Study Abroad Guide

www.lboro.ac.uk/sbe School of Business and Economics

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Contents

3 Introduction

3 What is study abroad?

3 Why study abroad?

4 When can I study abroad?

4 Where can I study abroad?

5 Academic requirements

5 Language

6 Fees and finance

8 Applying to Study Abroad

9 Application process

10 Types of exchange

11 Accommodation

11 Visas

12 Appendix – partner list

15 Further questions

15 Contact details

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Introduction

This guide is designed to be generic and informative and cover many of the general questions that we are asked regularly. There is more specific information available from the International Relations Office, as well as on the Learn pages in module BSZ204.

What is study abroad?

Study abroad (sometimes referred to as international exchanges) allows you to spend part of your degree studying at a partner university in a different country. We have many different partner universities across the world. You mix with other students from many different backgrounds and cultures and may even choose to learn a new language.

Why study abroad?

Studying abroad is a fantastic opportunity to experience life and study in another country and to develop skills to make you more employable. Studying abroad allows you to develop your cultural understanding and knowledge, showing adaptability, resilience and a flexible way of working.

Similar to those students taking part in placements, recent studies show that students who study abroad are more likely to gain a higher degree classification, to be in employment after they graduate and to earn a higher salary (Gone International: mobile students and their

outcomes).

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When can I study abroad?

Part I students:

All SBE students can opt to study abroad during Part I (third year).

You can study abroad for:

• The full year - spend the whole year abroad (instead of doing a work placement). This could be either studying for the full year in one place or two different partner universities for one semester each.

• One semester - Another option is to study for one semester (first or second semester) and do a shorter work placement - this is often called 6+6.

Part B students on the BSc International Business programme:

If you are an International Business student you can opt to spend semester 2 of Part B (second year) at a partner institution, provided you can take equivalent modules. The results of the modules that you study abroad count towards your second year mark.

You then have the same options as above in your Part I year. Currently study abroad in part B is only available to International Business students.

Please see the additional Information for Part B International Business document for more information on this option.

Where can I study abroad?

We have a range of partners around the world where you may be able to study. Please see the appendix for the current list of partners.

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Academic requirements and recognition

When you study abroad there are a range of academic requirements, both at your host university and at Loughborough.

Module choices: you must choose modules relevant to your degree when studying abroad in Part I. The Academic Exchange Co-ordinator for the School of Business and Economics is Dr Petros Vourvachis (p.vourvachis@lboro.ac.uk). You must discuss your module choices with him and he will be able to advise you on the academic aspects of studying at your host university.

You must study a full-time work-load whilst abroad, which is 60 UK (Loughborough) credits per semester. Many host institutions use ECTS credits, where 30 credits per semester is a full work load.

DIntS: As an exchange student on Part I you will gain a Diploma in International Studies (DIntS) for your Part I year, provided that you fulfil the requirements. This will be recorded alongside your degree when you graduate. Please see the Learn page BSZ204 for further details.

Language

All of our partners teach in English so you do not need to speak a foreign language to study abroad. However, some basic knowledge of the language would be helpful for everyday tasks, to meet new people and to settle in.

Loughborough has language classes at the University Language Centre that you may wish to participate in before setting off to study abroad. Often, our partners in non-English speaking countries will also offer an introductory language class during induction.

If you are studying French, German or Spanish as part of your degree, you can apply for a place as a British Council English-language assistant in a French, German, or Spanish-speaking country. The Placements and International Opportunities Team within the School of Social Sciences manages this scheme and can be contacted on: Socsci.International@lboro.ac.uk.

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Fees and Finance

Finance is an important consideration when you are planning to studying abroad. We have summarised the main points below but please see the Central Exchanges web-page which contains a useful summary and will be updated if anything changes:

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/overseas-exchange/outgoing/before-you-leave/finance

Tuition fees

During your Part I year you pay tuition fees to Loughborough and not to the host institution, as you are studying as part of the exchange programme. You therefore pay no tuition fees to your host university, although there may be small administrative costs.

All students would pay a maximum of 20% of your normal tuition fee to Loughborough for your Part I Year.

In 2018-19, students with a Home/EU fee status paid £1385 for the Part I year.

Student Finance

Please note that if you are entitled to funding through Student Finance England for your tuition fees, you will continue to receive this support during your year abroad.

You are also entitled to a maintenance loan for the year that you study abroad. You apply for this through Student Finance.

Student Finance Travel Grant

Students may be eligible for a means tested travel grant. The travel grant covers the cost of all necessary qualifying travel, minus the first £303. The student must fund the first £303 of travel in all cases.

