Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN)

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 9 November 2026.

About Escuela Politécnica Nacional

The National Convention of Ecuador founded EPN on 30 August 1869 on the initiative of President Gabriel García Moreno. It became the country’s first centre of teaching and scientific research with the help of Jesuit scientists including Juan Bautista Menten, Teodoro Wolf and Luis Sodiro.^[4] It closed on 15 September 1876, reopened on 28 February 1935 and took its present name by decree on 4 June 1946.^[4] The university says its Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Agro-Industry (1947) and its Faculty of Systems Engineering (1985) were the first of their kind in Ecuador, and that it moved to the El Girón campus in 1964.^[4]

The founding day differs by source: EPN’s history page says 30 August 1869, while Wikipedia gives 27 August.^[5] Wikipedia also dates the technology school ESFOT to 1967, while EPN’s page says 1987.^[5][4] We use the university’s dates.

How is EPN ranked?

In the QS World University Rankings 2027, EPN is in the 1401+ group, the last band on the list and unchanged from the previous edition. It is the lowest of the six Ecuadorian universities in the ranking; the best placed is USFQ (771–780), followed by ESPOL (901–950).^[2][6]

On quality assurance, EPN received category A from Ecuador’s accreditation bodies in 2009 and 2013, and its history page records that CACES recognised the EUR-ACE accreditation of 15 engineering programmes on 5 May 2026.^[4] EUR-ACE is a European label for engineering degrees. Rankings differ by publisher and year, so treat one position as one view. How we compile rankings; see also universities in Ecuador.

What can you study at EPN?

For the second period of 2026, EPN offers 24 degree programmes and 4 higher-technology programmes, all in person.^[3] Subjects are grouped in eight faculties and a school for technology training:^[1]

• Sciences
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Systems Engineering
• Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Geology and Petroleum Engineering
• Chemical and Agro-Industrial Engineering
• Administrative Sciences

The admission page names Business Administration as a degree with its own, shorter entrance assessment, so EPN is not engineering alone.^[3] Postgraduate admission has separate pages for master’s and doctoral programmes on the EPN site.^[7] Wikipedia gives different faculty counts (ten, and elsewhere eight), so we follow EPN’s own page.^[5]

How much does EPN cost?

EPN is public. The university states that its admission process is free of charge.^[3] Under Ecuadorian law, public higher education is free up to the first degree, subject to academic conditions. According to a press explainer of 8 June 2026, foreigners have the same rights but must take part in the admission process, enrol as regular students, enrol in at least 60% of the credits each period, hold valid identification and regular immigration status, and have their foreign documents recognised.^[8] Gratuity is lost after failing 30% of cumulative subjects, and it does not cover second or third enrolments.^[8]

A second degree at EPN is possible but comes without gratuity.^[3] We did not find a published amount for second-degree or lost-gratuity fees, nor a separate fee list for foreign degree students, on the EPN pages we read. Visiting international students receive the same benefits as EPN students, including free use of recreational and academic facilities, bus transport twice a day to different parts of the city, medical service and access to clubs.^[1]

Costs beyond tuition (rent, food) are not covered here; see the Ecuador guide.

How do you apply to EPN?

For degree programmes in the 2026-B period, EPN’s process has seven stages: national registration, enrolment and application, assessment, assessment score, application score, acceptance of a place and enrolment.^[3]

• Who can take part: students in the final year of Ecuadorian secondary school (highland calendar) and people who already hold a bachillerato awarded or recognised by the Ministry of Education.^[3]
• National registration: mandatory on the SENESCYT platform; without it you cannot continue and must wait for the next period.^[3]
• Enrolment: needs no uploaded documents. You need an internet connection, a valid ID card (cédula) with an updated photo and a personal e-mail address. You can choose up to two programmes in order of preference.^[3]
• Assessment: in person at EPN, on a date and in a room assigned by the university. It has multiple-choice questions in mathematics, physics, chemistry and language (90 questions for engineering, science and technology; 50 questions in mathematics and language for Business Administration), up to 4 hours, out of 1,000 points. EPN runs no preparation courses.^[3]
• Application score: 25% secondary-school record and 75% assessment, plus points for affirmative action where they apply.^[3]
• Places: allocated by groups, among them 5% quota policy, 10% socio-economic vulnerability, 20% academic merit, 2% other recognitions, 3% peoples and nationalities, 40% bachillerato graduates of the current year and 20% general population.^[3]

The page does not describe a separate route for foreign applicants who lack an Ecuadorian ID, so ask the Admission and Registry office (Dirección de Admisión y Registro). Exchange students whose university has an agreement with EPN apply through their home international office; others contact the EPN institutional relations office.^[1] We give no dates because the schedule changes every period.

Which language level do you need?

EPN’s admission pages are in Spanish and the entrance assessment includes a language section, so expect to deal with Spanish throughout.^[3] The pages we read set no language certificate (such as DELE or SIELE) and no minimum level. Ask the admission office what it expects from applicants who did not study in Spanish. The international students page offers an English summary but gives no English-taught degree programmes.^[1]

More about studying in Ecuador

• Ecuador: best universities
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

More university profiles in Ecuador

• Central University of Ecuador (UCE)
• ESPOL Polytechnic University
• Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ)