After your selection
After approval of your application, you will be notified about your nomination to the host university as soon as their nomination window opens. Please note that all universities have their own admission deadlines and procedures and therefore it may take a while before you can start up the application procedure to our partner. If you go on exchange in the Spring semester, you will likely be contacted in the Fall semester before your exchange. Please keep an eye on your email.
Please note that if you choose to g on exchange to a UU-wide exchange partner, the UU-wide International Office will be your first point of contact when it comes to questions about your exchange destination.
Once you have been nominated by University College Utrecht, the host university will inform you about the next steps. In most cases you have to submit the following documents:
- Passport: Please make sure your passport is still valid for at least six months after the completion of your semester abroad.
- Visa: Depending on the country you are going to and your nationality, you may need a residence permit and/or entry visa. This is a part of the application procedure at the host university and you will be informed by them on what needs to be done and when.
- Insurance: Make sure that your health insurance covers you during the exchange by contact your health insurance provider. If your insurance coverage is not enough for the country of your destination, they can advise you on the requirements regarding coverage. In some cases, the visa application procedure is tied to your insurance coverage and you may need to take out a second insurance to meet the necessary requirements for the residence permit.
- Proof of finances: If you have been selected for an exchange to a country outside of Europe, you will most likely need to show that you have enough financial security, for example by providing a bank statement
You will need to choose the courses you wish to take when applying to your host university. Keep the following in mind when choosing courses:
- You are required to complete a full-time workload of 30 ECTS (840 working hours). Please check the information about the credit system of your host information on the overview of destinations. If you still have questions about the credit system contact the International Office. It is not possible to take less than 30 ECTS on exchange. Three exceptions:
- If you have a credit surplus in advance of your exchange semester, you may enrol for a minimum of 22,5 ECTS during exchange.
- Students on exchange to a quarter system campus of the University of California (not Berkeley or Merced) during Fall semester complete 16 quarter units (22,5 ECTS)
- Students who go to the University of Washington (Seattle) during Fall Semester complete 16 quarter units (21,5 ECTS).
- The credit shortage in these cases needs to be compensated by attending a summer course, winter course or fifth course prior to the semester abroad.
- Make sure there is no course content overlap with your coursework at UCU.
- Courses in sports, photography, scenario writing and so on, although fun, are not considered to be academic courses. Such courses may be attended only as an extra course, on top of the 30 ECTS approved in your learning agreement.
- You cannot fulfill your UCU language requirement on exchange.
- You should ensure that your curriculum during exchange conforms to the rules laid out in the Academic Rules and Regulations. For example, the Pass/Fail rules apply equally to exchange. For any exchange course that needs to meet a specific graduation requirement, you will need to request permission from the UCU Exam Board, as if it were a UCU course.
- Before you leave for exchange, discuss the courses you are planning to take with your tutor. Check the exchange catalog for an overview of suitable courses per exchange destination.
- You must apply for permission from the UCU Exam Board for the courses you will take during your exchange. As soon as your course registration at the partner university is confirmed, you need to submit the UCU Learning Agreement. On this form you list the official course titles, course level (UCU level 1, 2 or 3) and the credits for the course.
- You need to do this once you have a confirmed place in all of your courses, and before it is too late to switch courses: Exam Board approval entails commitment. If one or more courses are not approved, you can still enrol in alternative courses. Only in this case can you re-submit a learning agreement to the Exam Board.
- You can upload the learning agreement, together with course outlines, in Osiris. Send a copy of this learning agreement to your tutor.
- Exchange credits can only be included on your University College Utrecht transcript when they are approved by the UCU Exam Board. If the Learning Agreement or any courses on it are not approved, you will not receive these credits for your UCU programme. This is your own responsibility!
- If you need an exchange course to fulfill a specific graduation requirement, you will need to submit this as a curriculum request (off-campus course) at the start of the exchange, and include the necessary documentation. Do discuss this with your tutor whilst preparing for your exchange.
- At the end of your exchange, please bring your exchange transcript with you upon return or make sure it is sent to UCU's International Office.