Semester abroad

Study a semester abroad and get valuable experience for your CV and memories for life.

Below you can see the 6 steps involved. All the information you need is available here, so please read carefully.

See a timeline of the process: Timeline - Semester abroad (pdf)

4 steps to start your exchange semester

1. To take a semester abroad you must apply online via our application system (only twice a year)

The deadlines are: 1 March and 15 September.
See the section 'How to apply' for the online application form
You must indicate in the application form whether you intend you use green travel or have any special needs (provides a slightly higher grant)

2. You will then be nominated to one of your priorities (not necessarily your first, so you must apply for several if you really want to do an exchange abroad).

You must accept this offer or you will not be able to do an exchange
This university will contact you with their application details
This can take up to 3 months from our application deadlines

3. You must then also apply to this university, they will guide you through their processes

You must get your subjects approved by your International Coordinator and then prepare your learning agreement.
The International Coordinators are:
- Marketing Management: Mark - mhug@baaa.dk
- Finance: Jens - jeka@baaa.dk
- Multimedia: Jeanne - jebn@baaa.dk
- Digital Concept Development: Lykke - lyda@baaa.dk
- IT subjects: Peter - pebt@baaa.dk
- Chemical/biotechnical: Anders - alk@baaa.dk
Here is an example of a filled-out Learning agreement (pdf)

4. Send your final letter of acceptance and signed LA to International Officed

If relevant, your Erasmus grant be prepared (provided you are going to an EU country).
You might need to take a language test,

Student's story: An exchange student in Norway

A Multimedia Design student went to Volda University in Norway to do her third semester. See her story below.

Where and when can I go?

Most students at Business Academy Aarhus can study a semester abroad as part of their studies, provided you have completed at least 1 year on your programme by the time you leave.

The Academy has exchange agreements with universities in Europe through the Erasmus programme and outside of Europe. You do not pay tuition when you study at an institution the Academy has an exchange agreement with.
Please make sure that the university you choose has subjects taught in English that match the ones you should have had at the Academy for that semester.
If your programme is not listed, it might not be possible for you to go abroad for a semester, but please contact us and ask.
You can also study a semester abroad at an institution of your choice - see how you can become a 'free mover'.

Where can I go?

Find your study programme and check possible destinations here

We can only send 1-3 students to the partner institutions per academic year (August to June). So there will naturally be limitations on the number of students going to any given partner institution.

Also, the courses offered by the partner institutions vary from year to year and it might not be possible for you to find suitable courses offered in English. Therefore, when you fill out the application form make sure to list several institutions you would like to study at to maximise your chances of studying abroad.

Finally, it is a good idea to go and see your international coordinator prior to submitting your application in order to learn where students from your programme of studies have successfully gone in the past.

When can I go?

Look at your curriculum, usually in the 3rd semester on an AP degree.

Practical information

If you want to meet other students before you arrive at your destination university, you can sign up for Goin Connect. Register for Goin Connect here: Register Goin Connect. You must use our English name: Business Academy Aarhus.

Below, we have gathered some useful information to help you plan and prepare for a semester abroad. Please read through this before you leave.

Costs and practicalities

If you study a semester abroad at one of Business Academy Aarhus’ partner institutions, you do not pay tuition fee.

This means it is 'free' for you to study at those institutions.

There are, however, other costs and practicalities you need to think about when you take a semester abroad:

Visa – see below
Vaccinations – see below
Insurance – see below
Housing - see below
Valid passport
Travelling costs
Living expenses (food, phone etc.)
Tuition fee (only free movers pay tuition fee)

It is a good idea to make a budget, so you know what expenses you will have.

Get information about financing a semester abroad

Visa

If you are going to study outside of Europe, the host institution will typically be helpful with your visa application. You must not enter a non-EU country without a valid student visa. You can also go to um.dk to see how you apply for the appropriate visa to the respective country.

EU citizens who want to study at a university in Europe do not need a visa. If you are not an EU citizen, you can go to um.dk to check if you need a visa.

Vaccines and allergies

Insurance

When you go abroad to study, you need to take out full-time policies for:

accident insurance
public liability insurance
health insurance (the blue medical card does not cover anything)
insurance against theft
travel insurance/repatriation insurance

Neither the Academy, nor the Danish embassy/consulate will help with illness, accidents etc.

For insurance in Europe, please see the regulations for the blue European health insurance card.

In Denmark, the blue European health insurance card has to be ordered through borger.dk.

