Introduction

How to Apply for Semester-Abroad Exchange Programs With Full Credit Transfer: Studying abroad for a semester sounds exciting.

You spend a few months at a university in another country, experience a different academic system, you meet students from around the world and return home with stories that probably won’t fit into one Instagram post.

But there is one question that can turn the excitement into anxiety:

What happens to the courses I take abroad?

Nobody wants to spend an entire semester studying in another country only to return home and discover that some of the credits do not count toward their degree.

That is why credit transfer should be one of the first things you think about, not something you figure out after you return.

A well-organized international semester-exchange program should make it clear what you will study, how many credits you are expected to earn and how those credits will be recognized by your home university.

For example, Erasmus+ uses a Learning Agreement to establish the study programme abroad and the recognition of successfully completed studies. The agreement is approved by the student and the relevant institutions before the exchange begins.

This guide explains how the process generally works, what documents you need, how to choose courses that can transfer and what you should do before, during and after your semester abroad.