The amount for Swiss people and resident is higher, depending on the insurance broker, the canton and the insurance premium.
Meal: A full meal costs 8.50 CHF at a university restaurant. Budget for a minimum of 600.- CHF per month for food.
Supplies: The cost of school supplies varies greatly. Initially students will sometimes have to purchase equipment such as drawing materials, a calculator, a computer, etc. The course photocopies provided by EPFL will limit the costs, but it is necessary to account for a minimum of 1'200.- CHF per year in order to be able to study without relying too much on libraries or other people's equipment.
Leisure: Leisure represents a necessary part of the budget in order to maintain a personal balance and to extend your general culture. It costs around 30.- CHF to see a show and 16.- CHF to go to the cinema.
Scholarship
EPFL does not grant scholarships to start studying. You should therefore secure adequate funding (please look up the cost of studies).
If you are:
Please refer to the page of grants from the social commission of EPFL for more detailed information.
Foreign students wishing to continue their education at EPFL (postgraduate course or research project) can apply in their country for a scholarship from the Swiss Federal Commission for Scholarships for foreign students.
Noted Alumni
Sr. No. | NAME | NOTABILITY |
1. | Guy Berruyer | Chief executive of Sage Group |
2. | Aart de Geus | Chairman, founder and CEO of Synopsys |
3. | George de Mestral | Electrical engineer, inventor of Velcro |
4. | Eric Favre | Inventor of Nespresso, the first single-serve coffee container |
5. | André Gorz | Austrian-French philosopher and economist |
6. | Daniel Borel | Co-founder of Logitech |
7. | André Kudelski | CEO of Kudelski |
8. | Jean-Daniel Nicoud | Swiss computer scientist |
9. | Stefan Kudelski | Industrialist, inventor of the Nagra |
10. | Luc Recordon | Swiss politician |
Advising & Counseling
http://carriere.epfl.ch/page-19351-en.html
Contact Address
Route Cantonale, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Phone: +41 21 693 11 11
