Exchange studies outside Europe

Prior to your application

Eligibility

The university-wide agreements are open to all students from all faculties with a few exceptions. You can apply if you study at the undergraduate or graduate level.

To be eligible for an exchange place through the university-wide agreements you must:

• be registered at Umeå University at the time of your application or have an approved leave from studies during the year you apply.
• have completed at least 15 ECTS at Umeå University when you submit your application to the International Office.
• have completed at least 60 ECTS at Umeå University before departure.
• study performance over 75% at Umeå University, i.e. no more than 25% unfinished courses.
• plan your exchange studies in consultation with your department so you can have your credits transferred to your study programme. 

You must also be able to demonstrate the following language skills at the time of application:

• have documented language skills in the language of instruction (for Swedish speaking students, Scandinavian languages are exempt), such as upper secondary school diploma. The upper secondary school diploma is controlled by International Office, you do not need to submit the diploma with your application. Please note that if you are offered a nomination to a university, that university may require you to submit a certificate such as an upper secondary school diploma.
  
  For English, the requirements are the equivalent of three years of study at upper secondary school. You should either have:
  
  
  • minimum grade of VG (pass with credit) in upper secondary course A, or a minimum grade of B in upper secondary course 5
  • or minimum grade of G (pass) in upper secondary course B, or a minimum grade of C from upper secondary course 6
  • or minimum grade of E from upper secondary course 7
    
    If you do not have the grades that meet the language requirement, you can upload one of the following with your application in Solemove:
    
    
  • A valid language test which meets with the CEFR B2 level. We only accept tests listed on the University Admissions webpage.
  • For international students at programmes instructed in English at Umu, a copy of the proof of English proficiency submitted with the application to the programme is sufficient.
    
    
• For other documented language skills, please see the Universidad de Guanajuato page for Spanish.

Application, step by step

Step 1: Get to know the universities you want to apply for

Have a look at the course offering at all universities you are applying for (maximum 4). Be attentive to possible restrictions in the agreement and the number of exchange places open to apply for. Please note that students enrolled in so called direct master programmes (such as Master of Business Administration or Master of Engineering students studying in a 4- or 5-year programme) may have problems enrolling in graduate level courses unless they have completed a bachelor's degree before the exchange. More information about the universities, and how many places are available can be found at

Where can you go?

Step 2: Choose courses

You are expected to study full time (equivalent to 30 ECTS). Regarding the number of credits, you should rely on the recommendations from Umeå University, the foreign university does not have knowledge about the processing of transferring credits here, and may give misguided information by mistake.

Make sure to choose courses at the right level. Some courses may be too basic and will not be transferred to your degree at Umeå University. Be attentive to courses that are described as "basic" or "introductory". In USA and Canada it is recommended that you avoid courses on 100/1000 level, if possible. 

A mobility window gives more flexibility, but there are still courses that will not be transferred to your degree at Umeå University (for example Yoga). The courses must be of academic standard to transfer as credits.

On the university pages, under Where can you go?,  you will find information about any restrictions that apply. A description of what the restrictions means:

Closed programmes/courses
Information about programmes and courses that are not available for exchange students - do not apply for these courses or programmes.

Courses/Programmes with limited access
Courses and programmes that may be difficult to be accepted to. As a student you must be prepared to apply for other courses if you are not accepted to your first choice.
No matter which courses you choose you are not guaranteed admission.

Full time studies
Number of credits at the foreign higher education institute that is equivalent to 30 credits in Sweden.

Course types
Number of credits per course at the foreign higher education institution.

Course levels
Specify the level of each course (undergraduate, advanced/graduate, doctoral etc).

Academic year
Terms at the foreign higher education institution.

Step 3: Consult your study or programme advisor

Present your course selection for all universities you want to apply for to your study counselor and agree on which term is best for you to study abroad. Note that the course selection is preliminary, nominated students may need to make new courses in a later application to the host university.

In your application, you will be asked to verify that you have discussed this with your study counselor and also state the name of the person that you discussed it with.

Step 4: Fill out the online application

Submit your application here

Please see the manual on how to apply for an exchange place.

