EPFL sits on the edge of Lake Geneva and ranks among the world’s strongest science and technology universities. Every year it hands a limited number of EPFL Excellence Fellowships to incoming students who already stand out on paper and off it. For 2027, the award most international applicants chase is the Master’s fellowship: CHF 10,000 each semester, a reserved room in a student residence for external candidates, and a certificate of excellence at graduation.
That package is generous. It is not a blank cheque. Official rules are clear: fellows still pay tuition and manage rent and living costs themselves. Sites that advertise “fully funded tuition, visa, and accommodation” oversell the program. This guide sticks to EPFL’s own terms so you can decide whether to apply and how to make the application count.
Scholarship Summary
- Host Country: Switzerland
- Host University: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne
- Scholarship Type: Undergraduate Scholarships/MSC Scholarships
- Eligible Countries: All Countries
- Scholarship Benefits: CHF 10,000 per semester, Living stipend, etc.
What the EPFL Excellence Fellowships Actually Are
EPFL runs two related but different excellence schemes.
Master Excellence Fellowships are open to anyone applying for an EPFL Master’s program, including students who completed a Bachelor’s abroad. The school wants people who can handle a demanding curriculum and still leave room for research, start-ups, civic work, sport, or the arts. The cash is meant to reduce the pressure to take any internship that pays, so fellows can choose work that fits their scientific goals.
Bachelor Excellence Fellowships target talented students starting the undergraduate cycle, with a much tighter eligibility filter tied to Swiss secondary qualifications. Recipients also join the McCall MacBain Leadership Development Program, which adds structured training in communication, leadership, and cultural agility over three years.
A separate EPFL PhD Excellence Program exists, but it is a leadership and skills track for doctoral candidates already at EPFL, not the same financial fellowship. Do not treat “Excellence Fellowships 2027” as a PhD scholarship.
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Scholarship Benefits in Precise Terms
Master’s fellowship
- CHF 10,000 per semester
- Maximum four semesters for a standard 120-credit Master’s (three semesters of coursework plus one semester for the Master’s project). Shorter 90-credit programs receive fewer payments
- Reservation of a student room in a residence for external candidates only
- Certificate of excellence at the end of the Master’s
- Paid into a Swiss bank or postal account after you arrive
What you still pay:
- Tuition and compulsory semester fees
- Rent (even if a room is reserved)
- Health insurance, food, transport, and other living costs
EPFL estimates living costs around CHF 25,000 to 29,000 per year before tuition. From academic year 2026–27, tuition is CHF 730 per semester for Swiss students and certain residents, and CHF 2,190 per semester for many international students classified as foreign for fee purposes. Add the small compulsory contributions (student association, sports, social fund). The fellowship cannot be combined with other substantial scholarships; you must declare other awards.
Bachelor’s fellowship
- CHF 10,000 in total, paid across three years
- Guaranteed housing if you request it on the registration form
- McCall MacBain Leadership Development Program throughout the Bachelor’s
Renewal on the Master’s side is strict. After year one, you need at least 50 ECTS (language courses, admission courses, and credits outside the study plan do not count) and a credit-weighted average of 5.0 out of 6. EPFL states there will be no exceptions.
See Also:
- Nottingham Trent University International Scholarships 2026: How International Students Can Save Up to 50% on Tuition
- University of Edinburgh India Merit Scholarship 2026/27: Masters Award Indian Students Can Win Without a Separate Application
- Commonwealth Masters and PhD Scholarships 2027/28: The Fully Funded UK Window You Cannot Miss
Who Can Apply? Eligibility Criteria
Master Excellence Fellowship (all countries)
You are eligible if you are applying to an EPFL Master’s program and you do not already hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent in a similar field) and you are not already enrolled in an EPFL Master’s. You may apply to only one Master’s program per year.
International students are explicitly eligible. There is no published minimum GPA cutoff for the first award, but the pool is competitive and only a small share of applicants receive the fellowship. Sections pre-select; the Excellence Fellowships Committee makes the awards.
What the committee looks at:
- Academic results in the Bachelor’s
- Qualifications and motivation for that specific EPFL Master’s
- Research (publications, prizes, earlier fellowships)
- Entrepreneurship (patents, start-ups)
- Civic, associative, sporting, artistic, or event-organizing work
A high transcript without a distinctive profile is weaker than a strong transcript plus evidence that you already build things, lead people, or publish.
