International experience

International campus community

We live in an increasingly globalised environment where success will come to those with the skills and experience to engage with customers and clients from other cultures. Our international campus community will expose you to new ways of thinking, and we’ll also offer you a range of opportunities to study or work abroad during your degree.

Why should you seek an international experience?

Evidence shows that students with international experience are more flexible and adaptable. They understand other cultures from a period of sustained exposure to new ways of thinking, and have enhanced their language skills.

Whilst it is estimated that some 19,000 students study abroad each year as part of a UK degree, these numbers are small compared with our European competitors. You could be part of this distinctive group of graduates.

For more information, contact the International Relations Office.

University Global Partnership Network

As part of our international strategy, new and deep partnerships have been formed with a few select universities that form the University Global Partnership Network – including Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil) and North Carolina State University (USA). These research-led institutions provide you with wonderful opportunities to undertake short periods of research. Banco Santander funding may also be available towards travel costs.

Study exchange

SII-DUFE

Surrey International Institute-DUFE (SII-DUFE) is a joint academic partnership institution between the University of Surrey and Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (DUFE) in Dalian, China. SII-DUFE is the third-largest British higher education programme in China.

Promising a new type of transnational approach, students from both the UK and China have the opportunity to experience student life in different cultures, which broadens their horizons and offers a new edge to graduates in exploring their future careers.

Study exchange

We have partner institutions in many parts of the world where you can spend a semester or a year (depending on your particular degree programme), with the credits counting towards your degree.

As a postgraduate you can study abroad in Europe within the Erasmus programme and receive grant support whilst you are away. Erasmus also offers additional funding for students with a disability or specific learning difficulty. Other opportunities for study abroad include the United States, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Thailand and China (Hong Kong).

Summer schools

Our exchange agreements could allow you to participate in summer schools at a reduced cost. These are extra-curricular and do not carry credit, but they are recorded as part of your Higher Education Achievement Record.

Language and Culture Exchange Scheme (LACES)

Take advantage of Surrey’s thriving community of international students to learn or improve a new language and discover new cultures through LACES, an online social network for Surrey students only. Once you have joined the scheme, you can sign up to as many language groups as you wish, one of which must be your own first language.

You can use LACES to find and make new friends online and, if you wish, meet up with them to practise each other’s languages. Around 50 different languages are represented, so it’s likely that the language you want to learn will be spoken by someone at Surrey. It’s also a good way to meet new people, either from your home country or other parts of the world.

Learn a foreign language

At Surrey you can learn a foreign language completely free of charge in our brand-new language-learning facilities. The Global Graduate Award in Languages programme offers a range of languages and includes many European languages, as well as Japanese, Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.

You have the option to start a new language, brush-up a half-forgotten one or continue a language you have learned previously. This can be particularly important if, in common with many Surrey graduates, you wish to be a key player on the international stage.

All language courses are open to postgraduate students. You will receive a certificate of attendance listing your grade on successful completion of the course.