The International Academic Exchange Program gives international students currently enrolled in a degree course in science and engineering outside of France the opportunity to attend courses at École Polytechnique.
Applications are eligible from students attending universities that have signed an exchange agreement with École Polytechnique; an agreement under the ERASMUS + program, and those who wish to join us as visiting students. All applications are formalized with a learning agreement, which must be approved by the student and his/her home university before the start of the mobility period.
We welcome applications for Full-year, Fall semester or Spring semester exchange periods.
The maximum duration of stay is between 3 and 12 months.
Exchange students can choose from among the two following options for classes:
Classes open to exchange students: mainly courses in the 2nd and 3rd years of the Bachelor's program, as part of the double majors in mathematics-physics, mathematics-computing and mathematics-economics.
All classes are taught in English.
Classes open to exchange students: 2nd and 3rd year courses of the Ingénieur Polytechnicien Program and, under certain conditions, 1st year courses of the Masters in Science and Technology.
Classes may be taught in French or English.
École Polytechnique allows exchange students to choose their courses from a wide range of courses taught in 11 departments.
In this Exchange Program, students take classes together with regular full-time students. They enroll in the Exchange Program and receive ECTS credits for classes validated during their exchange period.
Students are enrolled at École Polytechnique as exchange students in one specific level of study (undergraduate or graduate) and choose their courses in that level of study. They may also attend classes from other levels if classes schedules allow it and if they meet all conditions for entry, as well as language and academic requirements.
We try our best to guarantee the registration to courses taking into account that each course have a numerus clausus and timetables that are subject to change.
SCIENCE CLASSES
Undergraduate level - Links to the English-taught Bachelor Program:
- Course catalogue
Graduate level - Links to course catalogues:
- 2nd year of the Ingénieur Polytechnicien Program
- 3rd year of the Ingénieur Polytechnicien Program
- 1st year of Master of Science and Technology*
*Please note that the Master of Science and Technology in Data Science for Business is not open to exchange students.
LANGUAGE CLASSES
Exchange students can take French classes offered by the Department of Languages and Cultures, and under certain conditions, classes in another foreign language taught by the Department.
The levels offered range from beginner to advanced (A1 to C2) depending on the number of open places.
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CLASSES
Exchange students can take one classe per semester offered by the Department, depending on availability.
MANAGEMENT, INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLASSES
Exchange students can take one classe per semester offered by the Department, depending on availability.
SPORTS
Exchange students have access to sports facilities on the campus.
COURSE RESTRICTIONS
The Master of Science and Technology Data Science for Business courses are not open to exchange students.
The 2nd year of the Master of Science and Technology courses are not open to exchange students.
Please note that access to the 1st year Master of Science and Technology courses is limited to a maximum of 2 courses per period.
Depending on the specialisation chosen, students at Bachelor's and Master's level may request to carry out a scientific project, but due to the limited number of places in the courses, final enrolment will be subject to the approval of the supervising professor.
At Master's level, only the scientific research internship in the 3rd year of the Ingenieur Polytechnicien Program is open to exchange students, on condition that the internship is carried out in one of the École Polytechnique laboratories. The Business internship experience in a company in the 2nd year of the Ingenieur Polytechnicien Program is not open to exchange students.
1st & 2nd YEARS
| 1st semester | 2nd semester | |
| Teaching | September to January | February to June |
| Examination | Early February | End of June |
3rd YEAR
| 1st semester | 2nd semester | |
| Teaching | September to December | April to June* |
| Examination | Mid-December | End of June |
* Period from January to March is dedicated to the Bachelor Thesis
2ND YEAR OF THE INGÉNIEUR POLYTECHNICIEN PROGRAM
| First Term | Second Term | Third Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching | August to Mid-November | Mid-November to Mid-February | Mid-February to Mid-May |
| Examination | Mid-November | Mid-February | End of May |
3RD YEAR OF THE INGÉNIEUR POLYTECHNICIEN PROGRAM/ 1ST YEAR OF THE MSC&T
| First Term | Second Term | Third Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching | September to December | January to March | April to August |
| Examination | Mid-December | Mid-March | Thesis Defense |
Orientation Program
École Polytechnique organizes an orientation day, generally in the first week of September, and is completed in January for students joining us for the spring term. It is intended to help students find their way around campus and provide them with the necessary tools for a successful exchange period on our campus. We recommend that all exchange students participate in this activity.
The International Mobility Office will arrange orientation activities for exchange students throughout the academic year to facilitate their integration into campus life.