Studying Abroad

General Information

Please read the general information on studying abroad, as well as the specific guidelines for Study Abroad Places for Students of English Only and Study Abroad Places for all Students.

You can also find some general information on studying abroad in the slides from this year's Study Abroad Information Meeting:

Stay Abroad Presentation 2023 (PDF, 4 MB)

The costs vary. For exchanges within Europe (SEMP program) the costs involved in such a stay abroad are basically only living expenses; in addition, there is usually a small stipend (though this is not guaranteed). Exchanges outside of Europe will be more expensive as there is no stipend. However, once you have been given a place, you are free to apply to the ES Alumni Student Fund for a small travel grant. Further options for financial support and scholarships can be found on the website of the Global Student Experience Office.

In both cases, however, you remain enrolled at the University of Zurich, and tuition fees at the host university are waived.

Please note that, following the Swiss referendum on 9 February 2014, the European Union suspended negotiations on Switzerland's full participation in the EU education programme Erasmus+. The current solution is called Swiss-European Mobility Programme and follows the precepts of Erasmus+.

The application window opens on November 1. If you wish to apply for places reserved for students of English only AND for places offered via the Global Student Experience office, i.e. whenever at least one of your three choices is an English-students-only place, you will need to adhere to the English Department deadline (January 15) to hand in your application via Mobility Online. Please follow the respective guideline on how to apply (Places for English Students Only vs Options for all Students). Late applications will not be considered.

A module from abroad can generally be accredited

• if it is offered at the corresponding study level (Bachelor/Undergraduate vs Master/Postgraduate), and
• if it is part of the English Department's course offers at the partner university, or
• if the content deals with a topic that is also acceptable in English Literature, Linguistics or Writing Skills (e.g. if a Film Studies Department or School for Drama offers a course on screenwriting, we could accredit this as a Literature elective).

In order to be accredited as a seminar, in addition to these general criteria,  a module must award a minimum amount of credits and fulfill certain assessment criteria, as outlined below:

Bachelor level:
1.    The module must award min. 6 ECTS 
2.    The assessment of the module must include at least one essay* with min. 2,000 words
3.    If the essay is less than 3200 words, the assessment of the module must also include some form of additional work, e.g., another essay, group project, presentation, journal entries, research report, blog posts, portfolio. Course participation does not count as additional work.

Master level:
1.    The module must award min. 9 ECTS 
2.    The assessment of the module must include at least one essay* with min. 5,000 words
3.    If the essay is less than 6400 words, the assessment of the module must also include some form of additional work, e.g., another essay, group project, presentation, journal entries, research report, blog posts, portfolio. Course participation does not count as additional work.

*essay: Literature: critical essay or close reading, Linguistics: research paper

If you find a module that fulfills the assessment criteria but awards less credits, please get in touch with the Stay Abroad Coordinator to discuss whether there is a possible solution.

All students interested in having the course work that they have done abroad accredited will be required to complete a so-called Anrechnungsvereinbarung. Please contact the English Department stay abroad coordinator to discuss your course choices abroad once you have been accepted as an exchange student at a partner university.

This form must be prepared and signed by the Study Abroad Coordinators of all the departments concerned, i.e. by the Study Abroad Coordinator of the English Department for courses potentially being accredited to your English studies. You can find more information on the website of the Studiendekanat.

Study Abroad Places for Students of English Only (incl. SEMP)

The English Department has a number of exchange places at Bachelor as well as at Master level, both within and outside of Europe.

Most of these exchange slots are part of the Swiss-European Mobility Program (SEMP). This exchange program allows you to study at one of our partner universities in Europe for a period of 5-10 months (i.e. one or two semesters). In addition, there are some bilateral agreements.

All contracts with partner universities need to be renewed on a regular basis. Thus, the list of exchange slots is subject to change.

Please note that this list is based on the available study abroad places in HS23/FS24. Exchange slots may be subject to change. Check the Mobility Online Search Platform from November 1, 2023 to find out which slots are definitely available.

* For English Literature only.

Please note: Work done at Bachelor level cannot be accredited toward a Master program.

Application dossiers must be uploaded to Mobility Online.

The application window opens on November 1, 2023. The deadline for all applications is January 15, 2024, no matter whether you plan on going abroad during the aurumn or spring semester! There is no first come, first served policy. All complete applications that submitted before the deadline will be considered. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application Steps:

1. Choose up to three universities that interest you (look at the above list of exchange slots for places for English students only or see all possible choices (faculty and world-wide exchange contracts) via the Mobility Online Search Platform).
2. Register on Mobility Online.
3. Upload all of the required documents to Mobility Online and complete your full application before the deadline. Please note that this step must be completed for any application, no matter whether or not your exchange choices include ES slots.
4. Prepare the separate forms required for ES exchange slots, if your choices include min. one of these slots: 

   a) Application form (Microsoft Forms, available from November 1, 2023; subheading "Application Form & Referee Report"), and

   b) Referee reports (ask instructors to fill out the referee report form via Microsoft Forms, available from November 1, 2023; subheading "Application Form & Referee Report")

   Please note that the referee reports must be submitted via Microsoft Forms. Two of the referee reports must be filled out by members of staff/instructors of the English Department, one may be filled out by a member of another department (e.g. from your minor studies).

   - the January 15 deadline counts if you choose min. 1 ES-only place

   - you must submit the Application form and upload corresponding documents via the respective Microsoft Forms

   - your three referees must hand in their referee reports directly via the respective Microsoft Forms

5. Please be aware that: If your choices include one or more ES only places, you are invited to the study abroad interviews which take place during the first two weeks of Febraury.
6. The study abroad coordinator checks your application and accepts it or not. If your application is accepted, you will receive an offer for an exchange slot, which you need to actively accept.
7. If you accept the offer, the study abroad coordinator nominates you at the partner university.
8. The partner university contacts you after the nomination and you need to apply there separately.
9. You are accepted by the partner university.
10. You choose courses, which you are interested in and contact the ES study abroad coordinator to discuss your choices and fill out/sign the accreditation form (AV).
11. You create the separate Learning Agreement (LA) in Mobility Online and send it to the relevant coordinators to collect all signatures. After that, you upload the LA to Mobility Online before the deadline set by the UZH Abteilung Global Student Experience.
12. You go abroad. If you need to change courses after your arrival, you contact the ES stay abroad coordinator immediately and let her know about your alternative options.
13. After your stay abroad, you send your transcript of records and any essays you wrote to the study abroad coordinator who checks your documents and starts the accreditation process.

Students are asked to fill out the application form before the application closing date (January 15).

Referees are asked to fill out the referee report forms before the application closing date (January 15).

Study Abroad Places for all Students

The University of Zurich offers a number of further exchange programs with other universities.

These exchange programs are not exclusively reserved for students at the English department and competition for individual places may differ greatly. In our experience, however, the chance of getting accepted at one of these places is quite good.

Students who do not wish to apply to one of the places reserved for students of English have two alternative options:

• apply to a place in a so-called worldwide agreement via the international relations Office. In this category, you will find slots in, for example, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA.
• apply to a place included in the so-called Diverse Verträge via the international relations Office (except for Aberdeen!). in this category, you will find additional slots in, for example, Ireland and the UK.

It is advised to use the Mobility-Online portal to search for all possible exchange places for your study subject.

Applications for worldwide agreements and Diverse Verträge need to be made via the Global Student Experience Office:

Application Guideline "Diverse Verträge"

Application Guideline "Worldwide Agreements"