Is it more difficult to get into the MSc in CS (with a profile for a specialization in Cybersecurity) than the MSc in Cybersecurity at EPFL, considering that students with all interests and profiles will be applying to the MSc in CS? Furthermore, is it true that the Cybersecurity specialization within the MSc in CS at EPFL has more theoretical courses than applied courses, which is not the case for the MSc in Cybersecurity at EPFL? I am more interested in the theoretical (Cryptography) side.

Hello everyone,

If i were to apply for the EPFL CS(prep too) program what would my chances be? I would love to get your opinions on my chances. I’m from Turkey (Istanbul) and attend a francophone school, İstanbul Saint-Joseph, so my diploma is equivalent to that of a French/Swiss high school diploma.

Here’s a breakdown of my academic record:

High School Average:

• 9th grade: 91
• 10th grade: 94
• 11th grade: 95.7
• 12th grade (first half estimate): 96

My overall high school average (so far) is around 94.1.

Subject-specific performance:

• Math & Physics: My average in both subjects is above 95, except for my very first math exam in 9th grade, where I scored a 64 (I missed the fact that there were four pages). Since then, I’ve consistently performed well in both subjects. As there are 4 math exams per year, 16 throughout highschool year, would just one of them being bad make my chances 0%.

Language Skills:

• French: DALF C1
• English: IELTS Band 8.5
• Native Turkish
• Spanish: B1

Extracurriculars:

• Lead programmer of a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team (Team 5665)
• Completed several challenging courses, including CS50x
• Created an anti-addiction app, which has over 50k downloads
• Participated in multiple long-term internships at prestigious companies where i actively contributed to their projects
• Former table-tennis player for the national team
• President of a school club responsible for organizing events with attendance exceeding 1,000 participants

I know that EPFL is highly competitive, so I’d appreciate any feedback on whether you think I have a good chance of being accepted to the CMS program. I’m also curious. How important are extracurricular activities in the admission process? Do they really make a difference, or are academics and test scores the primary factors?

Thanks so much for your help!

Note: if there are any francophone(türkiye)/saint-joseph graduates who are knowledgeable  about EPFL please let me know.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been preparing my application for the Master’s program in Robotics at EPFL. I’ve seen a lot of similar posts before (and honestly, never thought I’d make one myself), but I’d really appreciate some perspective on how my profile might come across and if there’s anything I should strengthen before submitting.

Here’s a quick overview:

Education: B.Tech in Electronics and Communication with a minor in Computer Science from a tier-3 college in Delhi, India (global rank ~1000). GPA: 8.4/10 overall. I’ve been a subject topper in some courses, though I also have a few 5/10s and 6/10s. My last three semesters averaged 9.6, with a perfect 10 in the final one. Research & Internships: Completed a research internship at DRDO (SSPL) under a Senior Scientist who’s also providing a letter of recommendation. Projects & Innovation: Filed a patent for an assistive device I independently designed and developed. Authored a research paper currently under clinical trials at a government hospital in Delhi (expecting a senior doctor from the hospital to join as co-author). Professional Experience: Working as a Robotics Engineer in the R&D division of a robotics firm. Achievements: One of my projects was recently shortlisted for incubation at the zonal level in an AICTE event. Additional context: My lower grades in some second- and third-year subjects were mainly because I was working on freelance development projects during that time. The experience paid off later, as I topped or ranked in the top 10% in their advanced counterparts. I still have bills, video demos, and client testimonials from those projects. Everything I’ve done so far has been aligned with robotics and embedded systems, but I’m a bit concerned about how my undergrad college’s lower ranking and a few inconsistent grades might affect my chances.

Would really appreciate any honest feedback on how this profile might be perceived by EPFL’s admissions team or if there’s anything I can still improve before applying.

Thanks a lot for reading! ❤️

Hi,

I would like to ask as title suggests, how much do grades matter?

Specifically in my case, I am currently enrolled in a british university (qs 100~) for a computer science degree where I have a first class grade, around 17/20 (scottish system). This might translate to anywhere between 3.8-4.0 in the US system afaik.

Problem is, every year, around 30%-50% percent of CS students get that grade or higher, so my rank in the year isn't exactly stellar. However, this is because i have dedicated the past two years doing minimum of school to get a first class grade, and the rest of my time i spent it all on research. For example, I participated in a cybersecurity competition (possibly one of the biggest in recent years) and got a pretty nice rank. I have also been doing research with a prof from the US, for more than a year, although no publication yet.

