How to apply

Eligibility

To be eligible to study at the University of Surrey as an international exchange/Erasmus+ study/study abroad student, you must

  • be a registered student at one of our partner institutions
  • have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on the 4.0-point scale, 5.0 on the 7.0-point scale, or the equivalent
  • meet the English language requirement for your main degree programme at Surrey if you are a non-native English speaker - you can find the specific requirement for your main programme on our undergraduate (Bachelor's) or postgraduate taught (Master's) course pages. Students who need to apply for a Student visa (stays of over 6 months or studying plus part-time work) must be able to submit with your Surrey exchange application one of our accepted English language qualifications at the required level for your Surrey course; students applying for a Standard Visitor visa or entering the UK as a Visitor (stays of 6 months or less, study only) must be able to submit one of our accepted English language qualifications or equivalent evidence.
  • be studying in an appropriate subject area and at the level specified in our exchange agreement (undergraduate/postgraduate/doctorate). Some agreements are university-wide and open to students in most of our subject areas, and others are subject-specific. The exchange office at your home university will be able to provide you with help and advice.
  • be able to identify a suitable, full-time study programme (30 ECTS credits - typically 4 modules - per semester) for the period of your exchange. For those following a taught programme, please check our Programme/Module Catalogue (selecting the correct academic year) to see whether we offer modules that fit with your study programme at your home institution and that they run when you will be at Surrey (Semester 1 is mid/late September to end January; Semester 2 is early February to mid/late June - see dates). Discuss your module choices with your home department. If you need more information or advice, email the appropriate Surrey Academic Exchange Coordinator for your subject area. For those applying to do a research project or laboratory work only, please identify an appropriate academic, with help from the relevant Exchange Coordinator; email them to ask if they will supervise your work, and agree the details of your project or laboratory work with them.

Nomination to Surrey

Most of our partner institutions have a formal student selection procedure for exchanges. Find out when your home institution’s application deadline is, and apply or register your interest with their Erasmus or Exchange office if you are in Europe, or their Study Abroad or International Office if you are outside Europe. You must make your application in conjunction with your university as there are usually a specific number of exchange places available.

Your home institution must officially nominate you by email before you can apply to Surrey. The nomination should be sent to our Incoming Exchange & Study Abroad Team (ieo.incoming@surrey.ac.uk) and include your

  • full name
  • email address
  • subject area of study at Surrey (or, if taking electives, your main subject area in which you will take at least 2 modules per semester)
  • subject area at home institution
  • level of study at Surrey (bachelor's/master's/doctoral)
  • exchange period (semester 1/semester 2/semesters 1 & 2/other specified dates (for research project students and Nursing / Midwifery / Paramedic students only)).

Nomination deadlines           

  • For semester 1/autumn entry in late September:     15 April
  • For semester 2/spring entry in early February:        15 September

Applying for exchange

Once we have received your nomination, we will email your home exchange coordinator to let them know that your nomination has been approved.

We would recommend that you check out our Frequently Asked Questions at this stage, if you have not already.

You and your exchange/study abroad office will receive an email in April/September with information about applying to Surrey and a link to our online exchange application form. In the meantime, please note the supporting documents below that you must upload as part of your online application.

