Exchange Programmes

Students must fulfill the general prerequisites for undertaking a student exchange. Another prerequisite for a mobility stay is a sufficient academic qualification:

Bachelor's students in Computer Science must have passed the First Year Examinations with an average grade of at least 4.5 at the time of application. In addition, 7 out of the 8 Basic Courses must be successfully completed by the beginning of the exchange. An exchange is thus possible from the third year of the Bachelor’s studies.

Master's degree students in Computer Science and Data Science must have passed the First Year Examinations with a minimum average grade of 4.5, or obtained a Bachelor's degree with the minimum average grade of 4.5. An exchange is only possible for students that have obtained their Bachelor's degree from ETH Zurich (not necessarily in computer science).

Qualifications in later phases of the studies are possible in the Bachelor's as well as in the Master's programmes.

A student exchange usually lasts one semester.

Please also note:

• Prerequisites and preparations set by the Student Exchange Office
• Conditions and deadlines set by D-INFK
• Download Mobility Regulations D-INFK (German) (PDF, 135 KB)
  
  

The most important exchange programmes for courses are

• the departmental worldwide programmes (at partner universities outside of Europe that have an exchange agreement with the Department of Computer Science and only accept D-INFK students under this agreement). Here, some of the top universities in the US are being listed.
• the ETH-wide worldwide programmes (at partner universities outside of Europe that have an exchange agreement with ETH and accept students of various departments, among them the Department of Computer Science, under this agreement). Here, many Asian but also some North American universities are being listed.
• SEMP SMS (at partner universities in Europe). This programme was formerly known under the label of ERASMUS.
• Swiss Mobility (at partner universities in Switzerland).

Further opportunities for experience abroad include:    

• Research projects (also without Bachelor’s degree from ETH)
  
• Summer schools (also without Bachelor’s degree from ETH)
  
• Self-organised stays abroad
  

During an exchange semester, at least 20 ECTS must be earned at the host university, after protected page conversion of local credits into ECTS. The majority (at best all, but at least 14 ECTS) of the academic achievements attained during the exchange should be recognised for your studies and count for your degree at ETH. At most 40 ECTS can be transferred to the Bachelor’s studies at ETH, at most 20 ECTS to the Master’s programme in Computer Science, and at most 30 ECTS to the Master’s programme in Data Science. The Master’s programme in Cyber Security includes a mandatory semester at EPFL; courses from any additional mobility stay would not count towards the Master’s degree.

At least half of the credit points must be earned through computer science courses. You can find a list of course categories towards which accreditation is in theory possible in the conditions set by D-INFK. Please also check the offer of the partner university.

For the Bachelor's studies, up to 16 ECTS can be earned in Core Courses during the exchange (replacing up to 3 Core Courses), provided that a course at the partner university  has been approved as protected page Core Course replacement.

Proposals for the recognition of further courses are being examined by the exchange coordinator. Please send your proposals to: , with course number, course title, local credit points, link to the course description and course category intended for recognition

Applications for the next academic year are being submitted from November in the current academic year (see deadlines below). If you consider an application, we recommend that you visit the ETH Infomarkt (end of October). Before submitting an application, you have to attend the mandatory information event of the department (beginning of November). Students will be informed about both events in time by email.

When selecting a partner university, you should make sure that the offer of courses abroad matches your needs. After having secured a place for an exchange, you have to submit a study plan for the exchange (see below). The application – also the application for the preselection – is binding for all listed priorities; withdrawals after submission may lead to exclusion from the exchange programmes.

There are different application deadlines for the various programmes (sorted by decreasing demand); as long as you do not get a place, you can reapply for another programme later. The application, including a ranked list of desired destinations (if applicable and intended by the student), has to be submitted via the Mobility-Online tool. The main criterion for the order in which places are allocated is the GPA of the First Year Examinations.

Departmental worldwide programmes

The selection of students for the departmental worldwide programmes is done by the exchange coordinators of the Department of Computer Science. Only in case of identical GPAs of the First Year Examinations, previous grades are compared: Download Grades Form for the Preselection D-INFK (XLSX, 12 KB). Students can select up to 5 destinations during the application procedure. Application deadline is 1 December (preselection), decisions are taken by mid-December. Details and the link to the application can be found here.

ETH-wide worldwide programmes

The selection of students for the ETH-wide programmes is done centrally by the ETH Student Exchange Office, also based mostly on grades (but slightly adapted formulas apply, as the selection is across departments). The application includes one provisional course selection per destination and students can choose up to 3 destinations. Application deadline is at the beginning of January. Decisions are taken by the end of January.

SEMP SMS

The selection of students for SEMP SMS is done by the exchange coordinators of the Department of Computer Science. Only in case of identical GPAs of the First Year Examinations, previous grades are compared: Download Grades Form for the Preselection D-INFK (XLSX, 12 KB). Students can select up to 5 destinations during the application procedure. Application deadline is 4 February (preselection), decisions are taken mid-February. Details and the link to the application can be found here.

