During the Master Project, the student applies his technical and scientific knowledge to a real problem and uses his imagination, curiosity and scientific rigor.
The “PDM” can only start once the student has successfully completed the engineering internship.
The official dates for the Master Projects are listed in the Academic Calendar.
The duration is 17 weeks for a Master Project in the laboratory but can be extended to 25 weeks for a Master Project in Exchange or in Enterprise (PDME).
List of teachers authorized to supervise Master project in Civil Engineering
Below you’ll find information on the different types of PdM
These Master Projects in a Civil Engineering laboratory generally last 17 weeks.
The objectives of this master project are described in a course sheet available in public access on IS-Academia.
See also FAQ page
These students must obtain the approval of a professor well before the opening of the project portal.
Depending on the field, they will contact one of our professors (or MER) in order to obtain their approval for supervision and the title of their project.
Registration to the master project:
- Upon receipt of the EPFL professor’s agreement, follow the registration procedure that will be provided by the contact person (the professor or his secretary)
- After receiving the acceptance letter and the EPFL access, register on IS-Academia
- Print the registration form (example) and have it signed by your EPFL professor
- Return the signed registration form to the GSC secretariat
► IN students are not required to complete the engineering internship to start their master project.
Steps to be taken during the pre-study, preferably before the end of June (Fall) or end of December (Spring):
- Find an EPFL Civil Engineering supervisor
- As soon as you receive the EPFL professor’s agreement, register your PdM in IS-Academia
- Have your EPFL supervisor sign the PDF from your ISA registration (example) and send it to [email protected]
- Consult the page “Going on exchange“.
- FAQ for a Master’s project in a university
- Become a member of “International SOS” for medical assistance during your Master Project abroad. This is mandatory when you do your Master Project abroad.
Take into account the time difference for the submission of the report (Swiss time)
The deadlines for submission are set by the academic calendar.
If your project is completed earlier, you can of course submit it earlier.
Mandatory:
- Electronic version in .pdf format by email to be uploaded on the ENACshare platform of EPFL
- Then send the link by email to [email protected]; to the supervising professor and to the expert.
- (Please note that all three emails must be included in the same email in order to formalize the submission).
- Only if required: bound paper version, to the supervising professor and the expert.
The objective of the PDME is to carry out an academic project outside the academic environment, within a host company.
The PDME is an end-of-studies project of 30 ECTS credits carried out at the end of the master’s cycle and over a full semester (17 weeks). The objectives of this master project are described in a course sheet that can be consulted in public access on IS-Academia.
The PDME remains first and foremost a master project and must contain an academic dimension defined and controlled by a professor, a MER, or exceptionally, by an internal lecturer accredited by the Section. It must meet the criteria of excellence required for our Master Projects.
A formal PDME agreement must be established and validated at the beginning of the pre-study by the Section.
NB: At least fifteen days before the PDME deadline, the student must submit in writing (by e-mail) the complete manuscript of his master’s project to the company, with a copy to his EPFL supervisor. (Art.5 a. of our internal directive)
To obtain the various documents to be completed, please contact the Secretariat of the Civil Engineering Section.
Please read the Internal Directives
Frequently Asked Questiosn (FAQ)
The official dates for master’s projects are listed in the Academic Calendar.
It lasts 17 weeks for the SGC section, 25 weeks for a master’s degree project in mobility.
Only Professors of Civil Engineering or MER are authorized to supervise the PdM of a Civil Engineering student.
In case of collaboration with a professor outside the GC, it is mandatory to inform the section and to obtain the written agreement of the Section Director ( => Form). In any case, your PdM will have to be co-supervised by a Professor of Civil Engineering.
Master project
- Registration in IS-Academia
- Correctly fill in the fields related to the location of the PDM and the type of PDM (-E or Mobility) and indicate the correct dates
If Master Thesis in a company (PDME):
- Carefully complete the required documents (PDME agreement & appendix) and send to [email protected]
If Master Thesis with non-GC leader:
- Request the Section’s authorisation by means of the form
If Master Theis in Mobility
- Consult our page “In Exchange“.
Yes they can, by demanding the registrar’s office.
Nevertheless, your demand needs to be supported by the person in charge of your thesis and you need to inform the secretariat of the Section of Civil Engineering.
Deadline: official date confirmed by the SAC, at noon.
Procedure:
- Upload your electronic document.s (pdf format) to the EPFL ENACShare platform
- Email your report to your teacher, your expert and cc Secrétariat Section Génie Civil [email protected]. Your email must include the link of your ENACShare download.
- Reminder : for PDME (Master Thesis in a company), the master project has to be emailed – 2 weeks before – the submission deadline mentioned above – to the enterprise in cc your supervisor.
This is usually a Civil Engineering Professor who will propose you to make your thesis abroad. Depending on his contact and on your thesis subject, he will direct you on an exchange university.
Conversely, it is also possible to suggest an exchange university and a contact name to one of your Civil Engineering Professor.
For a smooth organisation, we recommend the students who are interested to prepare their exchange Thesis during the MA2 semester.
Steps to be taken in the semester preceding your pre-study:
- Defining the area of interest
- Discuss and organize the exchange with the Civil Engineering Professor or MER teacher
- Contact the Student Services at the Academic Service (if European partner school, possibility of obtaining a scholarship)
- Notify the secretariat of your section
Voici les étapes pour l’organisation d’un PDME:
- La directrice ou le directeur du PdM est un·e Professeur·e de la section de Génie Civil (ce n’est donc pas l’entreprise)
- Le sujet est défini par la personne EPFL-GC responsable du PdM
- Les modalités de collaboration sont définies conjointement par la directrice ou le directeur du PdM et l’entreprise
- Lors de ce PdM, votre statut n’est pas celui d’un employé de l’entreprise (contrairement à votre statut lors d’un stage)
- Définir les clauses de confidentialité (Attention, point sensible! Contactez le secrétariat de la section pour des conseils avant toute signature)
- Prendre connaissance de notre directive interne
Link to web page