Exchange for Master of Science in Ecology and Environmental Management

We do not recommend going on exchanges outside USN's partner portfolio

If you want to study abroad outside of USN's partner agreements, you must apply USN for "study leave" during the time you are away, and you have to apply for admission to the host institution on your own.

You are not entitled to pre-approval of the studies in this case. You can consult with the study supervisor and program coordinator before choosing your subject but you are not guaranteed to get them approved in your degree after your stay abroad.

Yes, if you have a permanent residence permit but do not have Norwegian citizenship, the visa rules for applicants from the country in which you have citizenship will apply to you. This may mean that the application process may take a little longer.

If you travel on an exchange, it will also take a little longer before the application for Norwegian citizenship is granted. You can apply to speed up the case on the UDI's website.

Our partner institutions will help Norwegian students who do not have Norwegian citizenship to apply for a visa. We will nevertheless note that there is always a cost in applying for a visa! The prices of this vary from country to country.

Norwegian students do not need a visa if you are going to exchange within the EU / EEA countries. For countries outside the EU / EEA, students are often required to have a visa.

We recommend that you obtain up-to-date information directly from the country's immigration authority, consulate or embassy. The visa rules may have been updated, so always check the latest visa rules.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has supplementary travel information. It can be helpful in finding the right information about entry and which websites to use to apply for a visa.

NB! If you are a student with another citizenship you have to contact your own embassy regarding student visa on the exchange stay.

It is very rare that space restrictions prevent students from traveling on exchange to one of the three partner institution they they prefer. We therefore encourage all students to ignore the number of places when setting up their own priority list.

Distribution of free places:

1. Agreements with only free places: If we have more applicants for agreements with only free places, we will send an inquiry to the partner to accept more students from USN. Very often they do this. If not, the students with the highest grade point average will be given priority. If you do not have the highest grade point average, you will have the opportunity to travel on your 2nd or 3rd priority.

2. Agreements with both free places and paid places: If we have more applicants for agreements with both free places and paid places, students with the highest grade point average will be given priority for the free places. Students who do not have the highest grade point average will be offered to travel through the payment places or travel to the partner on their 2nd or 3rd priority.

This is how the grade point average is calculated:

Bachelor students:

1. Add together all the grades you have received in your bachelor's education at USN when the application deadline is February or 15 September.
2. Divide the sum by the number of characters you put together
3. This is your grade point average

Masterstudenter:

1. Add up all the grades you have received in your master's education at USN when the application deadline is February or 15 September.
2. Divide the sum by the number of characters you put together
3. This is your grade point average

It is important to point out that USN does not set any minimum grade requirements in order to travel on an exchange.

It is our partner institutions that set grade requirements.

This is how the grade point average is calculated:

Bachelor students:

1. Add together all the grades you have received in your bachelor's education at USN when the application deadline is February or 15 September.
2. Divide the sum by the number of characters you put together
3. This is your grade point average

Master students:

1. Add up all the grades you have received in your master's education at USN when the application deadline is February or 15 September.
2. Divide the sum by the number of characters you put together
3. This is your grade point average

US partners will often require a minimum GPA (Grade Point Average) for admission. Contact us in the Section for Internationalization for more information about calculating GPA if you are in doubt.

Some of our partners make demands on language skills, depending on the language of instruction.

If you are going to study in another Scandinavian country and the language of instruction is Danish or Swedish, Norwegian as a mother tongue will generally be sufficient for admission.

Are you going to study in a country where the language of instruction is e.g. German, French, Spanish or Italian, you may be entitled to a language scholarship from Lånekassen for an intensive language course prior to your studies. It is an advantage to have basic knowledge about the language from before so that you can follow teaching at university level. Read more about language scholarships on Lånekassen's pages.

Several of our partners where the teaching takes place in English require that you document a minimum of 4 in English from High School. In particular, institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and New Zealand are strict on this requirement. If you do not have 4 in English, many educational institutions will require a language test.

If you do not meet the language requirements for the place you want to travel, contact us in the Section for Internationalization. We often find an alternative solution such as a language test. This can be taken after you have applied.

We are happy and excited that you have applied for a semester abroad! You'll believe this will be your best semester during your degree. 

After the application deadline has expired on 1 February (for exchange in the autumn semester) and 15 September (for exchange in the spring semester), we will contact all students who have applied by email.

