Program Overview

Program Overview

The EDIC Computer and Communication Sciences program is designed for doctoral students. The program details are as follows:

Program Details

1. Student Status: When joining the EDIC program, a doctoral student either receives a one-year fellowship (and is unaffiliated) or is hired directly into a lab (i.e., he/she has a thesis director and is affiliated to a lab). In both cases, there are two important dates, the hiring date (start of contract or fellowship) and the enrollment date (start of PhD clock).
2. Course & Credit Requirements: Prior to submitting a PhD thesis jury proposal, all EDIC doctoral students must obtain 30 credits, 12 of which come from semester projects.

• The minimum requirement at the end of the first year is:
  • 4 credits with courses;
  • 12 credits with projects (one 6-credit project per semester).
• The remainder of the credits is taken in accordance with the following rules:
  • Courses are divided into 6 areas: Artificial Intelligence, Systems, Theory, Visual Computing, Security and Data.
  • For the first-year requirements, 6 (or 7) credits are obtained with a course selected in one of these areas defined as the depth area.
  • Two of the other areas are defined as breadth areas and 8 credits are selected in the breadth area (4 credits in each area) and come from the EDIC course book.
  • The remainder of the credits can be taken from the whole EPFL master- and doctoral-level course program’s course lists, including the transversal skills course book.

3. First-Year Requirements: In addition to the credit requirement described in Section 2, the requirements below are applicable by the end of the first-year.

• Depth Courses: Within 12 months of enrollment in the doctoral school, students are expected to satisfy a depth course requirement. The depth course requirement consists of one course taken in a depth area from AI, Systems, Theory, Visual Computing, Security or Data.
• Semester Projects: The project credits come from projects offered by professors who are affiliated with the EDIC program. To sign up for a project, the student needs to choose a lab, have the professor accept him/her for a semester project (by signing a registration form).
• Candidacy Exam: Within 12 months of enrollment in the doctoral school, a student must take a candidacy exam. The candidacy exam consists of a short write-up, a presentation, and an oral exam in front of a committee including the thesis director(s) and two other members.

4. Annual Evaluation: After passing the candidacy exam, a doctoral student must meet his/her thesis director once a year and fill out the annual report form. This is a good opportunity for the students to receive official feedback from their advisors. The annual report is an online form that must be filled out first by the student, then by his/her advisor and is due to the doctoral program by October 30 every year.
5. Teaching Assistantship: Doctoral students also participate in the teaching activities of the school as teaching assistants (TAs). IC School doctoral students are part of a pool.
6. Rules and Regulations:

• EDIC Program Regulations
• Doctoral School Internal Regulations
• Doctoral regulations – Ordinance and directive

Additional Information

• For new PhD students: Arrival guide, Orientation & Research seminars, Semester projects: deadlines & registration, Candidacy exam, Conference travel grants.
• Useful links and documents: Affiliated labs and Research expertise, Course book & Information (registration), Leave of absence for PhD students, Annual report, Mentoring, End of thesis.
• IS-Academia guidelines: Setup IS-Academia menu, IS-Academia course & exam registration, Certificates for PhD students.