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Exchange for courses

Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie. 

Timeline

This timeline gives you a brief overview of all the steps you need to take, with more specific information below. You can download the timeline here.

This timeline is valid for course exchanges in both the 1st and 2nd semester of the academic year.

1. Info & Conditions

Infosessions

Conditions

Not sure if you meet the conditions that are required to go on a course exchange? Check the conditions below, they differ per campus:

2. Destination

Choosing your destination

Visit our International Office Partners page to look up all possible partner institutions for your study program.

If you don't (yet) have a Ghent University account, please contact  to get an overview of partner institutions

We ask you to submit a top three of partner institutions. In choosing your destinations, be sure to take a closer look at:

  • The language of the courses. Do you want to learn the local language before departure? Through the University Language Center you can follow language courses as an exchange student with a discount.
  • The available courses you can follow at the partner institution (consult the course catalogue if possible). More information on creating your exchange curriculum can be found further on this page)
  • The academic calendar of the partner institution. If the semester starts during the exam period at Ghent University, you can ask the envolved teachers to move the exam. Keep in mind that teachers are not obligated to agree to this request. Sometimes it is also possible to take the exam online or at the partner institution, under supervision of a colleague at your destination.

Selection procedure of destination

  • If you meet the conditions (that are mentioned above), there are no further selection criteria to be allowed to go on an exchange.
  • A selection is needed when there are more students that have chosen for a specific partner institution than there are available spots in the agreement. In that case the selection is made in the first place based on the grades of the student up until that point, and in the second place on the written motivation of the student. In most cases students are able to go to their first choice.
  • If you are not selected for your first choice, you will automatically be appointed to your second or third choice.
  • During the month of February we will announce which students are elected to go on an exchange to which partner institution.

3. Financial Support

Depending on your destination, there are different financial support options. More information can be found here:

travel allowance: depending on the distance to your destination. If you choose a "green travel" means of transport (bus, carpool, bicycle, train), the travel allowance is higher.

Find out more information in the Erasmus Study Roadmap (search for Green travel).

4. Exchange application in Oasis

If you haven't followed your bachelor program at Ghent University, first fill in this application form to be able to work within the Oasis environment.

Exchange application procedure

Go to oasis.ugent.be. Find the leftside menu and select the academic year in which you will go on an exchange. Select 'Exchange'.

For every destination from your top 3, you need to make an exchange application in Oasis. This means that you also write a separate motivation for each destination.

In the Oasis manual you can find general instructions for completing your exchange application. A few important guidelines:

  • Mobility goal: select 'Courses (incl. bachelor/master dissertation)
  • Financial support: this depends on your destination
    • Within Europe: Erasmus+ studies
    • Switzerland: SEMP
    • Outside of Europe: Grant for outside the Erasmus zone
  • Planned date of arrival and departure: On our site International Office Partners you can find a link to the academic calendar or the general website of the partner institution where you can find an overview. This does not yet have to be a precise date, you can always edit these dates later on.
  • Exchange curriculum: This does not yet have to be filled in!

Practical information session

Deadline to submit your exchange applications = 31 January 2025 (for both exchanges in 1st and 2nd semester)

5. Grant application process (only needed for destinations outside of Europe)

Students who go on an exchange within Europe and receive funding through Erasmus+ or SEMP do not need to submit a separate application to receive a grant. 

For students going on exchange outside Europe: follow the guidelines listed on the webpage of the internationalisation department. More about UGent scholarships for outside the Erasmus+ zone can be found here.

You apply for a scholarship for outside the Erasmus zone as soon as you submit an exchange application on Oasis with 'scholarship for outside the Erasmus zone' as funding channel. For the selection, we first look at the academic motivation you should have written in Oasis with your exchange application. So this is not a motivation for your scholarship, but rather why that destination is of academic value to you. In addition, some plus and minus points are also taken into account in the selection of scholarships, what these plus and minus points are can be read in the document 'Guidelines for students for scholarships outside the Erasmus area'.

Deadline for exchange application in Oasis (with academic motivation) = 31 January 2025
Deadline for secondary issues related to scholarship selection = See document 'Guidelines for students for scholarships outside the Erasmus area'

6. Exchange curriculum

Information session

Rewatch the presentation of the information session given via this site.

