Creativity has no borders – so if you’re dreaming of adventure, inspiration and new life experiences, then UCA can help you achieve that.

If broadening your horizons is part of your plans, we’re here to support you.

Our global opportunities could see you studying part of your degree course at one of our partner universities overseas, attending a Summer School at a partner university, or volunteering.

Semester and
year exchange

Whilst studying at UCA, you will have the unique opportunity to spend part of your degree programme studying with one of our exchange partners in either Europe, North America, Asia or Australia.

Students on a three-year degree can spend the Autumn or Spring semester of their second year studying abroad at one of our partner universities. To opt in for this, students must register their interest in the Exchange during their first year of study. 

Students who are enrolled on a four-year degree programme have the choice of undertaking a Professional Practice Year or a year abroad which will take place in the third year, either studying with one of UCA’s partners or on a year-long work placement. Students who choose to attend a work placement for their Professional Practice Year will be required to seek their own placement opportunity and can do this with the support of the Careers Team.

Our Exchange team will be visiting each UCA campus to advertise the opportunities available to students. Between October and December, you will be able to research your Exchange options and discuss them with your course team to ensure that your choices are appropriate to you and meet your degree requirements.

You will then need to register your interest in January.  Details of how to apply and the deadline for applications will be sent to students via email during December.

You must consider a choice of three institutions as we cannot guarantee that you will be placed at your first choice. Therefore, please make sure that you fully research all three of your choices and ensure that your choice of university offers a course that is relevant to your current degree. Allocations will be based on academic merit and suitability of choice.

Please see below our list of partners relevant for your academic discipline:

Partner
list

Outgoing exchange
FAQs

If after reading our FAQs below, you have any questions regarding spending a semester or a year overseas, please discuss with your Programme Director or contact exchange@uca.ac.uk.

Prior to submitting your registration of interest please make sure you have discussed your study options with your Programme Director and ask them to submit an email to us confirming their consent and that they are happy for you to be nominated to study overseas. You will also need to maintain an average grade of 55% or higher. Remember, when studying overseas you are representing UCA, we need to be sure that you will be fully engaged with the whole experience!

Once UCA has nominated you, you will need to make a formal application to the host institution. You will need to meet their requirements in order for them to accept your application and to move on to the final steps of the process.

If during the first term of your second year you fail a unit, your application might be cancelled.

Yes, the credits earned abroad as part of your exchange programme will be transferred back to UCA (normally the equivalent to 60 UCA credits). However, your exchange will only be awarded a “pass” or “fail” grade due to the difficulty of translating the grades used in different education systems. This means that the exchange will not count towards your final classification degree. Therefore, your UCA Stage 2 unit marks (i.e. those that you studied at UCA, excluding any units studied overseas) will count as 25% of your overall degree classification and your Stage 3 unit marks will count as 75% of your overall degree classification.

As part of your exchange, you are not required to pay the host institution any tuition fees or examination fees, but you will be responsible for covering your travel, accommodation and living costs, and you will continue paying tuition fees as normal to UCA during your study abroad exchange programme.

If you are currently receiving a maintenance grant or student loan from Student Finance England, you will still receive this whilst you are abroad.

An additional travel grant is available through Student Finance England on a means-tested basis. Find out more and check your eligibility: https://www.gov.uk/travel-grants-students-england.

Students on placements will receive a monthly grant to help cover some of the costs of the experience. A supplementary grant is available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

UCA is here to fully support you for the duration of your exchange programme. However, as you plan to spend three months studying and living in a new country on your own, it is important that you are also able to take responsibility towards the planning.

UCA will send out any relevant communications to you via email. It is important, once you have submitted your registration of interest, that you check your emails regularly, read them carefully and take any actions that are required as detailed.

Visas:
It is your responsibility to research and implement your own visa requirements, make sure you are fully aware of the process involved and have the visa in place ready for your departure date.

Flights and Travel:
You are responsible for booking your own flights to and from your destination as well as any in-country travel that may be required to reach your institution.

Learning Agreement:
We will support you with this process and inform you at which point the Learning Agreement needs to be completed. The purpose of this document is to make sure you, your academic, and the host institution are aware of what academic units you will need to complete before, during and after your exchange to make sure you obtain enough credits to successfully complete the year. It is vital that you are involved in this decision-making process.

Host Institution Applications:
Once UCA has nominated you and the host institution confirms they are happy to receive an application from you, you will be notified by email. Once you receive this email, it is your responsibility to complete your direct application and make sure that you meet the deadline that they set for you. If you do not meet the given deadline, it is likely you will lose your place.

If you are unsure at any point within the process, we are always more than happy to help where we can. What is important, is that we can see you are fully engaged with the process as this is an indication of your engagement with the experience.

If you have any questions, please contact us on exchange@uca.ac.uk

Volunteering abroad

UCA offers 4 week Summer placements for students to take part in.  Details on how to apply will be listed here shortly.

Play Action Logo

Play Action International work in disadvantaged communities in Uganda with a focus on child development and education through play.  Working with the whole community, Play Action International keep the children at the centre of their initiatives to integrate play-based activities to enhance their access to education and to increase their developmental outcomes.

 

 

 

Summer School

Hanyang University International Summer School

UCA has partnered with Hanyang University in South Korea providing an amazing opportunity to spend four weeks attending their Summer School with an exciting schedule, including a huge variety of subjects to choose from as well as fun activities planned for the weekends.

For more information about this opportunity please visit the Hanyang University website.  Their website currently displays the information for the 2023 International Summer School, this will be updated by Hanyang University in the coming weeks.

Further details about funding for this opportunity and how to apply will be released here in due course.

Turing funding

The Turing Scheme provides funding for those individuals undertaking education and training in the UK to go on study or work placements across the world. It affords the opportunity for UK organisations to offer life-changing experiences abroad for their students.

Funding is open to UK and British Overseas Territories organisations from across the education and training sector, including schools, universities, further education colleges and providers of vocational education and training.

This funding allows organisations to provide students with the chance to develop new skills, gain vital international experience and boost their employability. They can also develop a wide range of soft skills, language skills and a better understanding of other cultures. Students can build relationships with international peers and gain fresh ideas.

HE students can undertake both study and work placements abroad. These placements can last for four weeks to 12 months. Please note that Turing Scheme funding cannot be used towards specific activity costs that are already funded from a different source i.e. double funding.

To take part in an HE Turing Scheme mobility, participants must be:

  • registered at a UK or British Overseas Territories HE provider and enrolled in studies leading to a recognised degree or another recognised tertiary level qualification (up to and including the level of doctorate)
  • recent HE graduates, who may participate in a traineeship and must carry out and complete their traineeship abroad within 12 months of graduating. Graduates do not need to be selected before they graduate Participants do not need to be UK nationals to be eligible for the scheme.

Institutions are required to bid for funding at the beginning of each calendar year for any activities taking place in the following academic year.  If you are interested in participating in either a study or work placement please ensure that you contact us at exchange@uca.ac.uk by early February so that we can take these requests into consideration when bidding for our funding.  Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient funds to support all those wishing to go overseas.