Apply for exchange studies

Your Study Plan shows which courses you are interested in studying at the host university. If you are applying to universities outside Europe, you may need to apply as early as one-and-a-half years (3 semesters) before the exchange, which could mean many universities will not have course information available at this point.

In this case, you can use the courses available when you apply, to show examples of what you want to study. If you cannot find relevant courses, you can list topics or programmes that are of interest to you.

You are to find courses, equivalent to 30 higher education credits, that can be related to your education. The course choices that you specify in your application are not absolute. Should you be nominated, your course choices can be changed many times before you start your exchange. If you study abroad during your elective semester, the courses choice is relatively free. If there are any general restrictions regarding the course choice, you will find information about it in the current announcement.

Check out the host university’s course offerings

Finding the courses/subjects offered usually takes some time, so be patient and set aside time to familiarise yourself with the university's webpages.

• A tip is to search for the name of the university + fact sheet to find the course offerings
• look for keywords like ‘inbound/incoming exchange’
• use the search field and click on keywords like ‘exchange/visiting student’
• there is often a landing page for exchange students that contains academic and practical information
• look for terms like ‘units/subjects/courses/modules’. Sometimes you must click on specific programmes to find different courses.

Your may also check the university's Fact Sheet. It usually includes information about course offerings. Find the Fact Sheet for the university that you are interested in in our Partner Exchange World Map.

Malmö University Partner Exchange World Map

To see how many credits at the host university you need to study in order to reach the equivalent of full-time studies (30 higher education credits), you can check the list of partner universities outside of Europe.

Full-time credits at our partner universities

Your Statement of Purpose is a personal letter, which can be no longer than one A4 page. In the letter you should state:

• why you want to study abroad

• how the studies relate to your main subject at Malmö University

• how the exchange will develop you both academically and personally

• you should also justify your choice of all universities in the letter, explaining why you have chosen your alternatives. You should write one letter per application, not one per university you are applying to.

The letter should be written in English if the classes you intend to take are taught in English. If classes are held in another language, you should write the letter in that language and attach an English translation.

You can get support from Malmö University’s Career Services with workshops in writing a personal letter.

Career Services at Malmö University

Your CV should be written in English and be no longer than one A4 page.

It should contain:

• relevant education

• work experience

• other relevant activities

• optional:  a portrait photo 

You should not attach grades, work certificates or similar documents that prove your CV. It will be requested if required. You can also get tips and support through Malmö University's Career Services and CV writing workshops.

Career Services at Malmö University

At some universities there are language requirements that you need to meet to be admitted. Read more about which documents are required under the eligibility requirements.

To qualify for applying for exchange studies, you must:

• have completed at least one year of full-time studies at Malmö University (60 credits) upon departure.
• be an active student at Malmö University at the time of the application.
• at the time of the application, have completed at least 75 per cent of the studies for which you have been registered for during the previous semester, unless there are specific reasons why this has not been achieved.
• at the time of application to the host university (after being nominated by your faculty), have completed all courses you were registered for during the previous semesters. Please note, this requirement might differ between faculties. You will find the relevant information that applies to your faculty in the announcement of exchange student places.
• be able to present a study plan containing courses amounting to full-time studies, corresponding to 30 higher education credits, that can be accredited towards a degree at Malmö University.
• have adequate language proficiency in English or in the language in which the teaching is conducted (if other than English). See detailed information about language requirements below.

Additional Conditions

• After returning to Malmö, you must evaluate the exchange for the sake of future students. You might also be asked to participate in different information meetings about exchange studies to share experiences.
• For exchange studies within Erasmus+, you must pay attention to special requirements in connection with the application for Erasmus+ grant. In addition, you must go on exchange in a country other than the country where you live. To be eligible to apply for an Erasmus+ grant you may not commute to an Erasmus+ exchange, e.g. from Malmö to Denmark.

Read more about the Erasmus+ scholarship for exchange studies

Eligibility requirements for Linnaeus-Palme:

In addition to the general requirements listed above, the applicant must be a Swedish citizen or have a permanent residence permit in Sweden.

You will need to fulfill the language requirement for the university which you apply to in order to be eligible to apply for exchange studies at Malmö University. Please note, some universities require your merits to be recently awarded. 

See the announcement of places below for specific details about each university.  

If nothing else is indicated in the announcement for universities in Australia, North America and Asia, one of the following applies to ALL applicants:  

• Swedish Upper Secondary School grades with Swedish Upper Secondary School Diploma English course B with minimum grade VG, alternatively English 6 with grade A, B or C.  
• TOEFL/IELTS with a score that meets the host university’s requirement, test not older than 2 years at the time of the application to the host university. See language requirements on the host university’s homepage 
• International Baccalaureate (IB) with minimum grade 4 of English B.  

• If you do not have a valid grade or test result when applying, you should write a plan for how these language skills should be obtained before the time of departure. Examples are reading the grade on Komvux, or alternatively doing the TOEFL/IELTS test. A valid grade/test result must be handed in at the start of the semester before the exchange.

• Go to the TOEFL website
• Go to the IELTS website

Language requirements for Erasmus+

• the applicant must have good language skills in English or in the language in which the teaching is conducted if other than English

• for some exchange places, the partner university may require formal qualifications in the language in which the teaching is conducted. Please see the announcement of exchange study places for information about each university.

Language requirements for Linnaeus-Palme

The applicant must have good language skills in English or in the language in which the teaching is conducted, if other than English.

Language requirements for Nordplus

The applicant must have good language skills in English or in the language in which the teaching is conducted, usually Danish, Norwegian or Swedish.

Language requirements at universities where the language of instruction is other than English

If you are applying to a university where the language of instruction is different from English, you must submit:

• Documents that demonstrate your knowledge of that language. For example, a certificate from a language school or the result of a language test.
• If you do not have a certificate, you can explain in your Statement of Purpose how you learned the language and what level you think you are at. Exceptions are universities that require official certificates (see the announcement for specific requirements).