Study Abroad

Apply Now | What makes us special? | Education at UCG

What are my options?

In general, the fifth semester of your studies, this being the fall semester during your third year, is the most suitable period to go abroad. In terms of the duration of your stay abroad, this will usually be one semester. This has to do with the type of grant that you may receive, but also the fact that a longer period abroad may cause delays in your programme.

Where can I go?

There are various options that you can apply to, both within and outside the EU. You can go on exchange via one of the UCG partners, Multi Faculty Exchange, University-wide exchange, via other UG faculty, or as a Free Mover.

UCG partners

University College Groningen offers great opportunities via our own partnerships with Arizona State University (USA), Ca'Foscari University (Italy), Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (India), University College Freiburg  (Germany), University of Valencia (Spain), University of Vienna (Austria), University College Dublin (Ireland), Kyushu University (Japan), and Université Internationale de Rabat (Morocco). Furthermore, Waseda University (Japan), SUNY Geneseo (USA) and RMIT (Vietnam) are offered as direct partners but are coordinated by other faculties.

Multi Faculty Exchange partners

UCG students who study abroad may attend one of the 400 programmes offered by the University of Groningen either through the Multi Faculty Exchange partners (MFE) or through the exchange networks of the other University of Groningen faculties. Each year, we add more partners to our list of international Universities that we have an agreement with. All MFE partners are non-EU countries and include universities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, China, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and others.

Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM)

Erasmus + International Credit Mobility (ICM), in partnership with the European Commission, offers exchange programmes and scholarships to students who want to study at one of the selected universities in countries outside of the EU as part of their degree.
There are several partner universities in Europe (Non-EU), Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Free Mover

You can also choose to go to a university that the University of Groningen does not have an exchange agreement with. In that case you will be considered a Free Mover or Visiting Student by the host and have to arrange everything yourself. Often you will have to pay the tuition fee or course fees to your host university. In addition, any credits earned will not automatically be recognised by the University of Groningen, so you need to get all your courses approved by the Board of Examiners.