If your home university is a partner school of the University of Iceland, you may be eligible for our exchange programme, allowing you to study at the University of Iceland for up to two semesters. All prospective exchange students should begin the process of enrolment by contacting an international exchange coordinator at their home university. If a student is eligible for exchange studies at the University of Iceland, the coordinator will nominate them via our online nomination system. We will then email all relevant information concerning the application process to the nominated student. Fact Sheet Fact Sheet 2024-2025 Prerequisites In order to qualify for our exchange programme, the following requirements must be fulfilled: Your home university must have an agreement with the University of Iceland in your field of study. Students must have completed 60 ECTS credits (or equivalent) at an undergraduate level at their home university prior to their exchange studies. Some faculities have prerequisites, such as only offering courses that require students to have finished at least two years (120ECTS) at an undergraduate level. Other faculities only offer graduate courses. Applicants from countries outside the EEA/EFTA whose native language is not English must submit proof of English proficiency by providing TOEFL or IELTS results. A self-assessment of English proficiency is included in the student application. Application deadlines Autumn semester or full academic year: 1 April (EEA citizens: 1 May). Spring semester: 1 September (EEA citizens: 1 October). Single Courses for Exchange Students It is important that students have their course selection ready and accepted by their home university before applying for their exchange online. Single courses for exchange students Home university nomination All students wishing to apply for exchange studies at the University of Iceland must begin the process by applying to their home university. We request information about selected students from the international coordinator at the home university via our online nomination database. After the coordinator has nominated the student and if the nomination is accepted, an email will be sent to respective student with detailed application instructions. For further information on the nomination process, please ask your international coordinator to contact the International Division: incoming@hi.is. Search in Partner Universities database. Exchange student application Apply for exchange studies at your home university. If your application at the home university is accepted the international coordinator nominates you for exchange studies at the University of Iceland. The deadline to nominate students is two weeks prior to the application deadline (see below). Once the University of Iceland receives your nomination, and if it is accepted, an email will be sent with detailed information on the application process and the link to the online application platform. Please ensure the following email address will not go to your junk mail filter: incoming@hi.is. After receiving the email about the application process, you should fill in the application online. Make sure to attach: Your transcript of records (Certified transcripts attached to the online application require original signatures and stamp marks). This must be an original copy of your transcript of records in English or a Nordic language (DK, NO, SE, IS). A passport size photo or a picture of your passport or ID card. Erasmus+ exchange students coming to the University of Iceland should use the Online Learning Agreement (OLA). Applications without a transcript and a passport size photo are not valid. As part of your application you need to select courses and so it is important that you look at our course catalogue before applying. Application deadlines are: Autumn semester and full academic year: 1 April (EEA/EFTA citizens: 1 May) Spring semester: 1 September (EEA/EFTA citizens: 1 October) Applications are evaluated by the School/Faculty for which you apply. You can expect a response to your application by email no later than 15 June (Autumn semester) and 15 November (Spring semester). A formal acceptance letter will be attached in your application portal. Erasmus+ Learning Agreement Erasmus+ exchange students coming to University of Iceland should use the Online Learning Agreement (OLA). The learning agreement is an agreement between the student, the home university and the University of Iceland during the exchange. Students should list the courses they wish to take at the UI and how those courses will be transferred back to their home universities. If your home university is using a third-party provider to make the OLA than please make the OLA through that system. But if they are not using a third-party provider please follow the steps below. If you are not sure please contact your home university for further assistance. Make your account Students log into the OLA system using their email address. Do not use “Log in with Google” or other personal emails Course selection rules Students must take 30 ECTS per semester – 60 ECTS per academic year unless they have a special exemption. It is important that the learning agreement is correct and that it is amended should any changes be made to the course selection. This will speed up the recognition process upon your return and ensure that your studies will be transferred back. Students fill in their personal information and information on their programme and can change that under MY ACCOUNT Step 1 – STUDENT INFORMATION Here students put in the information that is missing, e.g.: Academic year – academic year of the exchange Study cycle – level of studies Step 2 – SENDING INSTITUTION INFORMATION Here students put in information about their home university, which is their sending institution. Make sure that the email address of your contact person at your home university is correct. Step 3 – RECEIVING INSTITUTION