Learning French at EPFL: the Language Centre (Centre de langues)
To verify This page has 2 items that could not be confirmed on an official page. Check them yourself before relying on them:
How newcomers at EPFL can take French courses on campus: who can enrol, which modules exist, the next registration windows, and what to do if you missed one. Orientation only; the Language Centre's own pages are authoritative.
Companion pages: Start here · IS-Academia basics · CAMIPRO
What it is
The EPFL Language Centre teaches French, English, German and Italian to the EPFL community, in semester modules and short intensive courses. It is located on campus (CE 2 445) and is managed by UNIL.
For EPFL students, modules are free (financed by EPFL). You only pay for course books and any external exam fee.
Source: EPFL Language Centre
Who can enrol
| Group | Access | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| EPFL students (anyone with a student card: Bachelor, Master, PhD students and PhD assistants, CMS, MAS / continuing-education programmes, Confederation and foreign grant-holders) | Register online during the registration period; priority over other categories | Free |
| Exchange students | French courses only | Free |
| EPFL employees (staff, postdocs, etc.) | Need approval from their immediate superior; one language per period | CHF 650 per module. If the superior requests the course, cost-sharing usually makes it free for the employee or an employee share of CHF 130 (deducted from salary) |
| Partners, family, people outside EPFL | Not eligible | See "Not eligible?" below |
Sources: Access to courses and details of fees · Dates, registration and courses
French modules (overview)
All semester modules last about 13 weeks and start one week after the EPFL semester begins. Timetables are built from the availability you give at registration; classes run between 08:00 and 20:00.
| Type | Examples | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated skills (general French) | One module per level | Complete beginner to C2. Beginner to A2: 2 periods/week + 15 Practice Activities (PA) sessions; A2/B1 to B2: 2 periods + 10 PA; B2/C1 to C2: 2 periods |
| Oral communication | Getting by in French (A1/A2); Communicating in Everyday Situations (A2); Expressing and Defending Opinions (B1); Discuss and Debate (B2) | A1 to B2 |
| French for academic studies | Academic Writing (Ecrire pour des besoins académiques) | from B1 |
| Academic coaching | Coaching for Communicating in French in an Academic Context (4 one-hour tutor meetings) | from B1; for doctoral students, researchers, teaching staff |
| Specific purposes | Communicating in French at Work (from B1); Development Project in Africa (from B2) | B1 / B2 |
| Guided self-study | 3 tutor interviews + 20 PA sessions, 12 weeks per semester | from A1/A2 |
| Exam preparation | DELF / DALF preparation, split over two semesters (autumn + spring) | varies |
| Intensive (intersemester) | Winter and summer two-week courses | by level |
Source: All modules in French · FAQ
Dates for 2026-2027
As published on 5 Oct 2026:
| Period | Course dates | Registration |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn semester 2026-2027 | 14 Sep to 18 Dec 2026 | 15 Aug to 8 Sep 2026 (closed) |
| Winter intensive 2027 | 1 to 12 Feb 2027, 2 weeks, 3 periods/day (9:00-11:30 or 13:00-15:30) | 15 Nov to 11 Dec 2026 |
| Spring semester 2026-2027 | 1 Mar to 4 Jun 2027 | 15 Jan to 23 Feb 2027 (teachers available for questions 22 and 23 Feb; placement confirmation and changes 25 and 26 Feb) |
| Summer intensive 2026 | 17 to 28 Aug 2026 | 26 May to 12 Jul 2026 (passed) |
The registration deadline is final; late registrations are not accepted.
Just arrived and missed autumn? If you did pre-register, you may still join a group in the first two or three weeks of the semester when level, timetable and space allow (otherwise a waiting list). If you did not register, plan for the winter intensive or spring window, and use the free self-study options below in the meantime.
To verify: the Language Centre home page news banner still showed "Spring semester 2025-2026, register before 17 February 2026" (stale); the dates page was used instead.
