Once you're abroad

Now that you've filled in your forms, ticked all the boxes and made it to your destination, there are a number of things that you will have to think about and may want to do.

Accommodation

The first priority, if you haven't sorted it already, will be to find accommodation. Now, the University's involvement in this is very small for good reason: just as in Exeter or any other town/city in any country, the accommodation situation is fluid and therefore constantly changing. This means that it would be impossible for us to keep up-to-date with the current accommodationUpdate & Approve situation in each region of each country in which we offer places.

Fortunately, a student-led initiative has made a large step in solving this problem. The Study Abroad Buddy Scheme has been established to answer questions with a more social and unofficial theme, which includes accommodation as one of its main duties. For more information about this scheme, please click on the above link.

Documentation

In line with University of Exeter requirements, there will be some paperwork that you will have to complete and send back to us. 

For students studying abroad, we ask you to send us an update of your Module Record. If you do not have a copy of this, please email outbound@exeter.ac.uk and we will send you one.

For students working abroad, the required documentation can be found on the Work Abroad Placements webpage and should be sent to the Placements team at placements@exeter.ac.uk.

Wellbeing and advice

If you have any issues on your Year Abroad where you need additional support, please feel free to contact us and we will do our best to help you. Please also remember that you are still an Exeter student while on your Year Abroad, so you still have access to all the services available here at Exeter, such as Wellbeing and the Guild Advice Unit.

Assessment

For the latest information on the assessment for the Modern Languages and Cultures Year Abroad modules, please see the Modern Languages Year Abroad ELE page.

Module registration (For students who are studying)

When you arrive at your host university you will have to confirm modules and possibly submit an updated Module Record Form to us at outbound@exeter.ac.uk. From this, we will be able to see which modules you have finally chosen and then we will either approve them or ask you to choose something different.

This process is important for two reasons. Firstly, we need to check that your modules are in line with Modern Languages and Cultures requirements, and secondly, we will use this information when converting your marks once you have returned to Exeter. In the latter case, we would expect for the transcript that you bring back to mirror directly the most recent Module Record form that we've agreed.

Which modules can you choose and how many credits should you take? 

Your year studying abroad is a chance to have some fun and explore new avenues, but we still have some requirements as to what you study. The general advice is that any modules that you take must be directly relevant to your programme in Exeter. Also, please note that all modules must have a credit value and must be provided by the partner university.

Whilst it may seem like a tough decision to take, you should always try and enrol on modules that are highly challenging and designed for native speakers of the target language. Whilst you may not receive as high a grade as your classmates (i.e. the native speakers), you will gain a distinct and huge advantage in the long run. It is clear to Exeter staff teaching final year modules which students have taken the bold step of challenging themselves in contrast to those who have taken the easy route and, whilst it may reduce your Study Abroad mark slightly, it will greatly improve your final year grade, which is worth four times more in terms of your final degree. 

For more information on what you can study at your host university and how many credits/modules you should take, please see the What can I study? page. 

How are Study Abroad marks converted?

Please note that when you return to Exeter, we will convert your highest-marked credits/modules of half of the full academic workload. Please see the What can I study? page for more information.