INFORMATION Here students put in information about the host university. The receiving institution name: UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND (IS REYKJAV01) The Receiving Responsible Person at UI is Aníta Hannesdóttir, incoming coordinator (incoming@hi.is) Step 4 – PROPOSED MOBILITY PROGRAMME Now students should put in information on the courses they are interested in taking at the host institution and their home faculty has approved. Students must be registered for 30 ECTS per semester – 60 ECTS per year It is very important that there is an equal number of credits in both Table A (Study Programme at the Receiving Institution) and Table B (Recognition at the Sending Institution). If students are doing 30 ECTS at the host university it is important that Table B lists how these credits will be transferred back to their home university. Students first need to put in the estimated period of mobility. To add courses students select “Add Component to Table A” and write the name and code of the course in the host institution, the number of credits and period. To add more courses students can select “Add Component to Table A” again. It is possible to put in a link to the host university’s course catalogue. Finally, students put in the language of instruction at the host university, usually English, and their proficiency in that language. A1 is the lowest level and C2 is the highest level. Courses transferred as electives: If students get the courses transferred back as free electives then they write “Electives” and the number of credits to be transferred. For it to be clear which courses are to be transferred back as mandatory courses students can number the courses they choose. For example, students could write “Ethics (1)” in TABLE A and then “Introduction to Ethics (1)” in TABLE B so it is clear that the Ethics course is transferred as the mandatory course Introduction to Ethics. Step 5 – VIRTUAL COMPONENTS If students are coming for traditional mobility for one or two semesters at UI they do not need to fill in Table C. Step 6 – COMMITMENT The final step is to sign the agreement. Sign with the computer mouse or your finger, if you are signing on your phone app or tablet. Once students have signed they select “Sign and send the Online Learning Agreement to the Responsible person at the Sending Institution for review”. Next steps If the learning agreement is approved and signed by the students home university it is automatically sent to the host university for them to sign. If the learning agreement is not approved, it is declined and the student must make changes. The student gets notified by an email if the agreement is declined. Once everyone has signed, the student gets an email confirmation. Changes to the learning agreements Should students need to make changes to their course selection during their stay they can fill in the changes through the same system. If the host university did not sign online, then students need to make a completely new agreement for the new courses. If the host university signed online then students can choose to “Apply Changes” and add or delete courses. It is important to fill in Table B if there are changes to how the courses will be transferred back to your university. Once everything is ready the student signs online and the agreement is automatically sent to the international coordinator at the students home university and finally to the host university. Application for extension Exchange students who have applied for the autumn semester only and wish to extend their stay to the spring can apply for an extension. Students should first contact the International Division at the University of Iceland to see if it this is possible and then contact their home university for their permission. A link to the application form will be sent to those who are accepted for an extension. The deadline to apply is 15 November and late applications are not accepted. Please note that exchange students who have applied for the spring semester only, cannot extend their stay to the autumn semester. Application status Please note that your application is evaluated by one School/Faculty only. If you have chosen courses in other fields of study, you may have to reselect those courses even if the status says "selected courses OK". Course selection can be revised upon arrival if needed. The response to your application can be seen by logging into the application portal with your university email and password. Acceptance Autumn semester and full academic year Students with citizenship outside of EEA/EFTA who apply before 1 April can expect an acceptance in early May. Students with citizenship within EEA/EFTA who apply before 1 May can expect an acceptance in early June. Spring semester Students with citizenship outside of EEA/EFTA who apply before 1 September can expect an acceptance in early October. Students with citizenship within EEA/EFTA who apply before 1 October can expect an acceptance in early November. Facebook group We have a Facebook group for exchange students at the University of Iceland where you can socialise and ask questions. You will be able to join the group after you have sent in an application. Mentor system To help exchange students get a good start, the University of Iceland has a well-organised mentor system. The main task of the mentor is to provide the exchange student with practical information about the University of Iceland and Icelandic society, as well as to introduce them to other students and student life in general. The mentors will be assigned when the semester starts. The extent of the relationship beyond this depends on how well the students get along. We try our best to provide all exchange students with a mentor; if a student does not wish to get a mentor, they are given the chance to reject the offer in the application for exchange studies. Further information Partner Universities - database facebooklinkedintwitter
