Exchange step 1: orientation

• If you are in the second year of your Bachelor’s programme, you can sign up for an exchange semester abroad that will take place in the first half of the third year. The semester abroad usually starts in August/September and lasts until January/February. However, this very much depends on the university that you choose, see "Study planning" below. 
• In order to go on exchange, you have to attend our Study Abroad Weeks at the start of your second year. The Study Abroad Weeks take place in November. Did you miss the Study Abroad Weeks this year? Please send an email to outgoing@vu.nl. 
• During your exchange semester, you will take courses worth of 30 ECTS abroad. On the Study Abroad Map, you can find more information on the credit systems per partner university and how to translate the credits to ECTS.
• When applying for an exchange semester, you will need to have obtained at least 60 ECTS for your application to be considered.
• Before you are leaving for your exchange semester (end of your second year), you need to have obtained at least 90 ECTS in order to minimize study delay and fulfil the requirements of the courses abroad.
• Please read our Study Abroad Student Handbook carefully, where you can find all the information about studying abroad as a VU student.
• As part of your exchange, you will also follow our Unpack Your Study Abroad Programme, which will support you before, during and after your exchange. Through this programme, you will be able to reflect on your own cultural norms and the skills that you have obtained. We will also organize different events as part of this programme, where you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with other exchange students. More information can be found on step 3: to do after selection.
• Please note, that you can only go on exchange one time per study cycle (so one time during your bachelor's and one time during your master's – if your master’s offers this opportunity).

• As a pre-master student you cannot take part in an exchange. You need to complete your pre-master’s programme first and sign up for a Master's programme. Please take a look at the specific requirements for exchange for your programme.
• Do you have questions about this? Please contact your academic advisor.

• If your Master’s programme only lasts one year, your exchange will lead to study delay. It is therefore important that you discuss your plans with an academic advisor or Master’s coordinator first.
• Due to your exchange always being extracurricular, it will not be possible for you to take part in the Erasmus+ programme. You will therefore only be able to study abroad at destinations outside of Europe.
• In order to apply for an exchange semester, you will need to have obtained at least 12 ECTS within your Master’s programme.
• Please read our Study Abroad Student Handbook carefully, where you can find all the information about studying abroad as a VU student.
• As part of your exchange, you will also follow our Unpack Your Study Abroad Programme, which will support you before, during and after your exchange. Through this programme, you will be able to reflect on your own cultural norms and the skills that you have obtained. We will also organize different events as part of this programme, where you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with other exchange students. More information can be found on step 3: to do after selection.
• Please note, that Master’s students from the School of Business and Economics cannot take part in an exchange semester. If you would still like to go abroad, you could discuss the possibilities of following an internship abroad with an academic advisor or your Master’s coordinator.

• If you are following a two-year master programme at VU, there is a high probability that you will be able to go on exchange without (much) study delay.
• In order to study abroad with Europe (Erasmus+), you will need to have at least 24 ECTS of free electives available in your study programme. If you have less than 24 ECTS available, you can still study abroad, however, you can only apply for destinations outside of Europe.
• In order to apply for an exchange semester, you will need to have obtained at least 12 ECTS within your Master’s programme.
• Please read our Study Abroad Student Handbook carefully, where you can find all the information about studying abroad as a VU student.
• As part of your exchange, you will also follow our Unpack Your Study Abroad Programme, which will support you before, during and after your exchange. Through this programme, you will be able to reflect on your own cultural norms and the skills that you have obtained. We will also organize different events as part of this programme, where you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with other exchange students. More information can be found on step 3: to do after selection.
• Please note, that Master’s students from the School of Business and Economics cannot take part in an exchange semester. If you would still like to go abroad, you could discuss the possibilities of following an internship abroad with an academic advisor or your Master’s coordinator.

• VU has exchange agreements with more than 200 universities around the world. Whether you would like to go to Australia, Germany or Brazil, there is always a destination that will suit you. Every destination offers a unique experience.
• On the VU Study Abroad Map you can see all partner universities VU cooperates with. These universities are reliable partners and offer a high quality of education. On the Study Abroad Map you can find more information about the destination, student life and housing (among others).
• On the VU Study Abroad Map you can also read about the experiences of former exchange students.
  
  Important: select your own study programme on the Study Abroad Map. A lot of our agreements with partner universities were set up by a certain study programme or faculty. 

The information below is meant for Bachelor's students. Are you a Master's student? Please discuss your possibilities with an academic advisor of your programme.

• The most suitable period for an exchange is the 1st semester of the 3rd year, because most study programmes have no compulsory courses in this period, so this will not lead to study delay. 
• You can go on exchange for max. 1 semester.
• You need to follow courses for a workload of 30 ECTS credits.