Do you want to take a closer look at the steps in the exchange process towards the partner institution? Log in to our Canvas Room for exchange. Here you will find a complete guide and help on how to get abroad!

keyboard_backspace For more information, check out our webpages on outbound exchange

All students who meet these requirements can travel on a semester abroad:

1. You have been admitted to a degree program at USN. All bachelor- and master programs are required to have an exchange offer.
2. You have to complete a minimum of 60 credits before you go abroad. You have to apply for an exchange in the semester that is arranged for you in your study program. You have to get subjects pre-approved into your degree before travelling abroad.
3. If you have talked to your program coordinator and you can not travel as part of your degree, you can either travel to Summer School or take an Internship abroad after completing your degree.

You can find "previous courses that have been approved" for your study programme for the partner you want to travel to.

If you want to read more about these courses, or find other courses, you must check the course catalog of the partner university. Read up on the topics!

Tips for finding topics:

• Erasmus partners in Europe and partners in non-English speaking countries often have a limited range of subjects taught in English. These can be put together into finished "subject packages" corresponding to 30 credits per semester. If not, you need to pick a composition of different topics. Check with your study advisor and programme coordinator whether these can be pre-approved into your degree.
   
• Our partner institutions in English-speaking countries often have Bachelor's and Master's programmes where you can in principle apply for subjects in the entire course catalog:
  • Are you a Bachelor student? Look for 2nd and 3rd year subjects (3rd and 4th year subjects in the USA). These usually have a three- or four-digit code that starts at 2, 3 or 4, depending on which school year they are taught.
  • Are you a Master's student? Feel free to look for subjects with a code that starts at 4 or 5 (in the US: 5 or 6).

NB: Level 1 courses in the US are equivalent to advanced courses and will not be approved!

The subjects must be filled in your Learning agreement and pre-approved by the programme coordinator after you have been nominated and before you apply to your partner university. More information about this can be found in our CANVAS room. Log in and take a look!

You have several options if you fail a subject while on exchange. It depends on if you fail a compulsory subject or an elective. 

It is always wise to contact your academic advisor if you have failed a subject. Remember that you are responsible for submitting your Transcript of Records to your academic advisor after the exchange semester for registration. 

If you fail a compulsory subject

These are your options if you fail a compulsory subject: 

1. Retake the subject at the school where you took it - This depends greatly on the timing of the retake exam and whether you can take it online or in person.  

2. Take the compulsory subject at USN. 

If you fail an elective subject 

1. Retake the subject at the school where you took it - This depends greatly on the timing of the retake exam and whether you can take it online or in person. This vary from university to university, but it is an option.

2. Take the elective subject at USN - If USN have the same subject or something similar, you can retake the subject at USN or just choose a new elective subject that you replace with the one you took during the exchange. 

NB! It is important to note that these are solutions for getting your bachelor's/master's degree approved. However, if you fail a subject on exchange and choose to retake it or take a new subject at USN, this may have financial consequences in terms of converting loans to grants. The conversion of loans to grants depends on the number of credits you complete, so it does not necessarily have such consequences. Contact the student loan office (Lånekassa) if you are unsure or encounter problems.  

Until the deadline, you can rearrange your preferences or add others.

After the deadline it is only the desired locations you have applied to that counts. So think carefully about where you want to travel before you apply. 

It can happen that students do not get either first, second or third choice, or they will be offered alternate places to travel to. 

Yes, the general rule is that you need 60 credits from USN or previous education before an exchange semester abroad. 

Applicants for exchange are ranked according to grades. It is unfortunately not possible to adjust exchange spots for groups of friends.

It is important to consider that you want to go on exchange for your own sake and be prepared that this might involve traveling with someone you don't know yet (potentially new friends!). It might also happen that you get to travel with your group of friends, if all of you have good enough grades and there are enough spots at the exchange partner.  

Yes.

If you do not respond to the offer by the given deadline, your application will be marked as "withdrawn" and others will be offered the spot. 

When you have applied for an exchange, caseworkers go through all applications, contact the exchange partners, and prepare tailored information specifically for you and where you are going.

If you are unsure about whether you want to go on exchange or specifically to the university you are nominated to, please feel free to contact us so we can guide you.

Once nominated, you should see it as a commitment and think carefully before you answer yes in the application web.

Often, many are on the waiting list, some do not get to travel, and many work to ensure that you can go on exchange. Therefore, you should actively consider that this is something you want and make a decision that this is something you will complete already when you are in the application process.

You can always contact us at utveksling@usn.no if you have any questions.