When can you travel?

Cathrine Strømø

When is it best to travel abroad during your study? The formal requirement is that you must have been a student for at least one year and passed exams corresponding to normal study progression. Normally this is not a problem – it takes some time to plan the study period abroad anyway. You can study abroad as a part of both higher and lower university degrees.

Some of the programmes of study at UMB have specific requirements concerning the most convenient time to study abroad. This advice is worth following. Contact your department/study programme.

What time of the study year is it best to travel?
Of course, this depends on how you have organised things, but it is often advisable to begin your study period abroad at the start of studies at the host university. This way, you do not risk arriving in the middle of a teaching period, and there are usually more organised activities for new students. One exception is field work abroad and free courses, meaning that you do not have to attend the lectures at a university. If you would like to travel within the Erasmus programme for a whole year, you must begin in the autumn term.

Find out how the study year is organised at the university where you wish to study. Foreign institutions often split up the year differently than in Norway. In the southern hemisphere (for instance in South-Africa and Australia), the summer holiday may last from December to February, and the first term then starts at the end of February. In Germany, the winter term starts in October and lasts until February, while the summer term starts in April and lasts until July. Such differences in study terms may have consequences if you finish and come back in the middle of the Norwegian term.

How long should you stay abroad?
Periods of study abroad normally last from three months to one year. It may take some time to settle in, and many students who have been abroad for only one term indicate that they would have wanted to stay longer. When they returned home after one term, they felt as if they had only just “got started” with regard to studying, language and social life.

When do you have to apply?
1 March is the closing date for applications for places through Nordplus, Erasmus and bilateral agreements for the following study year. You will receive a reply a few weeks after submitting your application and must then apply at the host university yourself.

Whether or not you are travelling through an exchange programme: Start planning early! There are many deadlines, and the most popular agreements are usually taken first.




Updated: 25.01.05
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