Academic approval of your outbound exchange

You should already have checked if the institutions you're interested in offer relevant courses before applying for exchange.

You can find links to course catalogs in relevant institution descriptions under "exchange" in your study program description, or on the host institution's own website. Contact your student advisor if you have questions about academic content or need help choosing courses.

After accepting a potential exchange offer from UiS, you should apply for pre-approval as soon as possible. You can find the application form for "pre-approval of subjects for study abroad/exchange programmes" at the Student Service Center. Your faculty/department will process the application.

It is the responsibility of each student to apply for pre-approval well in advance of their departure. Please note that it may take up to three weeks to receive a response to your application.

Some departments offer dedicated workshops on the pre-approval process for their students. In addition, departments may set their own deadlines for when the application for pre-approval must be submitted.

If you are going abroad outside of an established exchange agreement (as a so-called "freemover" or guest student), you must also include a description of the grading and educational system of the country — and, if applicable, the specific university — you plan to apply to.

Special Arrangements

Students at the Faculty of Performing Arts should not use this form but must follow the pre-approval procedures specific to their faculty. You will receive information about this from your contact person at the International Office.

Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen)

Lånekassen provides support for students taking part of their studies abroad. Please note that support from Lånekassen is not available to all students from outside of Norway, and you must check whether you are eligible.

Your student advisor will report your planned exchange to Lånekassen once your pre-approval application has been approved.

Please note that you cannot apply for support from Lånekassen until you have received your pre-approval decision. Keep in mind that Lånekassen requires you to be a full-time student during your time abroad. For shorter stays, fewer credits may be required.

If you need to make changes to your course selection after receiving pre-approval, you must contact your student advisor at your faculty/department to seek approval for the new courses.

If you need help finding new courses, please involve the host institution and your student advisor.

Reasons for changes in course selection may include:

• The course offerings at the host institution aren't available before departure
• The course offerings changed after you applied for pre-approval
• Unforeseen schedule conflicts

If you don't report new courses or internship plans, you may encounter issues with the final approval of your exchange when you return. In the worst case, parts of your exchange may not be recognized as part of your degree at UiS.

Once you've received a transcript from the host institution, you must apply for final approval of the academic content of your exchange. You can find the application form for "final approval of partial studies abroad" in the Digital Student Service Desk. You'll upload the transcript from the host institution in the application.

It's your responsibility to ensure that your faculty/department at UiS receives the transcript or confirmation within a reasonable time so that the exchange can be formally approved. You won't receive a diploma until such approval is in place.

You're responsible for obtaining a valid transcript for exams taken at the host institution and/or a confirmation of completed internship.

If the host institution sends the transcript directly to the International Office at UiS, you will be contacted.

The scope of courses recognized from the exchange will be listed on your diploma. The names of the completed courses may be included, but practices vary among the faculties. Please contact your faculty/department if you want to ensure that the course names appear on your final diploma from UiS.

Grades from foreign institutions will not be converted to the Norwegian grading scale.

If you're applying for further studies or jobs, you must include the transcript from the host institution along with your UiS diploma.

Based on experience, students tend to perform well academically during their exchange. If you're unfortunate enough to not pass a course, in most cases, retaking the exam at the host institution can be difficult.

Therefore, we recommend that you immediately contact your study advisor at UiS to adjust your future educational plan.