To foster and promote the awareness of space technologies and applications among students, EPFL offers since 2005 a Minor in Space Technologies. The course is hosted by the Electrical Engineering and Electronics Section (SEL) but open to the entire EPFL student community.
The main goals of the Minor in Space Technologies are:
- To offer students the possibility to strengthen their knowledge of space related research
- To promote space applications, technology and science based on the large interest raised by space
- To foster a strong educational platform in the space sector, in parallel to the development of academic and research projects at EPFL (e.g. SwissCube, Cleanspace)
Fast travel to:
guidelines
Who is eligible to register for the Minor in Space Technologies?
The Minor may be taken by EPFL students, but specifically by STI students (EL, MX, MT, GM) and the students from the Physics Section (PH). Students from other sections are more than welcome but prior authorisation from their Sections should be obtained.
The Minor is only open to Master students who have selected a Master programme with at least 90 ETCS (European Credit Transfer System).
A minimum of 30 ETCS are necessary to obtain the Minor, usually corresponding to one semester of study.
All the requirements for the Minor should be completed before the student starts his/her Master thesis (usually in the 4th semester of his/her Master studies).
What are the requirements to register for the Minor?
In order to obtain the Minor, a student will have to get at least 30 ETCS (European Credit Transfer System) that could be made out of at least:
- 18 ETCS for courses (to be selected out of a list of 102 ETCS)
- 12 ETCS for a project
It should be noted that the classes taken by a student in the frame of the Minor are considered as a “group”. Hence the student has to obtain a mark of at least 4.0 for each of them.
Note that the 12 ETCS project is not mandatory but is very highly recommended, especially during the 3rd semester.
When can I enroll in the Minor in Space Technologies?
The student’s choice to select the Minor should be announced no later than two weeks after the beginning of the first semester of his/her Master studies. The student’s choice should be confirmed before the end of the first semester of his/her Master studies.
What classes to choose if I want a better focus on Space Systems?
We recommend the students to take these courses on their first semester of the master.
Here's below a flow chart with the main recommended courses and in which order to take them.
What happens if I decide not to continue with the Minor course?
A student is allowed to give up the Minor after being enrolled. However, in order to obtain his/her Master degree, the student will still have to satisfy the rules relative to the Master diploma determined by the “ordonnance du Contrôle des études” as well as those applicable to his/her section.
In addition, the credits (ETCS) earned in the frame of the Minor may be transferred to the necessary requirements to earn the Master degree as long as the student’s Section allows for it. The credits earned in the frame of the Minor which are not valid for the requirements to earn the Master degree will be lost.
ESA Academy
For students taking European Space Agency Academy Classes and want to add the credits into their study plan: you MUST notify the EPFL Academic Services of your registration to an ESA Academy Class before the date of the class.
Make sure to contact the student services in advance to let them know.
If you don't, credits offer through ESA classes will not be accepted into your study plan.
list of courses
2024-2025
Credits offered: 102
Teachers, credits and period of the classes are subjected to change.
Classes that have been taken during bachelor or master CANNOT be taken again in the minor.
Highlighted classes are "space focused" and are highly recommended.
The official Minor in Space Technologies programme can viewed on the EPFL website HERE.
