Apply for Student Exchange Program
Follow our easy steps to be on your way to your international experience!
You are able to apply for exchange while you are in your first semester at Curtin.
Don’t leave it too late to apply – check the application closing dates.
Once you have confirmed your eligibility and considered your destination options, you’re ready to start your application.
Don’t forget to keep our application deadline dates in mind when putting your application together!
You will submit your Curtin Abroad Study Plan Proposal Form and copy of your passport via the online application form. Once you’ve submitted your application, it will be assessed and you will be advised via your Curtin student email on the outcome of your application to participate in the Curtin Exchange Program. This email will usually be sent to you about three weeks after the Curtin exchange application deadline.
Prepare your Curtin Abroad Study Plan Proposal Form
One of the best parts of going on exchange is that your studies count towards your Curtin degree!
To ensure you will receive credit, you are required to complete a Study Plan Proposal Form [.pdf 176kB] and have your course coordinator check and approve your units to confirm you will receive credit and the credit value.
If your course includes elective units, we recommend that you use these when going on exchange as this will provide you with greater flexibility and more options as to where you can study.
You are required to have four preferred units approved and two alternative units approved prior to submitting your application. When it comes time to enrol into your units at the host university, sometimes you may discover your preferred units are unavailable due to class availability, timetable clashes, or other circumstances. If this occurs, you will then need to reselect units from your alternative approved units.
Unless otherwise advised, you only need to complete a study plan proposal for your first host university preference.
You will be required to undertake a full-time study load while on exchange (i.e. Curtin enrolment of 75 to 100 credits) as well as meeting the minimum enrolment requirements of the host university.
How to choose your units and have them approved for a partner university
Visit the partner websites and identify which courses they offer. You may find the partner fact sheets helpful at this stage. You will need to identify units (courses or modules) that contain similar content to your Curtin unit and submit this to your Course Coordinator for approval and obtain their signature on your Study Plan Proposal Form.
Keep in mind that many of the partner universities use different terminology, have different semester dates and different credit systems.
- In USA, Canada and Asia a unit is called a course and a course is called a program. In UK and Europe a unit is called a module.
- Each university will have different semester dates, with the academic year in most other countries commencing in August or September.
- In USA, Canada and Asia many partner universities will refer to their credits as credit hours. A full time load may be 12 to 16 credit hours, however this does vary between universities.
- In UK and Europe many partner universities will refer to their credits as ECTS. In general 7.5 ECTS is the equivalent value of 25 Curtin credits but this is at the discretion of your study plan approver.
How to choose your units and have them approved for exchange to another Curtin campus
As the units offered at Curtin campuses are delivered in English and are the same content as the Curtin Bentley units, preparing your Study Plan Proposal Form will be quick and easy. You will remain enrolled as a Curtin Bentley student and pay your tuition to Curtin Bentley.
You will need to check the Curtin Handbook to establish which of your required units are available at the Curtin campuses and then submit your Study Plan Proposal Form to your course coordinator for approval and their signature.
Submit your Curtin Abroad Application Form
You can complete your Curtin Abroad Exchange Application Form online.
Within the application, you will be asked to upload a completed copy of your study plan proposal and a current scanned copy of your passport*
*To travel internationally a passport is required. If you don’t travel overseas regularly, you may discover that your passport has expired or is due to expire while you are away. If you are currently applying or renewing a passport, please submit it once you have your valid document. If you hold more than one passport, then you may wish to submit a copy of both.
The next step is for the Curtin Abroad Office to seek a placement for you at one of your preferred host universities. We will always aim to seek a placement at your first preference, but you must be prepared that this may not always be possible.
Once a placement has been offered by the host university (this is referred to as a nomination), you will be instructed to complete the Host University application form and supporting documents. This is not an acceptance into their exchange program, you are simply being invited to complete an application. The official acceptance may take some time to arrive after your application submission, so please be patient.
The application process for each university will be different, so read all the information provided by the host university carefully and follow the instructions provided by the host university and/or your Curtin Abroad student mobility coordinator.
If you’re applying for an inter campus temporary transfer to another Curtin campus, the Curtin Abroad team will provide you with the required documents you need to submit to finalise your enrolment.
Once you have been formally accepted by the host university, you can plan your adventure!
Once you confirm your placement at your host university, you’ll need to organise your accommodation and travel.
The host university will generally provide you with details about the required visas, accommodation and arrival dates. At this stage, you will also be put in contact with a student exchange advisor at the host university who will be able to assist you with specific questions about your exchange at their university.