Master E-PiCo+ (International Master in Electric Vehicle Propulsion and Control)
Nantes, France
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 18,000 / per course **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Scholarship applications until January 31st, 2026. Self-funded students until April, 30th, 2026.
** for non-European students and 9000 EUR for European students/ ErasmusMundus scholarships and Consortium scholarships available
Key Summary
About: The Master E‑PiCo+ (International Master in Electric Vehicle Propulsion and Control) is a two‑year joint programme coordinated by Ecole Centrale de Nantes and delivered in English. It unites universities in France, Germany, Italy, Romania and Mexico, with associate partners, industry links (Airbus, Renault, Honda, IAV, Jungheinrich). It covers topics in electric propulsion, power electronics, motor drives, energy management, control systems and mechatronics.
Career Outcomes: Graduates work in e‑mobility, automotive electrification, powertrain design, control engineering, embedded systems and energy systems. Employers include manufacturers, suppliers, research labs, startups and consultancies. It builds skills in system integration, modelling, simulation and industry collaboration.
E-PiCo-Electrical Vehicle Propulsion and Control +
The Joint Master's program E-PiCo+ has been successfully selected under the European Programmes of Excellence: through the Erasmus Mundus Programme for 4 intakes.
E-Pico+ is a 2-year Joint Master program implemented and fully supported by 4 major European Higher Education Institutions:
- Ecole Centrale de Nantes, (ECN - Coordinator), France
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU) zu Kiel / Kiel University, Germany
- Università degli Studi dell’Aquila (UAQ), Italy
- NAtional University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest (U.N.S.T.P.B.), Romania
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), Mexico
Moreover, Ecole de Technologie Supérieure (Canada), University of Lagos-Unilag (Nigeria), McMaster University (Canada), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (India), Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico) and Wuhan University (China), participate in the program as associate partners where students can spend their last semester for the Master Thesis (S4). Airbus, Renault Groupe, IAV GmbH, Honda, Modis, Pure Power Control (P2C), Digipower, Tekne, ECA Group and Jungheinrich are the major industrial corporations involved in E-PiCo+.
E-PiCo+ offers useful and necessary multidisciplinary topics in the e-mobility field and E-PiCo+ will provide technical and scientific solutions to the issue of fossil consumption and greenhouse gas emission. It is devised to train students in the field of e-mobility in order to have them work towards ecological transition.
It is directly applicable to the industry by training future electric propulsion system, expert graduates.
Through lectures by reputable researchers, practical work on the latest experimental platforms, sessions with industrial specialists, annual workshops, E-PiCo+ students acquire the most advanced knowledge that will prepare them for the upcoming challenges in e-mobility.
The language of instruction is English across the two years.
Mobility Scheme
The program of study lasts 2 academic years(120 ECTS) split into four equally loaded semesters.
E-PiCo student mobility paths will take place in minimum 2 EU countries, and possibly in 3 EU countries for the first 3 semesters.
For the 4th semester, the E-PiCo students may move to partner countries considering the EACEA regulations for Erasmus Mundus scholarship holders or to an industrial partner is possible.
Curriculum
First semester (30 ECTS) in Centrale Nantes
The aim of the first semester in Ecole Centrale Nantes is to provide the students with a solid interdisciplinary background across the main areas of automatic control and electric vehicles:
- Control System
- Statistical Signal Processing and Estimation Theory
- Fundamentals of Electric Vehicle Systems
- Electric Vehicle Modeling and Simulation
- Embedded Software Systems
Second Semester (30 ECTS) in one of the Partner institution
The aim of the second semester is to provide students with a solid background in electric vehicle components:
- Electric Machines
- Renewable Energy and Storage Systems
- Design of Power Electronics Converters
Third Semester (30 ECTS) in any of the 4 Partner institutions
During the third Semester, more specialized courses are proposed. The program of this semester is based on the specific research strengths of the partner institutions (thus varying from partner to partner):
- Energy storage and energy management in e-mobility systems (U.N.S.T.P.B.)
- Improvement of electric machine control performance (ECN)
- Control of complex dynamical systems // Power electronics drives technologies (CAU)
- Control Systems (UAQ)
Fourth semester (30 ECTS)
The fourth semester is devoted to the Master Thesis.
Each student is jointly supervised by two advisors from two different institutions. The research topic can be supervised and located in the R&D department of an industrial institution.
Scholarships
For the 2026-2028 intake, Erasmus Mundus scholarships are available. It covers tuition fees and gives an allowance of €1,400/month.
Consortium scholarships are also available. It acts as a tuition fees waiver.
Professional prospects
Although the E-PiCo+ programme relates primarily to the context of e-mobility, the concepts covered can be applied to a much wider range of other engineering and economic systems. The career prospects for E-PiCo+ graduates are therefore excellent. They can be employed in diverse industrial and economic sectors, as the courses are relevant to today’s high tech society.
On graduation from E-PiCo+ Master's course, the student will have acquired the following skills:
- In-depth scientific and technical knowledge of Control engineering and the skills to use this knowledge effectively.
- Capacity to work both independently and in multidisciplinary teams, interacting effectively with specialists and taking initiatives where necessary.
- Capacity to communicate effectively (through both written and oral presentations) in an international context,
- Capacity to adopt the most suitable methods for the problem at hand and select the technological components needed to implement the proposed solution.
- Capacity to transfer high tech methodology from university to industry.
The E-PiCo+ Master's course has gained strong support from the industrial and academic worlds, evidence of the strong relevance of this type of international cooperation in teaching and research at the graduate level.