Enclosures required with your application:

• Complete study plan. Please write four courses for each university you are interested in applying to. Present your course selection to your study counselor or International Contact Person.
  Use this document to fill in your study plan.
  Please note that the courses in the study plan are preliminary courses, which demonstrate that you have researched each university and that you are able to study courses at the proposed universities, and that your department at Umeå approves that the proposed courses would be able to be transferred to your degree upon your return. The course selection is preliminary, nominated students may need to make new courses in a later application to the host university.
•  
• Buddy Programme certificate if you have been a buddy or a group leader in the buddy programme previous to this term. If you are part of the buddy programme this semester, please make a note in the Study plan.

If you do not have the English grades needed from your upper secondary school, that meets the eligibility requirement, you can upload a language test. More information about valid language tests can be found in the Before application - eligibility.

Please note that you cannot send in additional documents after the application deadline. You are responsible for ensuring that all documents that must be included are submitted. The International Office cannot go through received applications to assess whether any documents are missing. After the deadline, we proceed from the documents that are sent in.

If you have sent in several applications, it is the latest one that will be taken into consideration, unless you have notified us otherwise (contact outgoing.io@umu.se).

After your application

Your application is assessed according to the selection criteria

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

At least 120 completed credits: 3 points
60–119 completed credits: 2 points
15–59 completed credits: 1 point
0–14 completed credits: not eligible for exchange studies via the university-wide agreements.

You do not need to state this in your application since this information will be taken from Ladok (study administrative system where all registrations and credits are stated) after the last day of application.

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):

91–100 percent: 3 points
81–90 percent: 2 points
75–80 percent: 1 point
0–74 percent: not eligible for exchange studies via the university-wide agreements

You do not need to state this in your application since this information will be taken from Ladok (study administrative system where all registrations and credits are stated) after the last day of application. Interruptions in courses are not included in the calculation as long as there are no grades for the module or course. 

Course selection for each chosen university (maximum 1 point)

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

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

Participation in the Buddy Programme (maximum 2 points)

Group leader in the Buddy Programme: 2 points
Participation in the Buddy Programme as a buddy: 1 point per semester, maximum of two semesters, i.e. 2 points
Have not participated in the Buddy Programme (as a buddy or a group leader): 0 points

Here you state whether you have been a buddy or a group leader in the Buddy Programme. This information will be verified with the International Office's student coordinator (who is responsible for the Buddy Programme). Incorrect information will be duly changed. Note! If you have been a buddy or a group leader previous to this term, you need to submit a certificate along with your application to get points.

Submitted application is complete (maximum 1 point)

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

You can receive a maximum of 10 points for your application.

What happens if two or more students have the same total number of points? 

1. 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.

2. 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 through the drawing of lots.

Please note that lower priority will be given to applicants who have previously been awarded an exchange place through Umeå University's university-wide agreements.

What happens after the application deadline?

Selection

The result of the selection is communicated to all applicants mid-January 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 the International Office.

After the selection

When the selection is complete, a compilation is made of the students who have accepted a nomination to the partner university and a decision is made by the Head of Office at the International Office. When the selection is finished and any cancellations are received, a reserve processing takes place. This means that when a student chooses to withdraw his or her assigned nomination, the International Office calls in a reserve as long as the nomination or application deadline at the partner university has not passed. 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. The reserve process takes place continuously and is based on the same principles as the regular selection. Offer of nomination comes via Solemove in connection an e-mail from the International Office.

I have accepted an exchange place, what happens next?

All students who have been offered a nomination for an exchange place and who have accepted it will receive an invitation to a nomination meeting. There you will get more information about the next step in the process as well as other important information to know before your upcoming exchange studies.

 

Application round of spare places

The exchange places (spring semester only) that are not filled in the regular selection round, and where the nomination or application deadline allows it, may be announced again in an application round of spare exchange places which then opens in August. The remaining places are open for all students at Umeå University to apply. If you have already been assigned to a university in the regular application round, you cannot apply for these places.

University-wide agreements

You can go as an exchange student to a partner university outside Europe through the university-wide agreements.

Exchange via your faculty or department

Your faculty or department may have own exchange agreements outside Europe.

In the database Solemove you will find all agreements Umeå University has with foreign higher education institutions.
Solemove

If you want to apply for an exchange place through an agreement signed at your faculty or department, you need to contact your international contact person.
List of International Contact Persons