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Study abroad

As an exchange student, you spend a semester or an academic year at one of Umeå University's partner universities around the world. You do not pay tuition fees to the foreign university and you can apply to have your studies transferred in your education.

Why study abroad?

There is an endless amount of good reasons why studies abroad is a great thing for you, we have listed some points:

  • Experience another culture; How is life from a different point of view?
  • Employability; International experiences are good for your CV, many employers appreciate it a lot
  • Travel, change of environment; Who wouldn't want that?
  • New contacts; building an international network might bring great opportunities in the future
  • Broaden your education; Complement your studies with courses you cannot take in Umeå
  • Personal development; new experiences can give you an opportunity for personal growth
  • Learn a new language; learning a language at the local setting will bring a new dimension to learning!
     

Where can you go?

Within one of the Department of Psychology’s agreements

Agreements at the Department of Psychology
Agreements Erasmus/Socrates
Università degli studi di Padova, Italy
Università degli studi di Parma, Italy
Université de Lorraine, France
Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
University of Zürich, Switzerland
Julius-Maximilians-Universität, Würzburg, Germany
Justus Liebig Univärsität, Giessen, Germany
University of Potsdam, Germany
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England
Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Southern Cross University, Australia

Agreements at the Faculty
One (1) spot available for a student in Psychology in
Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada

Within a Umeå University agreement

All students at Umeå University can apply to central agreements while faculty agreements are for students belonging to a certain faculty. I.e. if you are a business student then you can apply for exchange studies via the agreements offered by the Faculty of Social Sciences. Read more at Umeå Universities web pages about exchange studies.

Free mover – studies outside of institutional agreements

If you wish to arrange for your study place abroad yourself (i. e. not within the framework of our exchange programs), that is also a possibility. Going abroad as a free mover means that you have more responsibilities as a student. You contact the institution(s) of your interest yourself and apply as a regular student. Often, you also have to pay tuition.

Please note! Although you arrange for the study abroad period by yourself as a free mover, you are obliged to contact your study advisor (if you study a program) with an application for approved leave of absence. If you do not have an approved leave of absence, you will lose your seat at the program. You also need to contact the Study Advisor to receive information about course choice and credit transfer.

Organise studies abroad on your own

How to apply?

Make an application

Depending on which exchange agreement you apply for, there are different application procedures. Here you will find information on how to apply to the department's exchange places. If you want to apply for university-wide exchange places, you submit an application to the International Office.

Make an application to the Department of Psychology 

Selection criteria

The Department of Psychology use the central selection criteria. More information about these can be found here under the heading "After application".

After application

After submitting the application to the Department of Psychology the following happens

The application is processed and you will probably be offered a seat by e-mail.

  • You accept or decline the offer. Once you have accepted the seat you are our nominated student for the exchange.
  • When contact is established, it is your responsibility to send in the required documents in time, before the deadline of the partner university.
  • Deadline and required documents can differ between universities, your contact person at the partner university will fill you in on the details.
  • You're accepted "officially" only after receiving a confirmation from the partner university. There is no reason for you to worry about not being accepted, it is very rare. Our nomination means that we find you eligible and so will they.

Choosing courses

When to choose courses differs from university to university, some wishes you to choose courses at the time of application while others ask that you do it upon arrival. You will be informed about this in time.

Important

  • It's important to have a backup plan in case something unexpected occurs and you're not able to go abroad, therefore make sure to apply for courses at Umeå University as usual!
  • How many credits at the partner university you need to acquire for it to be equivalent of 30 Credits at Umeå University varies, please consider: 
    a) If you intend to study in Europe you must study 30 ECTS credits (ECTS=hp)
    b) If you are going to study in an overseas country, you need to find out how many credits at the receiving university that are equal to 30 credits. Your International contact person or study guide can assist you in this.
  • If you intend to study in a non-European country within a Umeå University agreement you will find information on the Umeå University web pages about studies abroad.
  • If you intend to study elective courses, please consider:
    a) Courses with content equivalent to courses you've read before are not transferable.
    b) Transfer of credits is not possible for some practically oriented courses.

Closing points

If required, fill in and get your "Learning Agreement" signed.

  • A "Learning agreement" is mandatory for all Erasmus students.
  • You will receive more information on this from the International Office after you have been nominated for an exchange.
  • After accepting our nomination, you will receive confirmation via e-mail that you are nominated for the current university seat and that you are insured through the university's group insurance for outgoing exchange students.

Practical information

Preparing for departure, there is much that needs to be arranged in advance before you leave.

Scholarships

Erasmus
An Erasmus scholarship is available for all students going on exchange within the framework of an Erasmus exchange agreement. The requirement is that you make an application. The scholarships are administered by the International Office at Umeå University and you will receive an invitation by e-mail to the Cambro site for the scholarship in order to make your application.

Insurance

As an outgoing exchange student you are covered by the insurance "Student UT" signed on behalf of Umeå University for all exchange students. You are able to find all information and terms of condition on the website of Kammarkollegiet. It is your responsibility to investigate if you need any other or additional insurance coverage. You are able to download their app "Försäkrad på resan" (unfortunately at the moment only available in Swedish).

Travelling within EU/EES or Switzerland? Do not forget to bring your European Health Insurance Card. If you do not hold a valid card order a new one directly as you sometimes need to send a copy of your card with the application to your host institution.

Visa/Residence permit

It is your responsibility to check if you need to apply for a visa or a residence permit. If you are going on exchange outside of Europe then you often receive information about this from the host institution. For any other questions please contact the pertinent embassy for information.

CSN

If you are entitled to the study loan from CSN then you make an application as usual. One application for studies abroad (for the semester of your exchange) and one for studies in Sweden (for the other semester that you will be back in Umeå). It is important that you make the application in advance for the full year. We will admit all students to exchange studies in our study report system called Ladok.

After coming back

Transfer of credits

After completing your semester and receiving your transcript of credits, it is important to do this right away because it can take the Degree Evaluation Office up to 60 days to handle your application.

You apply for transfer of credits online and when you fill in the form keep the following in mind:

If you have studied elective courses you fill in the form (in step 3) in the following way:

Question: "I want to transfer credits for"

Answer: "Optional studies abroad"

Apply for transfer of credits here.

International Coordinators

Johannes Braf
Study counsellor
E-mail
Email
Jessica Binrell
Study administrator
E-mail
Email
Latest update: 2023-10-03