The EPFL Excellence Fellowships 2027 offer an excellent opportunity for outstanding international students who want to pursue a Master’s degree at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. The fellowship is awarded to a limited number of highly qualified students with remarkable academic achievements and strong motivation.
Selected students receive CHF 10,000 per semester, along with additional benefits including guaranteed student accommodation for eligible external candidates and a certificate of excellence after completing the Master’s programme.
The fellowship is highly competitive and is awarded based on academic excellence, qualifications, and motivation. Applicants from universities outside Switzerland can apply through EPFL’s online Master’s application and indicate that they want their application to be considered for an Excellence Fellowship.
EPFL offers a limited number of fellowships to candidates who have demonstrated excellent academic performance and distinguished themselves through extracurricular activities, including sporting, artistic, civic, or entrepreneurial involvement.
The fellowship is available to students who earned their Bachelor’s degree at EPFL as well as students who began their university studies at another institution.
The selection process is highly competitive, and applicants are evaluated based on their academic record, qualifications, and motivation.
Degree Level
- The EPFL Excellence Fellowship is available for Master’s degree programmes at EPFL.
- EPFL offers Master’s programmes across a broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Applicants must first select an eligible Master’s programme and meet its admission requirements.
- Students may apply for only one Master’s programme per year.
Available Subjects
EPFL offers Master’s programmes across several academic and technical fields.
Depending on the current programme catalogue, students can pursue areas related to:
- Computer science
- Data science
- Artificial intelligence
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Environmental engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Materials science
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Life sciences
- Architecture
- Urban systems
- Energy
- Robotics
- Microengineering
- Management, technology and innovation
Applicants should consult the official EPFL Master’s programme catalogue for the latest list of available programmes and individual admission requirements.
Benefits
Successful EPFL Excellence Fellowship recipients receive significant financial support during their Master’s studies.
The main benefits include:
- CHF 10,000 per semester.
- Fellowship coverage for up to 4 semesters, depending on the programme.
- For eligible external candidates, a reservation of a room in a student residence.
- A certificate of excellence upon completion of the Master’s programme.
- Financial support that can help students concentrate on their academic studies and professional development.
For a 120-credit Master’s programme, the fellowship can cover up to four semesters, including the semester associated with the Master’s project. For a 90-credit programme, the maximum is three semesters.
Eligible Nationalities.
- The EPFL Excellence Fellowship is available to both students who completed their Bachelor’s degree at EPFL and students who began their university studies at another institution.
- This means international students with Bachelor’s degrees from universities outside Switzerland can also be considered.
- There is no separate nationality restriction stated on the current EPFL Excellence Fellowship page. International applicants must, however, satisfy the admission requirements for their selected Master’s programme.
Eligibility Criteria.
Applicants must meet the requirements for admission to an EPFL Master’s programme and be considered eligible for the Excellence Fellowship.
Important conditions include:
- Applying for an eligible EPFL Master’s programme.
- Demonstrating outstanding academic performance.
- Having appropriate qualifications for the selected Master’s programme.
- Demonstrating strong motivation for pursuing Master’s studies at EPFL.
- Meeting the admission requirements of the chosen programme.
- Applying for only one Master’s programme per academic year.
- Not already holding a Master’s degree.
- Not already being enrolled in a Master’s programme at EPFL.
The fellowship is awarded to the most deserving candidates, so satisfying the basic eligibility requirements does not guarantee selection.
Academic excellence and the overall strength of the applicant’s profile play an important role in the selection process.
Application Procedure.
External candidates whose Bachelor’s degree was earned at a university outside Switzerland apply for the Excellence Fellowship through the same online application used for admission to an EPFL Master’s programme.
Applicants should:
- Explore the available EPFL Master’s programmes.
- Select an appropriate Master’s programme.
- Check the programme-specific admission requirements.
- Prepare the required admission documents.
- Complete the EPFL online Master’s application.
- Indicate that you want your profile to be considered for an Excellence Fellowship.
- Submit the application before the applicable deadline.
- Wait for the fellowship selection decision.
EPFL states that external candidates need no additional documents beyond those required for Master’s admission.
Application Deadlines.
For external candidates, EPFL currently lists two application rounds:
- First round: 15 December
- Second round: 31 March
These deadlines align with the Master’s application deadlines. Applicants should check the official EPFL application page for the specific academic year before submitting their application.