As a reminder, you can check out the flow chart below recommending a logical pattern of classes seclection if you specifically want to focus on Space Systems:
The official EPFL Minor in Space Technologies study plan can be found HERE
| CODES | COURSES | LECTURERS | PROGRAMS | CREDITS | COMMENTS | SEMESTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ME-445 | Aerodynamics | Mulleners | GM | 4 |  | |
| PHYS-323 | Astrophysics II : interactions radiation-matter | Jablonka | PH | 4 | Cancelled in 2024-2025 |  |
| PHYS-465 | Astrophysics III : galaxy formation and evolution | Hirschmann | PH | 4 | | |
| PHYS-401 | Astrophysics IV : stellar and galactic dynamics | Revaz | PH | 4 |  | |
| PHYS-402 | Astrophysics V : observational cosmology | Kneib | PH | 4 | | |
| ENG-411 | Concurrent Engineering of Space Missions | Kneib, Udriot | EL | 2 | | |
| ME-321 | Control systems + TP | Jones + Salzmann | GM | 4 | | |
| MICRO-315 | Embedded Systems and Robotics/Systèmes embarqués et robotique | Mondada | MT | 6 | | |
| ME-372 | Finite element method/Méthode des éléments finis | Gallaire/Yim | GM | 3 | | |
| ME-373 | Finite element modelling and simulation/Modélisation et simulation par éléments finis | Boujo | GM | 3 | Limit: 120 students | |
| ME-341 | Heat and mass transfer | Tagliabue | GM | 4 | | |
| EE-522 | How to design for value for space applications | Ben Hamida | EL | 2 | | |
| ENV-540 | Image processing for earth observation | Tuia | SIE | 4 | | |
| PHYS-345 | Introduction à l'astrophysique: les bases | Kneib | PH | 3 | | |
| EE-346 | Introduction aux microondes et aux antennes | Skrivervik | EL | 3 | | |
| EE-580 | Introduction to the design of space mechanisms | Feusier | EL | 2 | | |
| EE-582 | Lessons learned from the space exploration | Toussaint | EL | 2 | | |
| MSE-474 | Materials selection | Michler J./Siegmann/Vaucher | MX | 2 | 4h lecture every two weeks from the first week | |
| MICRO-428 | Metrology | Bruschini / Charbon / Fantner | MT | 3 | | |
| MICRO-429 | Metrology practicals | Bruschini / Charbon / Fantner | MT | 2 | | |
| EE-310 | Microprogrammed Embedded Systems/Systèmes embarqués microprogrammés | Atienza | EL | 4 | Limit: 80 students | |
| MGT-462 | New space economy | Roettgen | MTE | 3 | Special schedule. Check the MTE website for more info. | |
| EE-589 | Projet in space technologies | Misc. | EL | 12 |  | |
| ENV-548 | Sensor orientation | Skaloud | SIE | 4 | | |
| EE-584 | Spacecraft design & system engineering | David/Udriot | EL | 5 | | |
| EE-585 | Space mission design & operations | Kuntzer | EL | 2 | | |
| ENG-510 | Space propulsion | Jäger | EL | 3 | | |
| EE-587 | Space sustainability, a multidisciplinary approach | David/Udriot | EL | 2 | | |
| MSE-485 | Tribology | Mischler S./Igual Munoz | MX | 2 | |
project
Each student planning to take the Minor can select a project equivalent to 12 ETCS. A list of projects offered by eSpace is available HERE.
Subjects could also be proposed by an EPFL lab or the students themselves (as long as the project is space related).
Note that if you are proposing your own project, it needs to be supervised by a lab at EPFL. The Minor project cannot be done within an external entity.
It is highly recommended to take the project after the classes, i.e. in the third semester of Master. Once the title of the project has been selected and agreed with project supervisors, the student needs to register for the project on IS-Academia and can inform us about their project via this form.
(Note that this form is not mandatory to fill in but is greatly appreciated as we do not have access to all the registrations on IS-Academia).
If you choose to do your project in an EPFL lab and are unsure how to register on IS-Academia, please contact us via the form below.
enrolment
1. The student should register on IS-Academia for the Minor and corresponding classes.
If your Section is asking for eSpace's validation before you register for the Minor, please download this form and send it back to us filled in with your chosen list. eSpace's academic director Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib will review the chosen classes and if approved, will sign the form that you can return to your section.
2. The studend ensures that the selected classes total at least 30 ECTS (with a highly recommended plan of 18 ECTS classes + 12 ECTS project).
3. Deadline to register: before the end of the first semester of each students’ Master studies
contact
We are happy to answer your questions and comments.
Fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.