Study Abroad

Term-time Exchanges

If you’re keen to get experience of living and studying abroad, a university exchange is worth considering. Exchange programmes allow you to study at partner universities all over the world.

The information on this page doesn’t apply to students from the School of Modern Languages undertaking a compulsory year abroad. You can find more information on the Canvas YA Community [CS1] instead.

Where you can go

Newcastle University has EU and non-EU exchange programmes. Use the university’s Terra Dotta database to search for partner institutions in the countries you’re interested in.

You’ll need to make sure that the partners you’re interested in offer enough suitable modules in your subject area. Check on their website and contact them directly if anything is unclear, for example, the language used for teaching, or whether the module is available for exchange students.

Once you’ve found modules which you think are suitable, you’ll have to check that they meet the academic requirements of your course with your School Exchange Coordinator.

When you can go

Most students go abroad in Stage 2 or Stage 3, depending on their degree programme. To find out when you can go, contact Global Opportunities or your School Exchange Coordinator. Depending on your subject, you could go for one semester or a full academic year.

Visa

You’ll be responsible for organising your own visa. You’ll need to check eligibility criteria, visa conditions and processing times.

To get started, Global Opportunities have put together Visa information for EU countries.

Funding

The Global Opportunities team offer information about Tuition Fees and Finance, including Erasmus, Turing and other opportunities. You can contact them, or attend one of their drop-in sessions, to find out more about what might be available to you through the university.

Working part-time while studying abroad could help you to support yourself financially. You would need to check how many hours your visa would entitle you to work, and whether the host institution has any restrictions on the number of hours students can work.

You can find information about self-funding on our funding further study pages.

How and when to apply

Once you’ve chosen a partner institution, contact your School Exchange Coordinator to discuss module options. You can also contact Global Opportunities for advice and support.

The deadline is usually around January/February in the year you want to travel (unless you’re studying a language as part of your degree).

For more information and to apply online, go to Global opportunities: exchanges

More information

The Global Opportunities Newsletter keeps you updated with international experiences offered by the University and beyond.

You can join the Global Opportunities mailing list for updates and find opportunities on the GO News page.

Summer programmes

There are short-term opportunities available for students who would like international study experience outside of term-time.

This includes Summer Schools organised by Global Opportunities, as well as a separate programme for Business School students.

To keep up to date with the latest opportunities on offer:

join the Global Opportunities mailing list
visit the GO News page.

The British Council also offer short-term options to study abroad.

The Fulbright Commission offer information about other short term study options in the USA for UK nationals.

Further study

If you’re considering further study, start by reading and watching the content on our Further Study pages, which covers:

Choosing Courses – advice on how to choose the right course for you
Finding Courses – resources to help you find study abroad options. You could also explore the institutions we partner with for student exchanges, via the Terra Dotta database. These institutions are already familiar with Newcastle University.
Funding Further Study– including overseas scholarships. You can also speak to Global Opportunities about funding options available, and search Studyportals: Scholarships.
Applying for Further Study– much of the advice in this section can be applied globally. We would always recommend checking application guidelines with each individual provider. The country profiles on GoinGlobal or targetjobs may be useful to get an idea of application standards for specific countries. ENIC-NARIC can help with recognition of international qualifications.

Study abroad advice

Global Ambassadors team – speak directly to someone with experience of studying abroad
Prospects: Study abroad
Mastersportal – How to Apply to Universities Worldwide and Tips for Being Accepted in 2021
UCAS – considering your options
QS Top Universities – frequently asked questions about studying abroad

Global university listings and rankings

While university league tables can be a useful point of reference, it is unwise to base your choice of course or institution solely on this kind of data. The methodology used to create each league table differs, so care should be taken when drawing conclusions.

Use the following resources to help you find information on institutions overseas:

Times Higher World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
BrainTrack - higher education institutions in more than 190 countries
Association of Commonwealth Universities - courses and funding opportunities at universities in the British Commonwealth
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Academic Ranking of World Universities
Universities Worldwide - database of world universities
4 International Colleges & Universities - international higher education directory

Worldwide course search

MastersPortal - Masters degrees worldwide
PhDPortal - compare PhD and doctoral degrees at universities and research institutes
Educations.com - browse courses worldwide
The British Council – sometimes offer opportunities to study abroad
Year Out Group - search by 'program' then 'courses' to find courses and study opportunities worldwide