As a student at Umeå School of Architecture you can apply to become an exchange student through one of our agreements. We have a number of agreements with partner universities around the world. In addition to these there are central agreements and faculty agreements. All agreements at Umeå University can be found in the database of Exhcange Agreements.
The information below regards exchange studies through Umeå School of Architecture’s own agreements.
To study as an exchange student means that Umeå University has agreed to "exchange students" with a partner university and that the study results can be accredited at the home university. Consequently, you do not pay fees for your studies at the partner university and your total study period will not be longer than at normal study rate, provided that your courses abroad are accredited.
Students who are interested in applying for exchange studies first need to find out as much as possible about the particular country, town and school of interest. The student also need to find out which courses he/she can take and if there are specific requirements for e.g. language skills.
Students on the Architecture Programme can apply for exchange studies on term 3, 4, 7 and 8. Students on the Masters programme in Architecture and Urban Design can apply for exchange studies during the second term of the programme. To apply for studies at one of our partner universities you first need to apply for a nomination and you need to fulfill certain requirements.
As an applicant you must:
You apply to be nomination in SoleMove
A manual for applying for exchange in SoleMove is available here
You should always include a letter of motivation in your application, explaining why you want to study abroad and how studying abroad fits into your programme and future plans. You should also list the courses you would like to study at the partner university.
To apply for an exchange programme through the School of Architecture's department, select the call for applications ‘Umeå School of Architecture’ and the correct semester and year.
You can apply to up to five universities. List the universities you want to study at and rank them in the order of your preference. The lower options will be disregarded if you are granted your first choice. By selecting multiple options, you increase your chances of studying abroad!
For exchange studies during the spring semester, we accept applications between September 1 and September 15, and for the fall semester between March 1 and March 15.
If the deadline occurs on a weekend, the following Monday is the last day to apply. For applications for spring 2025, last day to apply is September 16.
For exchange studies in fall semester: March 1 - March 15
For exchange studies in spring semester: September 1 – September 15
To find the universities that you can apply to be nominated for in a specific nomination period, go to Solemove and do an advanced search where you select "application period" as "Umeå School of Architecture term and year."
Applications are reviewed by the international coordinators at the School of Architecture, and the nominations are based on their assessment. The nomination is based on several assessment criteria:
When deciding on nominations, we primarily consider the applicant's first choice. If more than one student has chosen a specific university as their first choice and meets the same criteria listed above, allocation will be made by lottery.
Applying to be nominated to several universities does not reduce your chances of being nominated to your first choice.
As soon as a decision is made, the applicants will be informed, and nominated students will receive further information and instructions. If you are nominated, it means that you are eligible to apply as an exchange student to the relevant university. In other words, the nominated student is not formally admitted to an exchange spot until they have applied to the partner university, and the receiving institution decides on the admission.
Decisions on nominations cannot be appealed.
We inform our partner universities about who has been nominated to exchange studies. The nominated students must then apply to the partner university. Because our partner universities have different application procedures (deadlines and what to include in your application) the nominated students must find out from school to school how and when you apply. When contact between the nominated student and the hosting university is established, it is the student's responsibility to make sure that the application and supporting documents is submitted in time.
When the partner university has received and processed the application, the nominated student will receive an admission decision.
The courses an exchange students study during his/hers exchange needs to be transferred within the degree at Umeå University upon return. Therefore, the exchange student must make sure that the courses he/she has decided to study during the exchange have been approved by the international contact person at Umeå School of Architecture. This can be done by completing a learning agreement. A Learning Agreement is an assessment made by the home university and are made as guidance to the students who wish to take courses at other universities. The assessment is made in relation to the degree that the exchange student in question plans to obtain.
If an exchange student need to change courses during the exchange, he/she must contact the international contact person at Umeå School of Architecture. Please not that several partner universities do not accept course changes after the beginning of the term. The student also need to contact the international contact person at the hosting university about the course selection.
The final decision is taken by Degree Evaluation Office when the exchange student return to Umeå with his/her transcript of records. The courses will not be automatically transferred upon return, the exchange student must apply for a transfer of credits. For further information about transfer of credits, please visit this page.
If you receive an exchange spot within Erasmus+, you can apply for a scholarship through the International Office. The scholarship amount varies between 400 and 460 euros per month.
The international coordinator at the School of Architecture will notify the International Office that you have been nominated for exchange studies. You will then receive an invitation via email to Umeå University's Canvas page for Erasmus scholarships. On the Canvas page, you will find more information on how to submit your application for Erasmus+ scholarship. Your application must be complete before you begin your studies abroad.
