ºù«Ӱҵ

Who can take part?

A period abroad is available in many undergraduate courses. Check the Where Can I Go? webpages to see what destinations are available and when you can study abroad. Unfortunately, students studying in the Faculty of Health are not eligible to add a year abroad to their degrees, but they can consider summer schools and may have elective abroad options.

If you are a student studying a language degree or studying a degree in the School of Law, you should also speak to your schools directly, as they also have year abroad teams to support you.

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Do I need to speak a foreign language?

All of our partners outside Europe teach in English and many of our partners within Europe offer modules taught in English. There are notes against partner universities with language requirements in the Where Can I Go? pages, and it should form part of your research of your destinations. If your degree involves language learning, this will influence the options available to you. 

If you want to learn a new language or brush up on any existing language skills, there are several ways of doing this both in ºù«Ӱҵ and in your host country. Languages for All offer modules in 17 languages from beginners to advanced level. 

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Academic matters

What will I study?

You are expected to take the equivalent of a full-time course load for a local student at the host university. This can be different to the 60 credits per semester at ºù«Ӱҵ. For example there may be minimum and maximum registration levels (e.g. 12 - 18 credits per semester) or the university may use ECTS (30 ECTS = 60 ºù«Ӱҵ credits).

You will not be registered on a degree at the partner university. You will be registered as an exchange student with a range of modules available to you, usually from more than one academic level. Depending on the exchange agreement with the partner university and the requirements of your school, you may be able to take modules from more than one department.

For students whose period abroad is additional, there is a lot of flexibility to explore elective options. You should not repeat modules you have taken in second year or will take in final year. Discuss your module selection with your study abroad tutor to confirm how much of your studies need to be related to your degree subject (e.g. 50%) and how much is elective. They can also confirm how many credits you should study when you are abroad, and this may be different depending on whether you are studying in English or a foreign language.

For students with a semester or year abroad that replaces study at ºù«Ӱҵ, you will need to carefully match the learning outcomes of what you would have studied in the same period at ºù«Ӱҵ. As a starting point, check what you would be studying if you stayed at ºù«Ӱҵ, then check the modules offered to exchange students at the partner university. Your study abroad tutor can help you with this, but will need you to research module options, and potentially find course descriptions or syllabi to enable them to confirm if the modules match sufficiently. 

It is important for all students who study abroad to have approval from their study abroad tutor for the modules they will take at the host university. This is vital for students whose period abroad is a replacement semester or year, especially if their degree is accredited. All changes to study plans must also be approved by the study abroad tutor. The document used to record your modules on the year abroad is called a learning agreement, and must be signed by you, your school and your host university to confirm your study plan is approved.

Does study abroad affect my degree?

For most students, the year abroad is an additional year, and is scored as either a pass or a fail. The grades from the modules taken at the partner university are not included in your ºù«Ӱҵ degree classification, but your studies abroad can still be beneficial for your final year grades and future plans.

Some schools also offer a semester abroad option, which replaces a semester of study at ºù«Ӱҵ. Some also offer the option to replace a year of study at ºù«Ӱҵ with a year of study at a partner university. In these cases the grades you obtain at the partner university will be converted by your school when you return, and these grades will affect your ºù«Ӱҵ degree classification.

What are the academic requirements to study abroad?

There are academic requirements for study abroad, and this forms part of the process of being allowed to go. Students applying to add a year abroad must have a minimum first year average of 60. For students applying in first year, their schools will assess them based on their academic performance. Students must also successfully complete the academic year before the period abroad. This usually means having no failed modules, especially as some partner universities have very different term dates that overlap with the University of ºù«Ӱҵ supplementary exam period in August. If you have concerns, please contact your study abroad tutor as soon as possible.

Academic tutoring

You will continue to receive academic tutoring from the University of ºù«Ӱҵ while you study abroad. This may be from the study abroad tutor, depending on how your school operates. Please note that your host university is unlikely to assign you an academic tutor or may not have academic tutoring. This usually means that if you are struggling with a class, then you should speak to the lecturer directly. 

A note on terminology

You will find different countries use different jargon when referring to higher education, even if they also speak English, so consider this when you are researching your options. For example:

• Modules can be called units, subjects, classes, and courses.
• Your course can be referred to as your degree, or your major.
• Lecturers may be referred to as faculty, professors or tutors.
• Your results may be referred to as a GPA, expressed out of 4.0. Terms like 2:1 and first degree may not be understood.
• The semesters may be referred to as Fall and Spring (e.g. in the US), Fall and Winter (e.g. in Canada), or Winter and Summer (e.g. in Germany). If you are in Australia or New Zealand, you will take the second semester, have a summer break over Christmas, then take the first semester.

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Which year will I go?

If you are on a three-year degree, you will usually apply in the autumn semester of your second year to add a year abroad between your second year and final year. For some students in the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering on an integrated Masters programme, they can apply in the autumn semester of second year to replace the third year with a year abroad.

A different programme is BA International Business Management with Study Abroad, where the year abroad is in the second year and the application is in the autumn semester of the first year. A small number of schools also offer a semester abroad option, usually replacing one of the two semesters in the second year and requiring an application in the first year. 

For more details on what options are available to you, please check the Where Can I Go? pages. 

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 Advice from your school

There are study abroad tutors in each school. You must discuss your options with an tutor before you submit an application. Their role is to give continual academic advice from when you are first considering study abroad, all the way through to when you return from overseas. They help you identify relevant modules at overseas universities, they are contactable while you're abroad, and they ensure you always meet your ºù«Ӱҵ degree requirements.

You must discuss your choices and obtain the full support of your school before submitting an application.