Extracurricular exchange

• Depending on your faculty, it might be possible for you to study abroad even though you do not have (enough) room for an exchange in your study programme. This can for example be the case when you have already obtained the ECTS of your free choice component (for example by following a minor).
• Because an extracurricular exchange will always lead to study delay, you should always check the rules for your specific faculty (faculty website or OER) and talk to an academic advisor.
• Due to the study delay, you will most likely have to postpone your graduation. You can find more information about that here.
• If you do decide to go on an extracurricular exchange, you will still have to follow courses worth of 30 ECTS abroad. You will also stay enrolled as a VU student during the time of your exchange.
• Please note that you will only be able to participate in the second application round and that you can only study abroad outside of Europe/ the Erasmus+ programme. An exchange within the EU (+Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Serbia or Switzerland) is therefore not an option.
• We also recommend that you think about other options to go abroad as well. You could for example follow courses abroad during the summer (see summer schools), do an internship abroad or organize a study abroad experience yourself (this is called ‘free mover’). You can find more information about the different possibilities here.

Studying abroad fits into almost every Bachelor's study programme and sometimes you can also go abroad during your Master's. However, it is important to check the suitability of the courses abroad for your specific study plan:

• Make sure that you look carefully at the academic calendar of the partner university that you wish to go to: some universities schedule examinations as late as mid-February, by then the second semester at VU will already have begun. The good news is that it is usually possible to make special arrangements with the partner university or the lecturers at VU Amsterdam. For example, it may be possible to take the examination abroad early, to write and submit an essay instead, or to arrange with your lecturer in Amsterdam that you can start a course two weeks later than normal. However, this is not always guaranteed, so we advise you to confirm this beforehand. 
• If you fail a course while you are abroad and you therefore do not have enough credits to graduate, you will need to complete an extra course at VU. This course needs to be approved by the Examination Board.
• If you have to do resits of mandatory VU courses during your semester abroad, then you might have to travel back to Amsterdam.
• Only students of the School of Business and Economics are offered the possibility to take an exam while abroad, if the partner university agrees to this as well. 

The costs for a period abroad depend on the destination. An exchange does not have to be expensive, due to scholarships like Erasmus+ and lower cost of living in some countries.

• On the VU Study Abroad Map you will find an indication of the costs per host university, based on the experience of previous exchange students.
• You pay your normal tuition fees at VU like every year, so you don't have to pay these fees to the host university.
• When you get selected for an exchange, you can apply for an Erasmus+, NL Scholarship or Globe Scholarship via VU International Office. Exchanges within the EU (+ Norway, Iceland, Turkey & Serbia) are financially supported with the Erasmus+ grant, which is a guaranteed scholarship. Read more about this on our scholarships page.
• Keep in mind that you will have extra costs for your train or plane ticket, a visa, vaccinations and housing.
• If you are travelling by train or bus to your exchange location, you might be eligible for our Green Travel Grant of max. 220 EUR. 
• You can also earn some money by sub-renting your room to an incoming exchange student. VU International Office pays a bonus to every student that can sub-rent their room via us. 
• If you have a student travel product, you can apply for a compensation of approx. 120 Euros per month at DUO.

Our tip: Make a budget plan for yourself for your semester abroad and check which destinations fit your plan. Or start saving in time!

Are you interested in other cultures and improving your language skills? Or have you just gotten back from a semester abroad and do you wish to continue being part of an international community? Become a buddy for our international exchange students!

Go to this webpage for more information.

The Outgoing Student Exchange team of the VU International Office organizes the following activities for first-year VU students:

Information meeting (April)
In April we will organize two information meetings for first-year students, where you learn more about the possibilities of going on an exchange during your third year. We normally organize two identical sessions: one online, and one on campus. 

Mini workshops about studying abroad (August)
During the Introduction days in August we organize a mini lecture about studying abroad during the VU Bachelor introduction days, in both Dutch and English.

You can find more information about the introduction days here.

Every year the Outgoing Student Exchange Team of VU International Office organizes the 'Study Abroad Weeks' in November. During these weeks, we inform all second-year undergraduate students and Master students about the possibilities to study abroad. The Study Abroad Weeks will take place between 4-15 November 2024. You can sign up for the different sessions via this link.

If you wish to apply for a semester abroad in 2025-2026, it is mandatory to read our Study Abroad Student Handbook carefully, before applying.

The application deadlines for studying abroad during the academic year 2025/2026 (first or second semester) you can find here.

Do you still have questions after reading the Study Abroad Student Handbook and these webpages? There are several ways to contact the Outgoing Student Exchange Team, please find our contact details at the bottom of this page. 

Who are we?

The Outgoing Student Exchange Team of VU International Office consists of the following members: 
Renee van Waart
Insa Duvos
Judith Vrolijk
Mieke Botman
Andra Buciu