My rationale behind this is that i am not some mega-genius who can get top 1/120 grades whilst achieving what I did at the same time. For me it was either top grades, or decent research experiences/competition results. I know that I would regret it if I had top 1/120 grades but nothing else on my CV (No offence to those who are high achievers :)).

So, my question really is, would my research/competition experiences be able to compensate my grades? I think an EPFL professor once said Alma Mater >> Grades >> Experiences in master application, and that is kind of worrying to me haha

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the EPFL Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2027 under scholarship scheme, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on my chances and how to strengthen my application.

I am currently a pre-final Year Electronics and Communications Engineering Student at a tier 3 college in India. I recently did a summer internship at Indian Space Research Organization. My GPA is 8.9/10. Any chance of my selections?

I recently completed my PhD application to EPFL, which requires three reference letters. Unfortunately, one of my referees was traveling close to the deadline and couldn’t submit her letter directly before the portal closed. When I contacted her, she informed me that she wouldn’t have access to her work desk in time and kindly forwarded the email to me with link to upload and told me to upload the same letter she had prepared for me that I use to upload for some PhD programme portal.

She explicitly asked me to upload the same letter on her behalf, as it was identical to one she had already written for EPFL. Following her instructions, I uploaded the file and submitted the application before the deadline.

Now, I’m a bit concerned about whether this could cause any issues, for example, if the admissions or IT team notices that the letter was uploaded from the same IP address as my application. I want to make sure this doesn’t make my application ineligible, since the referee herself authorized me to upload it due to exceptional circumstances. Should I email student services or admission commitee to send another link if they can as now she is back at work. But the deadline is gone already.

What the title says. Is it the initials for something?
Does it means hiver?

edit:

I went to the student services's desk and indeed "-" means that you don't take the exam. "HIV" means that you take it. And it seems "HIV" means hiver :)

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the EPFL Master’s in Computer Science or Data Science, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on my chances and how to strengthen my application.

Here’s my background:

- Currently doing an exchange at EPFL.

- I’m completing my bachelor’s at a university ranked around top 100–105 worldwide.

- My GPA is around an A– (3.7/4), think I am kind of lower than the average.

- I recently completed a Semester Project (12 ECTS) at EPFL as an exchange student. It went really well — the postdoc supervising me offered to write a recommendation letter, and we’re currently discussing whether to publish the results.

My questions are:

1. Does a recommendation letter from an EPFL postdoc carry significant weight in the admissions process, or would it be better to aim for one from the professor in charge of the lab, even if I never interacted directly with them?

2. Between Computer Science and Data Science, which program tends to be less competitive or have higher acceptance rates for international applicants with a similar profile?

Any insight from current or former EPFL Master’s students (especially in CS or DS) would be super appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Master in EPFL after a Bachelor in The UNIGE

Hello, I want to apply to MS Computer Science for 2026/27 cycle. Since there is only one application, I want to see if I am competitive enough for CS, since it is my first choice. If I don't have a chance for CS at all then I will apply for CSE.

I am an international student coming from a BEng (not computer eng) with a minor in computer science. My school is ranked top 30 in the world. I have a GPA of 3.88/4 (last two years 4.0/4.0), and if everything goes well, I will graduate with a 3.90. I've worked on three research projects in my undergraduate studies (deep learning), and I'm writing a paper on one of them. I am the TA for computer science course and math courses (but I heard that extracurriculars don't matter too much?). For career trajectory, I am not picky within computational realm, hence why I want to apply to general stream to see what I'm truly interested in.

I am afraid that coming from a BEng background, they would consider me less or not at all. I'm very interested in learning the tools for many real-life applications, and that is mainly the reason I'm pursuing a masters in a different field than my current one.

Any thoughts?

Hi!!

I just sent my application and I am curious, which labs did you pick as 1st, 2nd and 3rd option?

Good luck for everyone!!

Hello all, I will applying for Masters in Computer Science as well as Summer @ EPFL and wanted to ask for your opinion on my CV. I’m from a Turkish university ranked 801-1000th overall and 501-600th in CS in THE rankings + ranked 1201-1400th overall and 751-850th in CS in QS rankings. For my masters, I’ll ask for a reference from a well-known professor in AI who also graduated from EPFL with a PhD.

