Exchange semester at a partner university

Students at the Department of Computer Science (D-INFK) can apply for an exchange semester at partner universities in Switzerland, Europe, and worldwide.

During the exchange, students achieve credit points that are then transferred to the study programme at ETH Zurich. An exchange semester is supported by a small scholarship. Exchange students continue to pay the regular tuition fees at ETH. No tuition fees are due at the partner university, but other charges may occur.

Administrative counseling and processing of the exchange semester is done centrally by the ETH . Academic guidance is provided by the from D-INFK.

Main application deadline: 1 December, 13:00

There is one main application round for all exchange places in the following academic year. After this deadline, only limited remaining places are still available.

Remaining places for 2026/27:

The remaining places will be published on the Mobility-Online portal January 15th at 9 am. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis, and places will be allocated in that order. The application deadlines can be found here.

Information event “Semestermobilität für D-INFK-Studierende" (in German)
Monday, 27 October 2025, 12:15, CAB G 61

Attendance of this information event is a mandatory part of the application. Potentially eligible students from the 3rd Bachelor's semester onwards will receive an invitation by email.

The following information refers to exchange stays in the academic year 2026/27. Outgoing students in the current academic year 2025/26 can find the conditions that apply to them in the slides from the information event held in November 2024 (Mobility: Outgoings).

The Student Exchange Office guides through the processes step by step. The additional information provided below applies specifically to students at D-INFK (outgoing mobility). Both websites are important.

You must fulfill the conditions of the Student Exchange Office as well as of the chosen exchange programmes and partner universities. In addition, the following prerequisites and conditions apply to students at D-INFK:

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. Request an exception from the mobility advisor if the examination session at ETH and the start of the exchange semester overlap.
Master's degree students in Computer Science and in Data Science must have passed the First Year Examinations with a minimum average grade of 4.5, or obtained their Bachelor's degree with the minimum average grade of 4.5. You can only take part in an exchange programme involving courses if you have obtained your Bachelor's degree from ETH Zurich (not necessarily in Computer Science). Master’s degree students in Cyber Security cannot participate in the exchange programmes: One semester at EPFL is already a compulsory part of their study programme. No further credits from a semester mobility will be recognised for the degree.
If you have not reached an average grade of 4.5 in the First Year Examinations, qualifications in later phases of the studies are possible in the Bachelor's as well as in the Master's programmes.
Specific conditions apply to certain partner universities (see below).
The majority (preferably all, but at least 14) of the ECTS credits earned during the exchange should be recognised for the degree, meaning that you must still miss at least 14 ECTS credits in the available categories at the start of the exchange semester.
Attendance of the information event "Semestermobilität für D-INFK-Studierende" (in German, see box above) is a mandatory part of the application. Please also attend the information events organised by the Student Exchange Office.

There is no entitlement to an exchange semester. Requests can be rejected based on the planned coursework, the students' previous achievements, or their individual study situation.

Please also note:

Exchange periods normally last one semester. Applications are usually submitted in the academic year before the planned exchange.

BSc Computer Science: An exchange is possible from the 3rd year.
MSc Computer Science: recommended from the 2nd semester; ideal in the 3rd (or 4th) semester, after the Interfocus Courses
MSc Data Science: allowed and recommended from the 2nd semester

You find an overview of the existing exchange agreements on the Mobility-Online portal. Familiarise yourself with the conditions of all partner universities you are considering applying for.

Here is crucial information on all worldwide partner universities. Relevant documents and links to European and some worldwide partner universities will appear if you click on the info icon next to the university’s name in the results list in the Mobility-Online portal (“Display details of this bilateral agreement”).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University, and University of Pennsylvania: A minimum GPA of 5.5 is required.
University of Pennsylvania and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: An exchange is only possible at Bachelor’s level.
École Polytechnique: Within the «Ingénieur Polytechnicien Programme» (graduate level), exchange stays are only possible in the autumn semester.
University College London: Exchange stays are only possible in the spring semester (terms 2&3 combined).
Imperial College London: The exchange can take place either in term 1 or in terms 2&3 combined.
University of Toronto: Students can apply for one of the campuses Mississauga or Scarborough (not the central St. George campus).
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore: There are additional exchange places available for D-INFK students.

Credits achieved during an exchange semester can be transferred to certain categories depending on the degree programme. The protected page formulas for converting the respective local credits into ECTS are based on an estimate of the workload and details from the partner university. Other conversion formulas are reserved if experience shows that the workload per credit at the partner university is significantly lower or higher than at ETH.

During an exchange semester, you must earn at least 20 ECTS credits at the host university, after conversion of local credits into ECTS. The majority (preferably all, but at least 14) of these ECTS should be recognised for the degree and you should earn at least 10 ECTS within the area of computer science.

Read the details for your study programme below. Students who have been allocated a place can send proposals for the recognition of mobility subjects to: , providing course number, course title, local credit points, link to the course description and course category intended for recognition. Where necessary, proposals are forwarded to the departmental exchange coordinator. Do not contact lecturers from ETH Zurich about this topic.

Exception Science in Perspective: Upon approval by D-GESS, a maximum of 3 ECTS from course units earned during a semester mobility may be recognised towards the SiP programme. Contact Caroline Holck from D-GESS ahead of time and before the start of your exchange period, providing a link to the course description:

BSc Computer Science: At most 30 ECTS obtained via student mobility can be recognised for the degree at ETH Zurich. Credit transfer is in theory possible (depending on the host university’s course offer and upon approval by the mobility advisor) to the categories core courses, electives, minor courses, seminar, Science in Perspective, and Bachelor’s thesis.