Bachelor Excellence Fellowship (restricted)
This track is built for holders of a Swiss high-school maturity diploma and holders of a Swiss vocational maturity diploma who undertake the CMS. Legal texts also cover Swiss nationality or C permit, refugee or stateless status in Switzerland, and certain Swiss secondary certificates. It is not the open international undergraduate scholarship many students hope for.
Final-year high school students tick the fellowship box on the Bachelor application by 30 April and submit the requested file. Shortlisted candidates present their maturity project (or another subject) to a jury of EPFL professors in a five-minute talk plus questions.
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How to Apply for the EPFL Excellence Fellowships: Step-by-Step
External Master’s applicants (Bachelor from a university outside EPFL)
- Choose one Master’s program on the official Master’s pages.
- Submit the online Master application.
- Tick the box asking EPFL to consider you for an excellence fellowship.
- Upload only the documents required for admission. No extra fellowship dossier is required for external candidates.
Deadlines for 2027 entry
- Round 1: 15 December 2026
- Round 2: 31 March 2027
Results are typically sent at the beginning of April (round 1) and early to mid-June (round 2). Selected students must confirm they will attend EPFL by the date in the Registrar’s email.
Internal EPFL Bachelor graduates
If you stay in the same field, you apply to your section (copy to the fellowship office) with a CV, motivation letter, EPFL transcript, and two recommendation letters sent by professors. Deadlines are later: 31 January and 15 April. If you change field, you use the online Master form and add two referee letters.
Bachelor applicants
Tick the excellence box on the Bachelor form before 30 April 2027 and prepare the file EPFL requests. Expect a presentation if you pass the first screen.
Apply early in round 1 if you can. It does not guarantee an award, but it aligns with the first selection wave and gives more time for visas and housing if you succeed.
How to Make a Competitive File
EPFL already has your grades from the admission file. The fellowship decision turns on whether you look like someone who will use the freedom the stipend creates.
- Tie your motivation letter to one Master’s program and to labs, courses, or industry links that exist at EPFL, not to a generic “world-class campus.”
- Quantify extras: paper accepted, start-up incorporated, team size, competition rank, hours of civic work.
- Choose referees who can compare you with other strong students, not only confirm attendance.
- Keep the story coherent. A robotics Bachelor plus a student satellite project plus a clean transcript is easier to defend than scattered hobbies.
- Do not hide other funding. Combining this fellowship with another large award is not allowed.
Admission and the fellowship are related but not identical. You can be admitted without the fellowship. Plan a budget that works if you receive only admission.
What Life in Lausanne Costs With the Stipend
CHF 10,000 per semester is CHF 20,000 per academic year if you receive two payments. That is real support. It does not erase Swiss prices.
Build a simple spreadsheet:
- Tuition: CHF 730 or CHF 2,190 per semester, plus about CHF 50 in compulsory extra fees
- Housing: reserved rooms still have rent
- Health insurance (mandatory)
- Food, local transport, books, and a modest buffer
EPFL’s own financing pages are the right reference, not third-party “fully funded” lists. If the numbers only work if every fee is waived, this is the wrong award to treat as a full ride. Pair it, if needed, with family support, savings, or a smaller grant that EPFL does not classify as a substantial scholarship.
Why This Fellowship Still Matters
EPFL’s research density in computer science, engineering, life sciences, physics, and related fields is the reason the stipend is competitive. The award buys time: time to pick an internship for the science rather than the salary, time to stay in a lab over the summer, time to finish a demanding project without a second job. The reserved room removes one of the hardest practical problems for new international students in Lausanne.
The certificate is secondary. The network of other fellows and the signal on a CV matter more after graduation.
Quick Checklist Before You Submit
- Confirm you are applying to a first Master’s, not a second degree in a similar field
- Tick the excellence box on the Master form
- Meet 15 December 2026 or 31 March 2027
- Prepare two strong academic referees if your track requires letters
- Budget tuition and rent separately from the CHF 10,000
- Read the FAQ the week you apply; rules on credits and the 5.0 average are unforgiving later
EPFL Excellence Fellowships 2027 will not be won by the longest personal statement. They go to applicants whose record already looks like EPFL: high performance, plus proof that you do something with that performance outside the exam hall. If that describes you, use the official form, hit the earlier deadline if you can, and treat every claim in the file as something a professor on the committee could ask you to defend in five minutes.