Study science and technology abroad

As a student in science and technology, you have many options if you want to study abroad.

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Exchange Studies via the Faculty of Sciences and Technology and Departments belonging to the faculty
 

Faculty of Science of Technology as well as the departments that belong to the faculty have signed agreements with many of universities in Europe and number of higher education institutions around the world.

There are four types of agreements:

1.     Erasmus+ agreements

a.     Part of the European Union Erasmus+ mobility program

b.     Mobility is supported by the Erasmus+ stipend (approx. 530 Euro/month)

c.     Universities within the EU and partner countries

2.     Nordtek agreements

a.     Part of the Nordtek network focusing on technical education, also part of the Erasmus+ mobility program

b.     Mobility is supported by the Erasmus+ stipend (approx. 530 Euro/month)

c.     Universities in Nordic and Baltic countries

3.     SEMP agreements

a.     Swiss-European mobility program

b.     Mobility is supported by the Swiss government with a stipend (approx. 500 Euro/month)

c.     Universities in Switzerland

d.     Students are not eligible for the CSN if they accept the stipend from the Swiss government

4.     Bilateral agreements

a.     Individual agreements between two universities, not part of any mobility program

b.     No automatic financial support

c.     Universities around the world

More about agreements, application and selection:

Agreement levels and owners

Within our faculty, we have two levels of agreements:

1.     Faculty level agreements

a.     Signed by the Dean

b.     Directed to all the students at the faculty

2.     Departmental level agreements

a.     Signed by the head of specific department

b.     Directed primarily to the students of the programmes governed by the department. Students from other departments are given lower priority.

Agreement subject

Regardless of the type, all agreements are agreements within specific study subjects. That means you are entitled to apply for the courses at the host institution within the subject of the agreement. Some host institutions may be flexible and allow you to take part in the courses outside of the subject of the agreement, but there is no guarantee of that in general. You need to check with the host institution if you wish to take courses outside the agreement subject.

The agreements signed at the faculty level are more general and contain a wider set of subjects suitable to a wider group of students. In contrast, the departmental agreements are more suited for specific subject students.

Where can I go for the exchange using Faculty and Departmental agreements?

All information about the agreements can be found in the SoleMove system, which is a university central system storing information about the agreements.

If you want to see the agreements signed on the faculty level, please choose “Faculty of Science and Technology” as “Your home unit”. For the agreements of the specific department, please choose the institution's name directly.

Once you find a suitable host institution, you can click on its name to find the type of agreement, agreement subject, as well as study cycle. Frequently a short description of the university including information about the university, the number of places available for exchange and language requirements can be found there too.

You can apply for the places of your department and the faculty places. 
Additionally, you can apply for places on the agreements of another department; however, for the departmental places, priority is given to the students of the programs belonging to the specific department (see selection criteria).

Application process

For the places provided by the Faculty of Science and Technology and our departments, you can apply for studies abroad twice a year, once during autumn and once during spring term. The applications pertain to the forthcoming term and are made just some months in advance.

The application is made via the SoleMove system. The application rounds are open:

• Autumn round: September 5th – September 20th

• Spring round: March 1st – March 15th

Read the manual on how to apply

Observe that when applying for the exchange places of the Faculty of Science and Technology and corresponding departments, you can apply to a maximum of four exchange destinations.

Your course choice should be verified by a study guidance counsellor or international contact person.

For your application to be complete you need to attach the following document: 

Application form – exchange studies

Further if you have participated in the Buddy programme, you need to upload the corresponding certificate together with your application to obtain additional points.

Application form

Selection criteria

Once the student’s application is received, points will be assigned according to the criteria listed below. Each of the chosen destinations will be assigned individual points.

1.     Agreement ownership (0 or 10 points)

a.     For all faculty students applying for exchange via faculty agreement: 10 points.
b.     If the destination is part of the agreement of the student’s department: 10 points.
c.     If the destination is part of the agreement of another department: 0 points.

2.     Completed credits at Umeå University at the time of application (maximum 3 points)

a.     At least 120 completed credits: 3 points
b.     60–119 completed credits: 2 points
c.     15–59 completed credits: 1 point

3.     Performance at Umeå University (maximum 3 points)

Student's study performance (number of credits that the student is registered for in relation to the actual number of credits gained

a.     91–100 percent: 3 points
b.     81–90 percent: 2 points
c.     75–80 percent: 1 point

4.     Course selection for each chosen university (maximum 1 point)

Course selection for each chosen university: 1 point
Lack of course selection for chosen universities: 0 points

You receive 1 (one) point for listing four course selections at each chosen university. If you choose a university without giving example of relevant courses, your application will receive 0 points.

5.     Buddy Programme (maximum 2 points)

a.     Group leader in the Buddy Programme: 2 points
b.     Participation in the Buddy Programme as a buddy: 1 point
c.     Have not participated in the Buddy Programme (as a buddy or a group leader): 0 points

6.     Submitted application is complete (maximum 1 point)

a.     Submitted application is complete: 1 point
b.     Submitted application incomplete (or attachments are submitted late): 0 points

You can receive a maximum of 20 points for your application

Selection process

Once all the applications are received and ranked, the selection process is performed. It starts with considering the first-choice exchange destinations. Students with the highest number of points are being offered the exchange place.

In case of the draw in total number of points, the selection criteria will be examined in the order they are listed above. Firstly, completed credits will be compared. If the points awarded are the same, then the study performance will be compared and so on. If two or more students' total number of points is the same after all the criteria have been compared, the ranking between them will be decided by drawing lots.

Only once all the first-choice exchange destinations have been assigned, the selection process moves to the second-choice destination, followed by the third and fourth destinations. It is, therefore, important to realise that the order of selected exchange destinations is a significant factor in the selection process.

The result of the selection is communicated to all applicants via a message from Solemove. If you are offered a nomination for an exchange place at a university, you have one week to accept or decline your assigned nomination. If we do not receive an answer from you, it is considered that you have answered no. If you are not offered a nomination, you will receive an email directly from SoleMove.

After the selection

When the selection is complete, a compilation is made of the students who have accepted their exchange place to the partner university, and the Internationalisation Officer and the International Contact Persons make a formal decision.

When the selection is finished, and any cancellations are received, a reserve processing takes place. Students who already have an assigned nomination cannot be on the reserve list, but students who have declined their nomination are added to the reserve list. Individual departments govern the reserve processes and the International contact person at the department can provide students with further details.

I have accepted an exchange place, what happens next?

Once a student accepts the exchange place, the International contact person who holds the agreement will inform the partner university, after which the student can apply for the exchange period at the host institution. That process varies greatly between the host institutions and the details about that part of the process will be provided after nomination by the host institution.