EPFL was founded in 1853 as the École Spéciale de Lausanne and renamed École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 1969. Its organisation ordinance is adopted under the ETH Board Ordinance on the Zurich and Lausanne Federal Institutes of Technology and places its headquarters in Ecublens, Vaud. Besides its main campus, EPFL is active in four other cantons: Geneva, Valais, Fribourg and Neuchâtel. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral became president on 1 January 2025.
EPFL is organised into a Direction, five schools, two colleges, an EPFL Assembly, centres and platforms, and support services. EPFL in figures 2025 reports 14,072 students: 7,001 bachelor’s, 4,471 master’s, 2,465 doctoral and 135 MAS students. It lists 6,441 employees, including 378 professors, and a budget of 1,188 million Swiss francs in 2025, 61% of it from the federal contribution.