Swiss Mobility

The selection of students for Swiss Mobility is done by the exchange coordinators of the Department of Computer Science, based on the current Transcript of Records. Application deadline is 1 April for the following autumn semester and 1 October for the following spring semester. Students can only choose one destination during the application procedure and must hand in a study plan with their application (see below).

Remaining places

In case not all places are allocated, students can apply at a later date for places that are still available for an exchange in the spring semester. The Student Exchange Office informs about remaining places in due time on the corresponding programme website and in the Mobility-Online portal.

After being offered a place for an exchange, students receive detailed information on the further proceedings from the Student Exchange Office.

You will have to submit a study plan for your exchange. Please follow the regulations of D-INFK when Download entering the study plan in Mobility-Online (PDF, 150 KB). You have informed yourself about the available courses on the web pages of the partner university already before the application, in order to decide whether the curriculum satisfies your needs. The study plan has to be approved by the exchange coordinator and later also by the partner university. The study plan is binding but can be updated at the beginning of the exchange upon consultation with the mobility advisor to reflect necessary changes.

After your application has been accepted by the partner university (a formal step), concrete planning of your exchange can start.

The web pages of the Student Exchange Office contain all information needed for preparation, application, and execution of the exchange. The Student Exchange Office as well as the partner university will support you in practical matters (visa, housing, deadlines, etc.).

Concerning all academic matters, you will stay in contact with the mobility advisor of the Department of Computer Science.

Please also note:

• Download Mobility Regulations D-INFK (German) (PDF, 135 KB)
• Conditions and deadlines set by D-INFK
• Presentation for Outgoings (German)

If there are open questions, you are welcome to contact the mobility advisor and to make an appointment, if needed:

Before the end of the exchange semester, you will receive detailed information from the Student Exchange Office regarding the completion of the exchange, including the Transcript of Records (overview of your achievements at the host university. Upon your return, please send the completed Download Credit Recognition Form (PDF, 124 KB) (German) to: .

Once both documents are available, the Studies Administration D-INFK will recognize courses and credits from your exchange based on your previously confirmed study plan. Grades are converted uniformly in all departments according to a binding list.

In which semesters is an exchange possible?

During the Bachelor’s, a mobility stay is possible from the 3rd year and in the Data Science Master from the 2nd semester (in the Computer Science Master also recommended from the 2nd semester). Individual partner universities have restrictions and, for example, do not accept any incoming students during their last Bachelor semester. Please study the information on the partner universities.

What is the best time for an exchange?

The third year of the Bachelor's programme. Thanks to the possibility to transfer credits to BSc Core Courses at ETH (up to 16 ECTS), you can study a full semester abroad (depending on the local course offer) and also get all credits transferred so that your study duration does not increase due to the exchange. An exchange during the Master's programme will in most cases lead to a longer study duration which is however balanced by the gain in experience due to the exchange.

Do I need top grades for an exchange?

As a rule of thumb, there is more demand than supply in the departmental worldwide programmes (in particular in the US), so students with better grades have better chances of being offered a place. Only at MIT and Princeton, top grades are strictly necessary. In SEMP SMS, the available places usually exceed demand, so also students with lower grades have very good chances of being offered a place (the places in the UK also tend to be overbooked). Generally, all interested students satisfying the formal qualifications will be able to do an exchange if they are flexible in the choice of destination. Some of the ETH-wide programmes are also in strong demand (but demand varies from year to year). In the past, computer science students with good grades had good chances.

When and for which programmes do I need a language certificate?

For many programmes, a letter from the ETH Student Exchange Office is enough to prove that you have sufficient English skills. Other programmes still require official certificates. You need to read the information for the programmes or partner universities.

What scholarships are available for stays abroad?

See scholarships for exchange programmes and further scholarship options (also for self-organised stays abroad) for an overview.

The semester at my host university starts while I still have exams at ETH Zurich. What can I do?

Depending on the academic calendar of the host university, there may be time conflicts with your ETH examinations. You may have to take written session examinations in the following session after returning from your exchange. Details on shifting examinations can be found at the Examinations Office under information for ETH students (Outgoings).

I do not have a Bachelor’s degree from ETH Zurich. Can I still study abroad in the Master’s programme?

You cannot take part in an exchange programme involving courses for ETH Zurich. Individual, self-organised stays abroad are possible, but no credits from the stays abroad can be recognised towards the Master’s degree. However, you can organise an external Master's thesis at another university, provided that your main supervisor at D-INFK agrees. You can also apply for a scholarship for such a research project.

Please also refer to the Student Exchange Office's extensive FAQ for outgoings, from which some of these questions and answers have been taken.