Lab Immersion
A Lab Immersion enables students to apply the cross-disciplinary skills they have gained during their studies to practical challenges.
Lab immersions can be done inside EPFL (8-12 credits) or outside EPFL (22 credits, in academia or industry).
Lab Immersions at EPFL
Lab immersion I – 8 credits (BIO-501)
Lab immersion II – 8 credits (BIO-502)
Lab immersion III – 12 credits (BIO-503)
BIO-501, BIO-502 and BIO-503 cannot be done outside EPFL.
Project options are available on the SV laboratories websites or can be discussed directly with a head of laboratory.
You can also contact SV research institutes:
Global Health Institute (GHI)
Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC)
Neuroscience – Brain Mind Institute (BMI)
Bioengineering Laboratories (IBI)
Neuro-X
Core facilities
Projects outside the School of Life Sciences require approval of the SV section. A description of the project should be sent on the LSE support platform for validation.
The duration and timing of the Lab Immersion should be agreed between the student and project supervisor. The usual organization is:
During the semester
- 8 credits projects: 16h/week during 14 weeks
- 12 credits projects: 24h/week during 14 weeks
During summer
- 8 credits projects: 42h/week (full-time) during 5 weeks
- 12 credits projects: 42h/week (full-time) during 8 weeks
Total workload = 240h (8 credits) or 360h (12 credits)
Registration has to be done at the latest 2 weeks after the beginning of the semester.
When you register on IS-Academia, please download the pdf form, ask your supervisor to sign it and send it on the LSE support platform.
- No more than 30 credits can be taken from Lab Immersions (including a minor project)
- For students who take iGEM lab or iGEM no more than 24 credits can be taken from Lab Immersion (including a minor project)
- With agreement of the section SV, only one 8 credit Lab Immersion can be validated within a specialization. Please submit your request on the LSE support platform
The evaluation method should be clearly defined and agreed upon by the student and the project mentor beforehand. It usually involves a written report and/or an oral presentation by the student.
Lab Immersions outside EPFL
All Lab Immersions outside EPFL require the approval of the SV section:
- Download and complete the relevant form (below)
- The form must be approved and signed by an EPFL supervising professor
- Submit the form to the SV section for final signature on the LSE support platform
- No more than 30 credits can be taken from Lab Immersions (including a minor project)
- A maximum of 38 credits can be validated in industry (including the industry internship), therefore validation of a BIO-506 implies that the Master project has to be carried out in academia.
- External Master students cannot validate more than 30 credits outside EPFL. This implies that external Master students can do either a 22 credits Lab immersion outside EPFL or a 30 credits Master project outside EPFL but not both
Students must provide 2 reports to their EPFL supervisor:
- First report 7 weeks after the start of the project
- Second report 14 weeks after the start of the project
BIO-504 and BIO-506 are evaluated upon a pass/fail system (no grade).