Things to consider
Academic matters
Our exchange programmes are competitive. The number of applications received varies from year to year. An exchange place is not guaranteed.
For study abroad taking place in your second or third year, your first year results will be taken into consideration.
As a general guidance:
- You should have a good all-round academic record (including results and attendance). Please check these with your School or department, as they may vary by course.
- You should have no module result lower than a “pass”.
Schools take into account the demand for places and overall suitability when assessing applications, and therefore there is not necessarily a minimum grade requirement. Some Schools have additional criteria so it is advised that applicants check with their School.
Credit Transfer and Grade Conversion Guidelines. 
Pre-departure
As your exchange place gets confirmed, you are required to complete the pre-departure process. This includes reading relevant materials about your host organisation and country, filling out risk assessments, health and safety, and medical forms. At this stage, you will also need to apply for your visa (if applicable).
Aside from filling out the documentation on the application system, we will also ask you to attend a compulsory pre-departure meeting, where we will go over what we need from you before you leave, and answer any questions you may have. This is also a great opportunity for you to meet other NTU students who will go abroad at a similar time, who have recently returned, or those exchange students who come from your host organisation or country.
NTU insurance policy please read
What you need to know and actions to take before you go away.
Accommodation
Housing arrangements vary depending on the institution or programme of study. If you go abroad through Erasmus+ or International Exchanges, you’ll be responsible for your accommodation abroad, so you’re encouraged to start looking for suitable options early in the process. Many host universities offer university accommodation or can advise you on the best accommodation to suit your needs.
NTU also has an agreement with Housing Anywhere, a student housing platform that offers NTU students a discount on secure bookings. The platform enables you to search for accommodation available at your destination, provide real-time notifications on new listings, and support you all the way through to booking. If you'd like to use this platform, please contact NTU Global first for more information on the services and discount provided.
If you’re going abroad though ISEP or to an international summer school accommodation is usually included in the package.
NTU Global is also here to support and give advice on the options available.
What about my accommodation in Nottingham?
If you’re only abroad for a part of the year, you can explore the flexible accommodation opportunities available at NTU. This means that depending on availability, you may be able to rent a room at NTU’s Sandby residence just for the duration of your time in Nottingham.
If you have signed a full-year contract for a room on campus or off campus, but are exchanging for a semester, you might be able to sublet your room and you can advertise it to incoming students. We also recommend that you look at the available NTU Accommodation early in your planning stages, if you wish to secure your accommodation at NTU on campus, and to make it as easy as possible for you.
- Incoming students arriving in Semester 1 will start looking for accommodation between April and July
- Incoming students arriving in Semester 2 will start looking for accommodation between October and December
If you prefer this option, we ask you to provide us with the room description in a form on an advert including price per week/per month, what bills are included as well other information that can help prospective students. We can then send this advert to NTU Exchange coordinators and they will promote it to incoming exchange students joining us at the same time as you go away.
There is also a message board where you can keep an eye on adverts.
Please note that whether or not you can sublet depends on the tenancy agreement. It is your responsibility to find out the terms and conditions of your tenancy agreement. Some agreements allow sub-letting and some don’t. If you’re in any doubt at all speak to your landlord or letting agent.
Please bear in mind that we cannot guarantee that we will find anyone to take your room but we will do our best to promote it for you.
Language
Most of the study abroad programmes are in English, however, this depends on the courses you choose.
If your course is in a different language, you can do an assessment to see if your language is at an appropriate level. If you’re travelling through Erasmus+, you can even take an online course before you depart.
Most host organisations also offer language courses when you’re already there.
You could also apply to the University Language Programme (ULP) at Nottingham Trent University. This programme provides a range of language courses to students at an additional cost. You'll have the opportunity to learn a new language or improve your existing foreign language skills to get you ready for your travels.
If your language skills are already at a good level, but you’d like to practise your conversation skills, take a look at the global language programmes ran by NTU Global. These give you innovative ways to learn your preferred language and meet new friends before you depart.
Health and safety
While there is always some inherent risk with any kind of travel, there are a number of steps that you can take to help you keep healthy and safe. Many health and safety precautions whilst abroad are the same as you should take as a stranger in any new town or city, so exercise common sense at all times.
To make sure your trip goes as smoothly as possible, there are a few steps you can take to prepare for your travel:
- Make sure you have valid travel insurance, even if you’re only planning a short trip
- Check what vaccinations you need by visiting the NHS Fit For Travel website, your travel health clinic or GP at least 6 weeks before you travel
- Read up on your destination, including local laws and customs
- Make photocopies of your passport, visas and insurance details and leave a copy with a relative or friend at home
Useful links:
FCO Travel Aware
There are a number of other services and resources available to you. We will send you all applicable information during your application process covering insurance, medical, and visa and travel information.
Costs of living abroad
The living and travel costs will vary depending on the study abroad scheme that you join and the length of your time abroad, as well as your personal spending habits. We advise you to do some research about the country and even city you will live in, so you can get a better idea of how much to budget.
Don’t forget to also take into account the costs you may incur before you leave, such as insurance, vaccinations, visas, travel, accommodation and so on. To make budgeting easier, NTU Global team have put together a simple worksheet which you can use to help outline expected costs and draw up a realistic budget. Download Budgeting Worksheet (right click and 'Save As' to download).
To give you a better idea about what to budget for, see our "How much does it cost" page for useful links and information.
Special access needs for students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties
If you are considering studying abroad in Europe and have specific access needs due to physical, mental or health-related conditions, you can view a map of accessible destinations for disabled students and students with specific learning difficulties as assessed by other students in the Erasmus Student Network.
You can apply for an Erasmus+ grant in addition to the regular study or traineeship grant. To apply, please email us to indicate your needs and foreseen extra costs. These include (but are not limited to) adapted accommodation, travel assistance, medical assistance, supportive equipment, adaption of learning material, and an accompanying person.
