Student Exchange (Outbound)

Student exchange can be a good learning experience. Joining a student exchange programme allows you to live and study overseas for a few months. During that period, you are registered as a full time student in an overseas institution. Course credits earned can be counted towards your academic programme at CityU.

Student exchange is becoming more popular among university students worldwide in recent years. Many SYE students joined student exchange programmes. They went to UK, Australia, Finland, Austria, France, USA, Sweden, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China, ... SYE has also been hosting exchange students from various countries.

Where to go ?

CityU has exchange agreements with a large number of overseas institutions. All CityU students may apply to those institutions for student exchange. The College of Engineering (CENG) and our department also have agreements with a number of institutions. All SYE students may apply to these institutions as well.

Institutions with Institutional Student Exchange Agreement with Departmental Exchange Quota

University	Country	Quota
University of Western Sydney Academic Calendar: Fall semester*: beginning of October – mid-February Spring semester: beginning of March – end of June * For Mechatronics, beginning of September – mid-December. Information on Student Exchange	Australia	2

Institutions with Departmental Student Exchange Agreement

University	Country	Quota
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria School of Management (Steyr Campus) (Semester A exchange only) Academic Calendar: Winter semester: end of September - middle of February English language proficiency requirements: TOEFL CBT 196, TOEFL IBT 70, IELTS 5.5, TOEIC 700, or Cambridge FCE Information on Student Exchange	Austria	4*
University of Oulu Academic Calendar: Autumn Term: beginning of September – end of December Spring Term: beginning of January – end of May Information on Student Exchange	Finland	4
University of Vaasa Academic Calendar: Autumn Term: beginning of September – end of December Spring Term: beginning of January – end of May Information on Student Exchange	Finland	4
Hanyang University Academic Calendar: Fall semester: beginning of September – end of December Spring semester: beginning of March - end of June Information on Student Exchange	Korea	3

* shared with MNE and BME

How to apply ?

The main round of application is in the beginning of semester B. Students interested in student exchange in either semester A or B in the following year should apply. A clearing round of application is in the beginning of semester A. It is for exchange in the following semester B. Please note that most of the exchange offers are given out in the main round.

Application forms can be obtained in AIMS or from Global Engagement Office (GEO).

Note that while a high CGPA helps in the application, interview performance is also important.

Financial support is available through GEO (Hong Kong permanent residents only).

Financial Support

Eligible students can receive funding from the University to support their exchange programme.

From the University

• Student Exchange Fund
• Special Fund for Non-local Outbound Exchange Students
• Joseph Lau Student Exchange Awards
• Subsidies Offered by the Education Bureau

To obtain the funding, participants in the Student Exchange Programme (SEP) must fulfill the requirements of SEP, which include but not limited to the followings:

• meeting the English language requirements set by home and host universities, whenever applicable, on or before the application deadline set by the host university; and
• successfully completing the approved exchange study programme by passing at least 12 credit units per semester (or equivalent, i.e. 20 ECTS) and the requirements stipulated by the host university.

CityU reserves the right to withdraw full or partial the sponsorship if students fail to fulfill the funding conditions and criteria set by the University.

For details, please check the Global Engagement Office's website (Login Required).

Guidelines on Credit Transfer for Outbound Exchange Students

1. The guidelines are applicable for all SYE outgoing exchanges established at Departmental, College or Institutional level.
2. Students should comply to the academic regulation on credit load under which except for the Summer Term, full-time students must register for courses at least 12 credits and for not more than 18 credits.
3. Students should achieve the minimum requirement (grade C or equivalent) for an exchange course with which credit transfer will be sought for.
4. The post-secondary institution or professional association at which courses have been taken should be adequately accredited and gain broad acceptance for its awards and qualifications among institutions of higher education.
5. Where equivalence to a CityU course is established, the syllabus for the course taken should overlap by at least two thirds of the content of the CityU course.
6. The level of work for the course taken should be comparable to the level of work of the equivalent CityU course, or to the level of work required to meet a degree requirement.
7. The assessment of courses for which credit transfer is granted should be sufficiently rigorous to enable a judgement to be made that the student has completed the course and has achieved the relevant academic standard.
8. The number of credit units transferred to CityU should be determined with regard to CityU’s practice of granting one credit unit for forty-to-fifty hours of student work.

To find out more

Visit the GEO and the CENG student exchange websites.

Student exchange coordinator:
Professor CHU Yinghao
Email: yinghao.chu@cityu.edu.hk

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Last modified on 4 December, 2023