In Switzerland, the Dr sc. is a doctoral degree awarded only by the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (EPFL and ETHZ), the University of Fribourg and the Department of Informatics of the University of Zurich. The Swiss Dr sc., like the D.Sc. in the US, is equivalent to the PhD. It is earned with the approval of a committee on the basis of original research, publications, and extensive applied professional contributions and is awarded in doctoral level science and technology programs. Since 2004 the Dr sc. is the only doctoral degree awarded by the ETH Zurich. The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne awards the degree "Docteur ès sciences", abbreviated "Dr ès sc."and translated into English as PhD.