Sources: Dates, registration and courses · All modules in French · FAQ
How to register
- During the registration window, open Register online on the Language Centre site (an IS-Academia pre-registration form) and choose French.
- Log in with your EPFL (Gaspar) username and password.
- Choose one module for the language.
- Complete every step: your previous learning and goals, a self-assessment, the placement test (several pages; do them all), and your weekly availability (semester modules). The placement test is skipped only if you are a complete beginner or took it less than 6 months ago. Skipping it otherwise means you will not be placed.
- After the deadline you get an email saying whether you are placed. Check details (time, teacher, room) in your online file; instructions for the first class arrive two or three days before the start.
Limits: you may register for up to 3 languages but are placed in at most 2 groups, and only one module per language. Pre-registration does not guarantee a place.
If you are not placed, go to the Language Centre reception: they may find another group, add you to a waiting list (closed after 2-3 weeks), or suggest guided self-study.
Sources: Dates, registration and courses · FAQ
Attendance and attestations
- By registering you commit to attend regularly for the whole semester; tell your teacher in advance if you must miss a class.
- For participants who attend free of charge, two consecutive unexcused absences mean automatic exclusion from the group.
- An attestation requires 80% presence and validation of the Practice Activities sessions. There are two types: participation only, or with final grade and ECTS credits.
Language Centre ECTS do not count toward an EPFL Bachelor or Master degree; they appear on your transcript and, if you earned ECTS, in the Diploma Supplement (EPFL Language Centre, Évaluation et valorisation des cours). Exchange students are the exception: one semester French course worth 3 ECTS can count toward their 20 ECTS minimum (EPFL International, Conditions).
Source: Dates, registration and courses
Free self-study (no registration)
- Multimedia Centre (EMA): free-access periods with self-study material sorted by level.
- PlurieL: the Language Centre's online learning platform, usable any time.
- Tandem: meet a partner with another mother tongue to swap languages, via the UNIL Tandem programme. Link: UNIL Tandem.
- Ça joue!: free online French basics for incoming mobility students, built by the Language Centre: Ça joue!.
Source: All modules in French
Special case: intensive French for new Bachelor students
EPFL also runs a two-week on-campus intensive French course before the academic year (2026: 17 to 28 Aug, registration 26 May to 12 Jul 2026). It is open only to holders of a Swiss-German or Swiss-Italian high-school certificate, so most international newcomers use the Language Centre routes above instead.
Source: EPFL, New Bachelor students
Not eligible? (partners, family, non-EPFL)
The Language Centre programme is reserved for the EPFL community. Its FAQ points others to:
- Université populaire and the Association vaudoise des écoles privées (AVDEP) for schools in the Lausanne area;
- UNIL's intensive French courses (Le FIL).
The Canton of Vaud's newcomer site lists French courses run by associations and subsidised by the State, aimed at small budgets (some with childcare), and points to private schools via AVDEP: Vaud Bienvenue, Cours de français (FR). Fees and schedules are on each course listing.
The same Vaud page notes that some permit steps (for example a B permit request or renewal, an early C permit, or naturalisation) can require a certificate of French level; check what your own procedure asks for. Levels required for naturalisation: see Becoming Swiss in Vaud.
To verify: Vaud Bienvenue course fees (per listing, not quoted here). To verify: commune-level FLE lists (Lausanne, etc.) not checked; only the cantonal Vaud Bienvenue page is cited.
Sources: Language Centre FAQ · Vaud Bienvenue, Cours de français
Low-cost French courses outside EPFL (canton, Lausanne, evening classes, fide): see Low-cost French courses outside EPFL.
Contact
- Language Centre EPFL, CE 2 445 (Centre Est), Station 1, 1015 Lausanne
- Reception from 28 Sep to 18 Dec 2026: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:00 to 12:30
- Tel. +41 21 693 22 89 · centredelangues@epfl.ch
Source: EPFL Language Centre