  • Official Transcript of Records - covering each year of your degree so far, in English (pdf)
  • Copy of your Passport Photo Page (pdf) - the UK no longer accepts EU national identity cards
  • Surrey Learning Agreement form (will be sent to nominees). Students taking taught courses should list 4 preferred modules (modules totalling 30 ECTS), plus 2-4 alternative (back-up) modules per semester if taking modules from one degree programme and level/year, in case any modules aren't approved. If you select modules from more than one programme or level/year, please list up to 8 alternatives in case you need to swap modules due to timetable clashes. You will only take 30 ECTS per semester.  At least 2 modules must be from the same programme and year/level. Modules should be listed in order of preference and by semester. For full descriptions of each degree programme and module, visit our searchable online Programme/Module Catalogue and select the appropriate academic year of study. NB. Please only select modules appropriate to your level of study - undergraduate module codes have 1, 2 or 3 after the first three letters to denote the year of study (e.g. SOC3044 is a 3rd year Sociology module) and Master's module codes have an M after the first 3 letters (e.g. PHYM053 is a Master's Physics module). Take care also to only select modules running in the semester/s in which you will be at Surrey (1 or 2) - this is clearly indicated in the programme and module descriptions.
  • Further Information form (pdf) - please list a) the modules you are currently taking; b) if your Surrey module choices have prerequisites (required previous study), list any modules you have taken that meet those prerequisites, c) if any of your Surrey module choices are capped (a limit on the class size), give your reason for selecting those modules.
  • Non-native English speakers only:  a) Students coming for longer than 6 months or wanting to work part-time whilst studying at Surrey will require a points-based Student visa and must submit with their exchange application one of Surrey's accepted English language qualifications at the required level for your main Surrey programme (see our undergraduate or postgraduate taught course pages, as appropriate, for the English language requirements of each course). NB. We can not accept qualifications which do not meet the minimum requirement for your course. Please ensure you get your English language qualification in good time to apply to Surrey; if you already have a language qualification, make sure it has not expired - IELTS, TOEFL and a few other qualifications must be no more than 2 years old of the start of your Surrey course. ​​​​​​​ b) Students coming to Surrey for 6 months or less and only studying may submit one of our accepted English language qualifications or, alternatively, a combination of other evidence at the required level, e.g. a formal CEFR assessment of your 4 skills by your university languages department (most courses require English at high CEFR B2 or C1 level) / another English language qualification / a university transcript with English exam results, plus evidence of 1 or 2 years of university-level academic study, taught fully or partially in English.
  • Postgraduate/doctoral students only: Bachelor’s/Master’s degree certificate, as appropriate (pdf)
  • Nursing/Midwifery/Paramedic Science students only: police check certificate (pdf) - you will also be required to provide evidence at a later stage of certain immunisations.

All of these supporting documents should be uploaded and submitted with your online exchange application to Surrey by the application deadline. Incomplete applications cannot be considered and missing documents will result in delays. On submission, students will receive an automatic application receipt acknowledgement email.

Application deadlines

  • For semester 1/autumn/September entry: 15 May
  • For semester 2/spring/February entry: 15 October

Confirmation of Acceptance

Once your Surrey academic department has approved your application and provisional study programme, we will send you a formal acceptance email in late May-end June for autumn entry or late October-late November for spring entry. If there are any issues with your application or module choices, we will contact you before then.

Visas

All non-UK/non-Irish students will either need to obtain a visa before travelling or enter the UK as a Visitor, depending on your nationality and length of stay - check if you need a visa here. In summary:

  • Students coming to study in the UK for more than 6 months and/or wishing to work part-time whilst studying here will need to apply for a Student visa. We will email you a Confirmation of Studies (CAS) number for your visa application once we have your English language certificate at the required level and you have been accepted. Visa processing time: around 3-4 weeks.
  • Students coming to study in the UK for 6 months or less and not working, and whose passport is issued by a visa-national country, will need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa. We will email you a visa support letter for your visa application once you have been accepted. Visa processing time: up to 3 weeks.
  • Students coming to study in the UK for 6 months or less and not working, and whose passport is NOT issued by a visa-national country, can enter the UK as a Visitor for up to 6 months without applying for a visa. We will email you a formal acceptance letter to show, if requested, at UK border control as you arrive.

For visa advice, contact our International Student Support team: Email: international@surrey.ac.uk.

Accommodation

As an exchange student, you are eligible to apply for university accommodation. We can usually accommodate all of our incoming exchange and study abroad students, but rooms are not guaranteed. We will email you in early June/early November with information about applying for university accommodation and about finding a property nearby in the private sector if you prefer. The email will contain your Surrey Student Number, which you will need in order to apply online for university accommodation. Application deadline: around mid-July.

Room offers emailed to students:

  • mid-end August for September entry
  • early-mid December for February entry.

Preparing for your exchange

Once you have been accepted, you should take a look at our Welcome website for the next steps and important pre-arrival information and checklists. This includes important dates and information about travel, visas, insurance, doctors and health care, our airport meet & greet service, our buddy scheme, accommodation, your personalised orientation programme (orientation takes place the week before teaching starts), setting up your Surrey email account and completing our online pre-registration form.

Enquiries

If you have any queries, please email our Incoming Exchange & Study Abroad Team (ieo.incoming@surrey.ac.uk) in the International Engagement Office.