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- Go International
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- Exchange studies
- Timeline for exchange studies
- Where you can go
- Apply for exchange studies
- Admitted to exchange studies
- After your exchange
- Internship abroad
- Thesis abroad
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Certificate of International Merits
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Short-term international experiences
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Contact for international opportunities
Apply for exchange studies
exchange studies
The application for exchange studies is open twice a year. When to apply depends on whether you want to apply for a place inside or outside of Europe. You should find out what seats are available for your faculty or department and then start your application. You can find out which semester you can go on exchange studies by looking at your programme's syllabus.
Application periods
Autumn application period: 15 September – 15 October. This period is for application to exchange places outside Europe for the next academic year. There may also be a few places in Europe to apply to for the upcoming spring semester.
Spring application period: 15 February – 15 March. For application to exchange places in Europe for the next academic year. There may also be a few places outside of Europe to apply to for.
Apply online in MoveON
- your application should be written in English
- you log in with your computer ID and password
- you can choose up to five universities – students at the Department of Global Political Studies (GPS) can choose a maximum of four universities
- attach all supporting documentation
- you can start your application, save it and update it later, but start well in advance of the deadline!
- note the application deadline. For your application to be complete it must contain all your supporting documents
Recommended web browsers for using MoveON forms are Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox.
Apply online for exchange studies
Study Plan — the courses you want to study at your host university
The Study Plan is part of your digital application and shows which courses you want to study. You must complete a Study Plan for each university you are applying to, so if you apply to three universities, you then make three different Study Plans.
More about your Study Plan
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.
Supporting documents for your application
You must attach the following supporting documents to your digital application. It is important that you follow the instructions carefully. Applications that are incomplete will not be processed.
1. Statement of purpose
Your Statement of Purpose is a personal letter, which can be no longer than one A4 page. In the letter you should state:
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why you want to study abroad
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how the studies relate to your main subject at Malmö University
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how the exchange will develop you both academically and personally
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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.
2. CV
Your CV should be written in English and be no longer than one A4 page.
It should contain:
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relevant education
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work experience
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other relevant activities
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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.
3. Documents that support your language skills
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.
STUDY DESCRIPTION – ONLY RELEVANT IF YOU ARE STUDYING FREESTANDING COURSES
If you are studying freestanding courses, you must attach a Study Description which describes how you plan to graduate from Malmö University, and how your exchange semester fits into your future degree.
Submit your application
When you are satisfied with your digital application you need to save and 'submit' the application. After submission, you will receive a receipt in the form of a PDF document of your full application. Please make sure you receive this PDF and contact us in the event that it is not generated in the system.
Deadline for your application
Deadline is at 00.00 (midnight), 15 March and 15 October, respectively.
Eligibility requirements
Read through the general eligibility requirements that you must fulfil.
General 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.
Language requirements for exchange studies
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.
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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+
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the applicant must have good language skills in English or in the language in which the teaching is conducted if other than English
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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).
Criteria for assessing applications
- academic merits
- personal motivation and suitability
- language skills
- choice of courses and possibilities for credit transfer
If there are more applications than the number of available exchange placements, the applications will be compared. Academic qualifications and course choices will be reviewed, as well as the Statement of Purpose together with the students' language skills.
Questions about your application or supporting documents
If you have questions about your application or supporting documents, contact the international administrator at your faculty or department.