Bachelor Studies at EPFL

The ECTS system (European Credit Transfer System) makes it possible to measure the level of education a student has obtained, by attaching credits to courses.

One ECTS credit is proportional to the volume of work a student does, whether it's done in class, in exercises, labs, projects, or homework. ECTS is based on the principal that the full-time work done by a student during a university year corresponds to 60 credits. The work of a student registered in a full-time study program in Europe is about 1500-1800 hours per year, so the value of a credit is equal to about 25 to 30 hours of work.

Credits are attributed when students satisfy evaluating conditions in terms of knowledge or skills associated with a class, projects, or labs. These evaluations are in the form of exams -- oral or written, presentations, reports, etc. The system was designed by the European Commission, to facilitate student exchanges between universities (recognition of passed courses), in the framework of hte Socrates/Erasmus Programme. At EPFL, the number of credits corresponding to courses are defined in the study plans.

In the context of the  Bachelor/Master reforms ( Bologna Accords 1999), this system was extended to all university studies. It's no longer a system for transferring credits from one university to another, but a system for accumulating credits which is shared by all the universities in Europe.

For more information: EU, Socrates

At EPFL

1st year - Preparatory Exam
Subject areas are tested at the end of every semester. Grades are weighted depending on the importance of the course. If a student obtains a satisfactory mean grade (at leat 4/6), he or she passes the exam and the 60 credits are allocated in a block. 
In case of failure, all the subjects must be re-taken.

Subsequent years
From the 2nd year on, each subject is tested at the end of the course, laboratory, or project, and credits are allocated if the exam is passed. The student thus "collects" credits semester after semester. The Bachelor's degree is earned after 180 credits are obtained. The Master's degree requires 90/120 supplementary credits.

This system builds flexibility into the study plan: one can do more or less than 60 credits per year. In case of failure, the subject area in question must be repeated.

For more information (in French only): Ordonnance sur le contrôle des études