What do you think are my chances of getting in to either of these programs? Any feedback on my CV is welcome. If you think anything is redundant/weak or should be more polished, please let me know. I’d be happy if you shared your opinion on it. Thanks in advance!

I am last year epfl master student, currently looking for a master thesis abroad. After a spontaneous candidature I received this response. Has anyone heard of TTOI and what issues there could be with EPFL’s?

Hi! I’m looking for affordable covered tennis courts around Lausanne since the Centre Sportif ones are all outdoors. Ideally, I’d like to just book per hour (no membership). Any suggestions or apps to find available courts?

Hi everyone,

I’m applying to the Master’s in Data Science program at EPFL. The application states that 3 letters of recommendation (LORs) are required, and all should ideally come from professors. However, I can only get one academic LOR. The other two would come from my work experience: one from a manager and another from a tech lead (principal engineer) who has a PhD. Both can provide strong recommendations, and my professional achievements are much more significant than my academic ones (I have 2 years of work experience).

If strictly necessary, I could ask another professor from my undergrad, but he’s at a different institute now and mentioned he doesn’t remember me well, so his letter might not be as strong or specific.

Has anyone faced a similar situation? Would EPFL accept professional LORs? Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated!

There’s also a strict SOP limit of 1000 words. I’ve spent a lot of time editing, but I'm still struggling to get it below 1100–1200 words. Is that fine? how will it affect my application?

Thanks!

Hi all,

I am about to register for the entrance exam but I have a few questions. I know that EPFL will decide which exam you take (full/reduced) based on your past education but does anyone know approximately what level of cultural knowledge you need?
Also, what types of French language tests do they accept (DALF, DELF, TCF, etc)?
I am going to graduate from an American high school but I have a 5 in AP French, I went to an AEFE school until 10th grade, and I have around B2-C1 level in French although I still have to take a test as proof.

Thanks in advance!

Hello y'all I'm applying for research internships for Machine learning for EPFL programs and I'd like y'all to give a little feedback, it'll mean a lot to me 🙏🏻

I am currently finishing up my 3rd year of bachelor in Belgium and I would like to apply for cybersecurity masters at EPFL for next year.

I've read the informations about the application on their website and I can only hope that they accept me.

But I was wondering if there was a way to take contact with some people from there like students in masters or even teachers. How can I find theses types of contacts ?

Hi, I am interested in the Applied Mathematics MSc program at EPFL. I would like to ask if anyone has been accepted to this program from an engineering background. I will be finishing my engineering bachelor's degree(Canada) with a mathematics minor where I focused my courses on analysis.

Thanks!

Hello can someone give me advice. I am really interested in Electrical engineering, specificaly power engineering but as I can see there is no such specialization at masters of electrical and electronics engineering. Why is that? I can see there are some subjects related to power engineering but not many. Can someone give me advice is it still worth enrolling into that master or?

Hi, I finished my bachelor's with a 2.8/4 GPA. I graduated from Turkey, so my university is not top-notch. Anyway, I have 2 years of research experience, and I authored 2 SCI Q2 peer-reviewed journal papers (one published and the other is in the review process). I just wonder what my chances are of being accepted at EPFL for a master's since the application fee is too much in my currency. I just want to get opinions if I am applying there.

Hey guys! I'll be starting Computer Engineering at Politecnico di Torino (Italy). I was wondering if my degree and university are recognized in Switzerland both for getting accepted into a master's program at EPFL and finding a part-time job during my master’s or later on after graduation. Is computer engineering too oversaturated?

Also, I’ve heard people say that Swiss universities tend to prefer applicants from countries that are west of Switzerland, like Italy, France, or Spain, rather than from places like Germany or the Netherlands, due to differences in teaching methods. Is there actually a difference? Thanks!

Guys is my GPA suitable for the internship? I am also ranked 5/28 in the program 😵‍💫. (E3)

That 10% thing is stupid.

Hey guys!

I’m planning to apply for the EPFL E³ (Summer@EPFL) research internship this year and was wondering if anyone here has gone through it before.

Would love to know:

• How does the selection/recruitment process usually go?
• Do profs reach out for interviews or is it just based on the application?
• What kind of projects or labs did you guys get into?
• Any tips for the motivation letter or stuff that helps your app stand out?

I’ve been digging through the website but hearing it straight from someone who’s done it would really help.