Up to 16 ECTS can be earned for the category core courses during the exchange while replacing maximum 3 ETH core courses, provided that a course at the partner university has been approved as core course replacement. The list shared by D-INFK is not exhaustive and will be extended upon further course checks. Mobility subjects are approved if they correspond in scope and content to at least 50% of the core course at ETH, whereby the ECTS credits for this category are calculated according to the degree of equivalence. There is no guarantee that the courses on the list will still be offered and, if so, that they will be available. An ETH core course for which credits from an exchange have been transferred, also if only in part, cannot be completed at ETH Zurich for the purpose of completing the degree. If a course completed at the host university only partially corresponds to an ETH core course, or if the maximum permitted 16 ECTS credits are exceeded, the remaining part of the mobility subject will be counted as an elective. Half credits earned at the partner university are usually rounded down, but to facilitate credit transfer to the core course category, one mobility subject worth 7.5 ECTS and approved for 7 core course credits can be transferred for 8 core course credits (while credits from further mobility subjects are rounded down).
For recognition of a mobility subject as seminar, it must be held on a computer science topic and include a presentation given by the student. Credit transfer is limited to 2 ECTS credits.
If the Bachelor’s thesis is completed as part of the exchange, students must be supervised by a professor at the host university, who will also be responsible for grading. Submit a task description before the start and a written report at the end to the mobility advisor for a check of scope and level of the thesis. At some partner universities, only coursework is allowed.
If the partner university allows exchange students on Bachelor’s level to attend courses on Master’s level, it might be possible to transfer such credits to the Computer Science MSc back at ETH. Follow the specific rules for the different Master's degree programmes.

MSc Computer Science: At most 30 ECTS obtained via student mobility can be recognised for the degree at ETH Zurich. Credit transfer is in theory possible (depending on the host university’s course offer and upon approval by the mobility advisor) to the categories core electives, minor, seminar, practical work, free elective courses and Science in Perspective. Core courses and Interfocus Courses must be completed at ETH.

For recognition of a mobility subject as seminar, it must be held on a computer science topic and include a presentation given by the student. Credit transfer is limited to 2 ECTS credits.
If the Practical Work is completed as part of the exchange, students must be supervised by a professor at the host university. Submit a task description before the start and a written report at the end to the mobility advisor for a check of scope and level of the project. Successful projects are recognised ungraded at ETH independent of a grade set by the supervisor. Half credits earned at the partner university are usually rounded down, but to facilitate credit transfer for the Practical Work, a project for 7.5 ECTS can be transferred for 8 ECTS (while credits from further mobility subjects are rounded down). At some partner universities, only coursework is allowed.

MSc Data Science: At most 30 ECTS obtained via student mobility can be recognised for the degree at ETH Zurich. Credit transfer is in theory possible (depending on the host university’s course offer and upon approval by the mobility advisor and your tutor) to the categories electives, seminar, and Science in Perspective. Core courses and the Data Science Lab must be completed at ETH.

For recognition of a mobility subject as seminar, it must cover a suitable topic and include a presentation given by the student. Credit transfer is limited to 2 ECTS credits.
Credits earned for a research project can be recognised for the category of subject-specific electives for maximum 6 ECTS, provided that the student does not also complete 261-5130-00L Research in Data Science. Students must be supervised by a professor at the host university, who will also be responsible for grading. At some partner universities, only coursework is allowed.

If you meet the requirements and conditions, you do not have to obtain individual approval from the departmental exchange coordinator. Apply directly via Mobility-Online during the application period.
You may select up to 10 partner universities, sorted by priority, for the main application deadline (1 December). Inform yourself about the conditions and course offer via the resources provided by the Student Exchange Office and the web pages of the partner universities before applying, to decide whether the curriculum meets your needs.
Applicants must upload a preliminary course list for each selected partner university. These preliminary course lists are not being checked (in detail) at D-INFK. Making these course lists is important for you to ensure that the exchange would make sense, given your study situation. You may get an offer for any of your selected partner universities, and declining that offer based on unsuitable courses there might exclude you from a mobility programme in the future. In particular, please only apply for a partner university if you are sure that you would accept an offer to go there. The availability or recognition of the teaching units listed in the preliminary course list is not guaranteed nor is it confirmed by the allocation of a place.
All places are allocated via a "lottery" (randomised selection) among the qualified applicants for the main application, see details here. Applications from students who have already completed a semester mobility will only be considered after all first-time applicants have been allocated according to their priorities.
The Student Exchange Office will inform you of the decision by the end of December or early January. If the decision is positive, it will announce the allocated host university and the next steps to take.

Applicants who have received a positive decision in the ETH internal application draw up a provisional study plan for the partner university assigned to them in Mobility-Online following the Download memo (PDF, 148 KB) of D-INFK. The mobility subjects planned for the exchange must be listed in full and approved by the mobility advisor on behalf of the Director of Studies. If you have been offered a place in the main application round, you will have to submit the provisional study plan by a deadline in January and then remain available for necessary changes until mid-February.
While planning the exchange semester and applying to the partner university, you may need to adapt your original study plan. If necessary, you can still send proposals for the recognition of mobility subjects to: , providing course number, course title, local credit points, link to the course description and course category intended for recognition.
Around the beginning of the exchange period, the Student Exchange Office will invite you to update your preliminary study plan in Mobility-Online. Subsequent requests for changes to the study plan must again be directed to: .

The Student Exchange Office provides information on the tasks to be completed towards the end of the exchange semester. The department is involved in the recognition of credits only.

Upon your return, please send the completed Credit Recognition Form (German) to: . If you have earned credits for the Science in Perspective category, please forward the email from D-GESS which confirms that the course will be recognised.

Once also the official transcript of records is available, the Studies Administration D-INFK will recognise 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.