Procedure

  1. Take a look on the page International Office Partners at the academic course catalogue of the partner institution, if available. For some partners you can also consult an overview of courses followed by students in the previous years.
  2. Make up a programme overview using the Excel template you can download here. There are different templates available, according to when in your study programme you go on exchange.
    Keep the following in mind:
    Guidelines for exchange curriculum for students Bio-Sciences (campus Schoonmeersen)
    Guidelines for exchange curriculum for students Bio-Science Engineering (campus Coupure)
  3. Send your programme overview before the 1st of April (according to the template) to the contact person internationalisation of your study programme.
    For students in their bachelor: select the contact person internationalisation of the master programme you will follow. Here you can find an overview of who that is per study programme. 
  4. If the contact person internationalisation approves your overview, they will sign it and send it back to you. We ask you to submit your exchange curriculum on Oasis before the 1st of June. Use the Oasismanual.
  5. Upload your approved (thus signed) programme overviewLaad on Oasis under 'Documents' - 'Other'. Under 'Remarks', note: Signed programme overview.
    You need to convert the Excel file to PDF before you can upload. Make sure that the hyperlinks in your file are still accessible!
  6. The International Relations Officer will check if your submitted exchange curriculum matches your approved programme overview. You will be notified through e-mail when is is approved. After that, an automatic signature will appear on your Learning Agreement. You can then download it and use it for your application procedure at the partner institution.
Deadline to send programme overview to contact person internationalisation = 1st of April 2025
Deadline submitting exchange curriculum in Oasis = 1st of Juni 2025

7. Learning agreement

A learning agreement is a contract between the home institution (Ghent University), the partner institution and the student. In this contract there are set agreements about which courses the student will follow at the partner institution and which recognition the student will receive in the curriculum of the home institution. 

Your learning agreement will be automatically filled in with the exchange curriculum info you submitted in Oasis. When you receive an e-mail stating your exchange curriculum was positively advised, you will be able to download a learning agreement with an automatic signature from Ghent University.  

After positive advice, you do not need to print out the learning agreement immediately to have it signed. Follow the guidelines of the partner institution regarding application.  

When the learning agreement is signed by all three parties (Ghent University, partner institution, student) you need to upload it in Oasis under 'Documents' - 'Learning Agreement'. 

8. Application at the host institution

  • The central Internationalisation department will nominate you to the partner institution. For exchange in the 1st semester, this happens by mid-April at the latest. For exchange in the 2nd semester, nominations happen after the summer holidays.
  • You will then receive a message from the partner institution with instructions on their application procedure.
  • If you have not received an e-mail from the partner institution by mid-May (for exchange in the 1st semester) or mid-November (for exchange in the 2nd semester) , please let us know.
Respect the deadline of the host institution!

Frequently requested documents at registration:

  • Proof of nomination at own university: you can download yourself in Oasis via 'Certificates'.
  • Transcript of Records (= points list): you can download it yourself in Oasis via 'Edit curriculum' and 'Print points list'. Make sure you set the web page in English, you can adjust this in the top right.
  • Language certificate: if you do not have an official language certificate, fill in the appropriate template. Adjust this as much as possible to your specific situation and send to out.fbw@ugent.be, we will provide a signature and stamp.

9. Confirmation of study period

  • Print the document 'Confirmation of study period' through Oasis.
  • Get the arrival part signed as soon as possible once you arrive on site and upload it in Oasis, as type 'Period of Stay - Arrival' ('Verblijfperiode-aankomst').
  • Get the departure part signed before you return home and load up in Oasis, as type 'Period of Stay - Departure' (Verblijfperiode-vertrek).

10. Changes exchange curriculum & learning agreement

Procedure

If you cannot take all the subjects from your planned curriculum in exchange at the host institution, follow these steps for changing your learning agreement.

