Useful links & FAQ

The registration for courses and examinations can be done via the link "Registration for courses and exams" of this page.

The registration deadlines appear on the same page.

The School of Biology provides equivalencies, which are only valid for the academic curriculum for which the request has been made.

A request can only be made in case of a successful year of study or if a qualification has been obtained.

The student must have passed an exam of the courses for which an equivalency is sought.

A student who obtains equivalencies must acquire at least 120 in a Bachelor curriculum or 60 ECTS credits in a Master curriculum of the School of Biology to obtain the corresponding degree awarded by the Faculty.

The secretariat of the School of Biology is located in the building Amphipôle, office 312.

The office is open Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 11:30am.

For any request or question outside these hours, write to biologie-etudiants@unil.ch.

Students interested in going on mobility are encouraged to do it during the third year of their curriculum of Bachelor. The plans of mobility leave must be substantiated and documented, meaning that they prepare themselves at the beginning of the second year by choosing a destination and defining a programme.

More information : Mobility & Summer undergrade.

Request about the Exams

With a valid medical certificate, the School of Biology considers on a case-by-case basis the specific situation of a student with a disability.

Please, request had to be sent to biologie-etudiants@unil.ch during the first 4 weeks of the semester:

• October 15 for the winter session
• March 15 for the summer and fall sessions

Any request must be justified by the delivery of an original medical certificate. This must clearly indicate:

• desired amenities (extra time for exams, special room and / or equipment ...)
• the period for which amenities are requested (exam sessions, semesters, the entire course, etc.).

NB: For dyslexic and dysorthographic patients, a logopedist report may be accepted instead of the medical certificate.

The School of Biology reserves the right not to grant all or a part of the request depending on the available resources or if the application is disproportionate.

Persons in possession of a federal maturity or having passed the entrance exam to the School of Biology of the University of Lausanne must fill an application form for the University of Lausanne (note the registration deadline)
Service des Immatriculations et Inscriptions- Unicentre - University of Lausanne - CH-1015 Lausanne - Tel. 021-692 21 00
Email: immat.bachelor [@] unil.ch -
Website

All other applications are considered on the basis of the record of achievement at school
Admission form for a written application

Formulaire d'admission sur dossier

The two programmes offered by the University of Lausanne and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne both target the life sciences. The curriculum of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne focuses on techniques and technologies related to the living world and, to that end, is based extensively on “basic” sciences courses (mathematics, physics and chemistry).
The curriculum of the School of Biology of the University of Lausanne aims to educate biologists who have acquired theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in a wide range of fields of the current biology. The education programme also aims to enable students who have acquired a Bachelor in Biology from the University of Lausanne to enter the three Master programmes in Biology from the University of Lausanne or any Master in Biology offered in Switzerland.

The studies of medicine and biology are totally independent, from the administrative perspective. However, courses at the FBM offer many possibilities of collaboration. Biologists interested in medical biology can specialise in this field by following optional courses at the School of Medicine at the Bachelor or doing the Master of Science in Medical Biology.

Very good level students, interested in adding to their Biology education a medicine education can benefit from the "passerelle biologie-médecine".

In recent years, the average number of students beginning a Bachelor curriculum hovers around 250 students. The success rate of this first year is about 40%.
As of the second year, the success rate is over 80%.

In the first year, much of the success depends on so-called basic disciplines (chemistry, physics  and mathematics) and biological sciences (biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, zoology, etc.). Students who have obtained another type of Maturité than the type “chemistry-biology” or “mathematics-physics” will have to make up for the basic science concepts they lack the at the start of the courses.

No prerequisite for a level of language other than French is required for the Bachelor in Biology.

There is no animal experimentation at Bachelor level.

During some practical work, there may be dissections of insects, crustaceans, fish or birds. However, no animal is killed only for our practical lessons. Birds are pigeons killed as part of efforts to regulate their population. Fish are unwanted species (such as roach) from "capture accessoire" by Lake Geneva fishermen. The law does not allow fishermen to release them.

The School of Biology provides three Masters degrees of Science in biology, the content of which focuses on the main strengths of biological research at the University of Lausanne:

• MSc in Behaviour, Evolution and Conservation (BEC) with three specialisations : Behaviour, Economics and Evolution (BEE), Computational Ecology and Evolution (CEE) and Geosciences, Ecology and Environment (GEE)
• MSc in Medical Biology (MB) with 4 tracks : Immunology & Cancer, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Metabolism & Human health, Neuroscience.
• MSc in Molecular Life Sciences (MLS) with 3 specialisations in bioinformatics, in microbiology or in integrative biology.

These Masters provide specialised theoretical and practical courses, closely integrated in the research groups of Lausanne. Of particular importance is the personal research work (or "Master thesis") that will really confront the students with the conducting of an experiment throughout one year that will allow one to acquire methodology and research techniques, and to experience the writing and defence of a thesis.

The language for teaching of these 3 masters is english.

To be allowed to register for one of the three Masters of the School of Biology at the University of Lausanne, it is necessary to hold a Bachelor degree of Science in Biology or in a field considered equivalent.

Lausanne students can register by filling an application form for transfer to a Master (see website for registrations in the University of Lausanne). All other applications must be made on the basis of the record of achievement at school to the Service des immatriculations et inscriptions of the University of Lausanne.

The registration deadline appears on the homepage of each Master.

The other candidates may be asked to take additional training prior of maximum 60 ECTS to entering the chosen Master to complete their curriculum with the courses required for the Master’s curriculum.

In the three Masters offered by the School of Biology, the share of individual research intensifies from the first to the third semester.
During the first semester, students learn the methods and techniques necessary for laboratory experiments in the context of an introductory personal work (first step project). This supervised practical work represents about 50% of the teaching time of the first semester. From the second semester, students start their Master research project, within a research group linked to the Master. The time spent on this work goes from 50% at the beginning of the second semester to 100% in the third semester.

The School of biology follows its graduates since 2007, the results are available on this link.