Eligibility criteria and application

Summer in the Lab participants must commit and complete the following components in order to successfully validate their participation in the program:

• Provide the research proposal according to the given template
• Complete eight weeks of research internship in an EPFL lab
• Attend the two-day transversal skills workshops organized in the program
• Participate and present their research work during the research symposium
• Complete the program feedback surveys in due time

Conduct:

• Behave appropriately at all times towards their peers and supervisors
• Respect and comply to the EPFL laboratory principles and policies during the time of the research internship
• Be open to appearing in photos and videos, and to participate in the production of content to be used on the Summer in the Lab website, and potentially be used for marketing the program

In case of non-compliance with the above requirements, EPFL may withhold or definitively cease the undersigned’s scholarship and/or expelled the participant from the program. Moreover, the official certificate of completion of the Summer in the Lab Excellence Program conferred with the Bachelor’s degree will not be delivered.

Derogations to the above elements are only be possible in specific cases (e.g. study abroad, illness with medical certificate, etc.). Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

International students who are not eligible for the Summer in the Lab internship program have the opportunity to apply to the following programs (distinct eligibility rules apply):

• Students from target universities from North America and Singapore: Excellence Research Internship Program
• International students in Computer and Communication Sciences: Summer@EPFL Program
• International students in Engineering: E3 Program
• International students in Life Sciences: Summer Research Program

Your motivation statement (max. 800 words) should highlight your interest in pursuing this program and your expectations in terms of outcomes. It must contain the following information:

• Your qualification and research experience
• Your motivation, interests and expectations in undertaking a research internship at EPFL
• Your choice of labs: justify your choices with respect to your profile and explain why you are suitable for the laboratories – This section is particularly important as it will be reviewed by the laboratories to determine if you are a good fit in their group
• Your ambition: describe your future professional and personal objectives and explain why you have a potential interest in a research career

In case you already have an agreed project with an EPFL professor, please describe the project in detail instead of providing a choice of labs.

You can choose one format from the three options proposed above to handle your answer.

Please upload your official transcripts stating your academic results for all your study semesters at EPFL.

Transcripts downloaded from IS-Academia are considered official.

Your referees could be a tutor, a professor, a past employer, or an internship supervisor. It can be anyone who knows you well, within EPFL or not. Carefully select the best options in relation to your application and your lab choices.

A reference request will automatically be sent to your referees after the submission of your online application form.

Your application file will be considered complete if it contains at least one reference letter.

It is your responsibility to ensure that we receive your reference letters within the deadline. You can follow the status of your reference letters via the registration form portal.

EPFL hosts around 500 labs and research groups with cutting-edge infrastructure in disciplines ranging from mathematics, physics or chemistry to life sciences, architecture or engineering. Browse the list of labs and research groups or look by research domain, and choose your three favorite ones. Indicate the name of the labs and their heads in the online application form.

To increase your chances of working in the labs of your choice, make sure your profile is a good match. Your choice will be taken into consideration, but there is no guarantee that you will be placed in one of your selected labs.

If you come with a specific project agreed upon in advance with an EPFL professor, please follow the guidelines provided in the application form to submit your lab choice.