The grant also covers any necessary incidental costs (e.g. visas, vaccinations and medical insurance) of study abroad. Students apply for travel grants initially in the main application for full-time student finance.

More information available here:

www.gov.uk/travel-grants-students-england

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Some further funding is available, depending which partner university you study at:

SBE Bursaries:

Students participating in a non-Erasmus exchange with a school partner university can apply for a bursary of (up to) £500 per semester. You apply once your place has been confirmed.

Erasmus+ Grant:

(Please note that this information is based upon 2019-20 and there may be changes to the availability of Erasmus+ funding for 2020-21).

Students participating in an Erasmus+ exchange can apply for an Erasmus Grant. This is calculated based on your individual placement and circumstances but students may be entitled to €300-€350 per month, with an additional €120 per month for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Please note that funding is not guaranteed.

Switzerland is not part of the Erasmus+ but does have a different funding scheme, the Swiss European Mobility Programme, which students can apply for via their host university.

University-wide grants:

Students going to a university-wide partner can apply for a Widening Participation Bursary to contribute towards the cost of studying abroad.

For more information on the Erasmus+ Grant or University-wide grants please contact exchanges@lboro.ac.uk for further information.

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Other financial considerations

Please note that the cost of studying abroad is likely to be more expensive than studying at Loughborough. The cost of living may be more expensive abroad meaning that personal expenses are higher, and the exchange rate may make certain countries more expensive than others. As well as the costs that you would have to pay for at Loughborough (accommodation, food, tuition fees, study materials) and you may be required to pay for:

• Flights and travel costs

• Visas

• Insurance (including medical insurance)

So you should consider all of these when budget-planning. Your host university should be able to provide you with an idea of what likely local costs will be.

Applying to study abroad

We expect students who want to study abroad to be organised and pro-active. You should contact the International Relations Office (IRO) if you are thinking of studying abroad in order to get the process started; to discuss the practical aspects of the exchange and to give yourself plenty of time to research your host institution(s).

You must read this guide and the Learn module BSZ204 carefully before you apply.

Depending on your personal circumstances and motivations for studying abroad, there are a range of factors that you may wish to consider before you choose your host university(ies), including location, modules available, financial implications, cost of living in the host country, cultural differences, accommodation arrangements at the host university, finance, weather, term dates, to name a few. The IRO can provide some advice on some of the aspects of your exchange so please discuss any questions you have with us. When you have decided where you would like to apply to go on exchange, you need to submit an application form to apply internally for a place.

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Application process

Applying to study abroad usually takes place in 2 short stages: an internal application and then an application to the partner institution. The information is available on your Learn page and a brief overview is below.

Activity Approximate timeline

Research partner institutions and choices for study abroad

As soon as possible until February

Meet International Relations Team and/or attend and information session

October-January

Meet Academic Exchange Co-ordinator

December-February

Complete and submit application form

University-wide deadline: 9th February

School deadline (including Erasmus): 23rd February

Applications are considered by relevant team and students in-formed of outcome

February-March

Accept study abroad place February-March

Staff nominate students to rele-vant partner

Ongoing from March

Apply to the partner institution following their application process

Ongoing from March

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Different types of exchange

On the final page you will see our list of partners, as well as the subject area that they cover and the type of exchange agreement that we have (Erasmus+, School, University).

The SBE International Relations Office is responsible for applications to Erasmus+ and School partnerships.

The application forms and further information on each partner can be accessed via the Learn page BSZ204.

The Exchanges team within Academic Registry are responsible for those partnerships classed as ‘University-wide’ and their application form and further information on their process is available on their web page:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/international/erasmus/outgoing/apply/

Please note that you generally require grades at 2:1 to be offered a place via the University-wide scheme.

You can apply via the University-wide scheme and simultaneously to School/Erasmus partners to increase your chance of being placed.

If you are applying for work placements and study abroad at the same time we ask you to let us, and the Placements team, know.

Exchange places

We try our best to allocate students to their first choice study abroad institution wherever possible. However, there are limited numbers of exchange places at each partner. If there is more demand than places available, we will allocate places based on academic achievements and personal statements. This is why we ask you to chose 3 institutions and list them in order of preference.

If your chosen partner institution is not a suitable academic fit, we will not be able to offer you a place.

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Accommodation

The range of accommodation options differs greatly between different countries and partners – it could be on-campus in a shared flat or in private accommodation off-campus. Your host university will provide further information on accommodation options, but some partners will guarantee accommodation and some are not able to.

We recommend that you research the accommodation options as part of your wider research into partner institutions. You can find each partner’s fact sheet available on your Learn page BSZ204.

