Applying for a European Exchange

First, check that your home university is one of our European Exchange partner universities.

• We can ONLY accept application from our European Exchange partners.
• If your home university is not one of our European Exchange partners, you may want to join us as a Study Abroad student.

Check you meet our minimum entry requirements:

Academic requirements

• You should normally have completed at least one year of university study
• The minimum entry requirement for most departments is equivalent to a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 (out of 4.0).
• You can find out the specific requirements for a particular module unit on our Choose your modules pages.

English language requirements

Please note updated information below.

Due to visa requirements post Brexit, for students coming for a full year, we can no longer accept a partner institution's assessment as proof of a student's English language level. We now require evidence of the level via a SELT (Secure English Language Test) and students will need to offer this evidence as part of their application. We require the following minimum standard level of English for direct entry to our credit-bearing courses:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall (with no subscore below 5.5)
• Pearson: 61 (with 54 in writing and no subscore below 51)

We accept English language qualifications from many countries. Students are also able to use their English qualifications from their high school to prove their abilities, but a full list of the acceptable qualifications (for visa purposes) can be found here.

We are also currently accepting the tests listed on this page - click for more details.

If your IELTS level is between 6.0 and 6.5, and you’re applying to start in September, you can take an Online Pre-sessional English Language Programme to bring your English up to the required level. Email studyabroadstudents@rhul.ac.uk to enquire about this.

For students staying less than 6 months in 2024/25 we can continue to accept a partner institution's assessment as proof of a student's English language level where this has been the case in previous years.

To apply as a European Exchange student, you need to be nominated by your home university.

• Contact the Exchange co-ordinator at your home university and ask about their selection procedures.
• Your Exchange co-ordinator will need to nominate you through our Partner Universities Nomination Form.
• Our deadlines for receiving Exchange nominations are:
  • 15 April for September starters
  • 15 October for January starters
• For all applications we usually require students to have the equivalent of a 3.0 GPA. Applications falling below this threshold can be made, but we may request additional information from the partner institution such as a references or information about mitigating circumstances.

• Take a look at our module information and find out what options are available.
• Please be aware that some modules are more popular than others and we can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to get a place on all the modules you request.
• For this reason, if you want to join us for a full year, you should choose modules that total at least 150 - 180 UK credits (75 - 90 ECTS). If you’re joining us for just one or two terms, you should choose modules that total 90 - 120 UK credits (45 - 60 ECTS).
• You can choose modules from up to three academic departments. However, this may lead to timetable clashes.
• We recommend that you first choose modules in the department that has set up the Erasmus+ or European exchange agreement and that you then choose modules from other departments, depending on your level of study and interests.
• Please note that pre-requisites (previous study in the subject) apply where requested on the module lists.

• To register and apply, complete our online application form.
• When you complete the online application form, you will need to upload the following supporting documents. You can begin your application without all of the items below present so that we can start to review your details, but an unconditional offer cannot be made until all the following have been uploaded:
  
  • An authorised transcript of your university studies
  • An English translation of your transcript (if necessary)
  • Proof that you meet our English language requirements (see step 2). This is for Visa purposes if you are coming for a full academic year.
  • A photocopy of the personal details page of your passport
  • A personal statement

• Our deadlines for applications are:
  • 24 May for September starters 
  • 24 October for January starters

• We’ll send you an offer by email. This offer will be subject to satisfactory agreement of your module choices.
• Once you’ve accepted your offer, we will send your module requests to the relevant academic departments for their consideration. In some cases (for example, where there are no spaces on a module), they may suggest an alternative module.
• Once you’ve agreed your module choices, we will then send you a Study Plan to accept. This will show the modules you will study during your time at Royal Holloway. Occasionally, changes may need to be made to your Study Plan during your first week due to timetable clashes or other unforeseen circumstances.

• As soon as you’ve accepted your offer from us, you can register on our accommodation portal and apply for accommodation.
• See our accommodation pages to see the different options you can choose.
• Please note you can now select specific halls preferences rather than 'bands'. You can also indicate preferences such as sharing with students who do not consume alcohol, or with mature students only. Our accommodation team will do their best to meet these preferences wherever possible.
• For all accommodation queries, email: studentaccommodation@rhul.ac.uk