  1. After arriving at the host institution: make a new programme proposal (see template) and indicate on it what has changed from your original program.
  2. Send your proposal to the contactperson internationalisation of your study program. 
  3. After approval of your new program, your curriculum must be adjusted (this should not be in your curriculum in exchange, but in your regular UGent curriculum):
    • if your curriculum has not yet been approved, you can still edit it yourself in your curriculum via Oasis. 
    • if your curriculum has already been approved, send your new program to out.fbw@ugent.be and your curriculum will be updated.
  4. Print your 'learning agreement' or 'learning agreement -wijzigingen' through Oasis. 
  5. Get it signed by the host institution and reload it in Oasis.
Deadline changes 1st semester = 15 November 2024
Deadline changes 2nd semester = 11 March 2025

Document 'Learning agreement wijzigingen'

What does a 'learning agreement wijzigingen' document say?

  • The first table shows your original learning agreement (before the changes)
  • The following table lists the changes made to your curriculum
    (= deleted and added subjects)

11. Transcript of records

Ask the host institution to forward your points list to out.fbw@ugent.be as soon as possible. If you received the points list yourself, upload it in Oasis with your exchange application as type 'Transcript of Records' (points list must be signed and stamped!), also also notify out.fbw when this is done.

Your marks must be communicated at the latest 1 week before the announcement of the examination results. Examination results that are not available for the 1st session deliberations will be dealt with during the 2nd session deliberations. After the 2nd session, your deliberation will be postponed to the following academic year.

The original points list should be sent by post to the faculty:
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
Faculty Education Services
Coupure links 653 - room A0.104
9000 Ghent, Belgium

Points conversion

Results obtained abroad are converted to UGent results based on the faculty conversion table. This table serves as a guideline for the conversion. The final decision is made by the faculty Exchange examination committee, which can decide on a different conversion for justified reasons.

FAQ's

Can I go on exchange several times during my education?

  • Yes, a combination of exchange for subjects and master's thesis and/or internship is possible. Different rules and procedures apply to each type of mobility, which you can find on this website.
  • Going on two exchanges for courses is not allowed.

What if I have retakes of UGent courses?

  • Check out the terms of exchange.
  • You may ask to take a resit earlier if you cannot attend because the semester at your host institution has already started (see OER article 2, §6). Please contact the lecturer and out.fbw@ugent.be for this. Teachers are not obliged to provide an alternative exam time.

What if I have retakes at the host institution?

  • The host institution's examination regulations apply to the courses you take with them.
  • Always contact out.fbw@ugent.be if you have failed one (or more) exchange course(s).

What if I already have to leave on exchange during the exam period?

  • If the semester at the host institution starts earlier than at UGent, you can ask to reschedule your exam(s). This may also be possible outside the exam period (e.g. in the catch-up week). Lecturers are not obliged to provide an alternative exam time.
  • It is also possible to take your exam abroad, at the same time as in Ghent, under the supervision of a contact person at the partner institution. 
  • To do so, send an e-mail to the teacher and out.fbw@ugent.be.

How many credits will be in my curriculum?

  • You will have in your curriculum the number of credits of the exchange subjects as they apply at the partner institution.
  • Exchange courses you did not pass will be removed from your curriculum afterwards and therefore will not count towards your degree.

Am I insured by UGent during my stay abroad?

  • For your health insurance, check with your own health insurance fund to find out what the conditions are for reimbursement of expenses abroad. Make sure you definitely have a European Health Insurance Card, recognisable by its blue colour.
  • The same conditions apply to accident insurance as when you take classes at UGent.
  • For students going abroad, travel assistance is also provided by UGent.
  • Be sure to consider additional insurance.

When will my Erasmus grant be paid?

The Internationalisation Department is responsible for paying out the Erasmus scholarship. You can find more info about it on this website. For questions, please contact .

PLEASE NOTE: this info is only applicable for funding through Erasmus+ studies

  • If you go on exchange in the 1st semester, you can expect a first deposit in the second half of November if all formalities are completed.
  • If you go on exchange in the 2nd semester, you can expect a first deposit at the end of the 2nd month of stay, also provided all formalities are completed.
  • As scholarship and near scholarship students, you can ask the Social Service for an advance on your Erasmus scholarship. Even if the family budget cannot bear the advance payment of the Erasmus scholarship, an advance payment is possible after individual financial examination. Read the conditions here.

Questions?

Feel free to contact us at out.fbw@ugent.be or make an appointment via this online appointment system!