Your host will let you know how to apply for accommodation if it is available.

Please note that it is your responsibility to explore accommodation options and, whilst the IRO team can support you, we cannot find accommodation for you.

Visas

You may be required to apply for a visa to study in your host country although EU/EEA nationals do not require a visa to study within the EU.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have understood the correct immigration requirements for you, and you apply for your visa in enough time. Usually, your host institution will be able to advise you, and will also issue documents that you may require as part of your visa application process.

You should also check the advice and guidance on the relevant Embassy’s web pages. Please note that some countries require you to visit their UK embassy in order to receive your visa.

If you are an international student at Loughborough wanting to study abroad, you should check with Student Services that this is possible as part of your UK visa.

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Partner Universities

Please note that there may not be places available at all partner universities.

Please speak to the team and see module BSZ204 for more information.

Erasmus+ partners in Europe

Country Location Institution

B or E

Austria Graz

Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz (B&E)

Denmark Aarhus Aarhus University (B&E)

Finland Helsinki Hanken School of Eco-nomics (B&E)

France

Angers or Paris ESSCA Group (B)

France Lille or Nice EDHEC Business School (B)

France Grenoble

Grenoble Ecole de Man-agement (B)

France

Marseille (or Bordeaux) Kedge Business School (B)

France Lille

Université Catholique de Lille (B&E)

France

Toulouse (or Barcelona)

Toulouse Business School (B)

Italy Milan Università Bocconi (B&E)

Nether-lands Amsterdam Vrijie Universiteit (VU) (B&E)

Germany Cologne Universität zu Köln (B&E)

Germany Munich

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (B&E)

Portugal Lisbon Catolica-Lisbon (B&E)

Spain Barcelona

Toulouse Business School (B)

Spain Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University* (B&E)

Spain Madrid

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (B&E)

Spain Valencia Universitat de Valencia (B&E)

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School-wide partners

Country Location Institution

Australia Perth

University of Western Australia** (B&E)

Canada Montréal HEC Montréal (B&E)

Canada Quebec University of Laval (B&E)

Canada Montréal UQAM (B&E)

Chile Santiago Universidad de Chile (B&E)

China Ningbo

The University of Notting-ham Ningbo (B&E)

China Shanghai SILC Business School (B&E)

China Zhejiang Zhejiang University (B&E)

China Hong Kong

City University of Hong Kong (B&E)

China Hong Kong

Hong Kong Baptist Uni-versity (B&E)

Switzer-land Lausanne HEC Lausanne (B&E)

Switzer-land Zurich

ZHAW School of Man-agement and Law (B)

Taiwan Taipei National Chengchi Uni-versity (B&E)

Thailand Bangkok Chulalongkorn University (B&E)

Uruguay Montevideo University of Montevideo (B&E)

B) = Business programmes; (E) = Economics programmes; (B&E) = all programmes.

* At these universities you can only study for the full year abroad – single semesters are not possible.

** No semester places in 2020-21

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University-wide partners

(B) = Business programmes; (E) = Economics programmes; (B&E) = all programmes.

* At these universities you can only study for the full year abroad – single semesters are not possible.

**No study abroad spaces available in 2020-21

Country Location Institution

Australia Brisbane University of Queensland (B&E)

Australia Melbourne Victoria University (B&E)

Australia Perth Curtin University of Technology (B&E)

Australia Sydney University of Technology, Sydney (B&E)

Japan Osaka Kansai University* (B&E)

Singapore Singapore Nanyang Technological University (B&E)

USA Indiana Purdue University** (B&E)

USA Oklahoma Oklahoma State (B&E)

USA New Mexico New State Mexico (B&E)

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Further questions

Please see the Learn page BSZ204 for more information.

You can also contact the IRO via email at sbe.international@lboro.ac.uk with any other questions you may have, or come along to the International Rela-tions Office. We are in BE0.14, and normal office hours are 9am to 4pm for student enquiries.

The University’s Academic Registry Office also provides information for Loughborough University students who are considering a study experience overseas at: Erasmus and International Exchange Programmes.

Contacts

Academic Exchange Co-ordinator: Dr. Petros Vourvachis p.vourvachis@lboro.ac.uk

International Relations Office: Eduarda Castro, Ben Daly, Lucy Dixon

Sbe.international@lboro.ac.uk

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Cover photo: Pin-Wen Wang, “Unexpectedly”, University of Nottingham Ningbo, China, Semester 2 2018-19.Above photo: Caterina Giunchi – “Singapore, a city of contrasts”, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Semester 1 2017-18.