Possible places to buy travel insurance for studying abroad:

Dr. Walther: Protrip world
Safeaway Insurance for Studies Abroad.
You can also check out this guide to insurance when studying abroad:Travel insurance guide

Housing

Most of our partner institutions offer assistance in finding housing and some even offer on-campus accommodation. You should, however, expect to put in an effort to make sure this process runs as efficiently as possible.

Please go to the individual partner institutions’ websites to see their policies on providing housing for exchange students.

Business Academy Aarhus is not able to assist you in finding housing.

Courses abroad and marks obtained

Most students have to study courses abroad that total 30 ECTS.

After consultation with your international coordinator, you may take 20 ECTS abroad and study the remaining 10 ECTS at Business Academy Aarhus during the same semester. But this depends on your study programme.

When you study abroad, the rule of thumb is that you need to take courses that can substitute the courses you should have taken at Business Academy Aarhus that semester.

Before you go, you must have a Learning Agreement (LA) that states which courses you will study abroad. This agreement needs to be agreed by your international coordinator and then signed by three parties:

You (the student)
The International Office
The receiving institution

If you pass all the courses at the partner institution (based on your LA) – the course credit for all courses will be transferred to your study programme at Business Academy Aarhus.

Your diploma will only indicate 'Semester credit transfer' or something similar and indicate the ECTS credits you obtained as passed. The names of the subjects as well as the marks you received abroad will not be shown. Therefore, you must keep and use the transcript you get from the university where you do your exchange. This also means that you cannot use the marks from your exchange to calculate your average.

Safety advice

Move your adresse

Exchange exam not passed: payment for re-examination

The Academy charges DKK 2.500 per exam that needs to be prepared by the Academy.

Outgoing exchange students who do not pass their exams at their host university must, if possible, take their re-exams at their host institution.

If it is not possible to take a re-examination at the host institution, e.g. because the re-exam is not offered within a reasonable timeframe, an original Academy exam can be taken at the Academy for a fee.

The fee will cover the administration, planning and taking of an extraordinary exam. The fee is the same no matter which educational programme you are in and applies to all types of exams.

Financing

Tuition fees are paid for automatically when you study a semester at one of Business Academy Aarhus’ partner institutions.

Even though the actual education is free, there are still expenses related to living and studying abroad. You can apply for grants to cover these expenses.

Erasmus - study at a partner institution abroad

Most of the exchange agreements the Academy has in Europe are with institutions that are part of the Erasmus Programme. When you apply to go to one of these European partner institutions, you automatically apply for an Erasmus grant as well.

The size of the grant varies from year to year and depends on the country you go to, how long you will be gone and whether you travel green, but it is approximately €550 per month. You will receive the grant about 2 weeks before you leave.

NB. ALL STUDENTS are welcome to apply for an Erasmus grant, but please note that possibly not all applicants will be able to receive an Erasmus grant. This is due to a limited number of grants. If this is the case, it will still be possible to study abroad without a grant.

Where can I go with an Erasmus grant?

You can go to all EU member states as well as Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia.

Please note that Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not considered foreign in the Erasmus context, and you cannot receive an Erasmus grant if you go to Greenland or the Faroe Islands.

Get more information about the Erasmus Programme.

Taxation of grant

Scholarships for studies abroad are exempt from Danish tax when they are used to cover the costs of travel between Denmark and the place of study, food, minor necessities, accommodation at the place of study, tuition and course fees etc., including fees for courses in the language of the country of study.

You must notify the Danish tax authorities (SKAT) of the costs you have incurred, so they can be deducted from the total scholarship amount in your annual tax return. Your expenses must be documented with original vouchers, and it is therefore important that you remember to keep all documentation for your expenses abroad.

When you receive an Erasmus grant, BAAA will automatically report it to the tax authorities as a tax-free student travel grant. However, please note that SKAT may demand to see documentation/receipts showing what the scholarship has been spent on at any time. So save all receipts relating to transport, accommodation etc.

Even if you are no longer fully tax-liable in Denmark, you must still pay tax on your Danish student grant (SU) in Denmark. For further information, consult www.su.dk. For information on tax issues while abroad, contact the tax authorities in your host country.

Please contact SKAT in case of doubts or questions.

SU - Danish State Education Grant

As a Danish citizen, you can take your SU with you when you study abroad. All it requires is that you are eligible to receive SU and that Business Academy Aarhus approves your stay abroad as a full credit awarding stay that can replace a part of your programme at the Academy.

As a foreign citizen you have to meet certain demands in order to be entitled to bring your SU while studying abroad.

Please see su.dk for more information (in English).

Please see su.dk for more information (in Danish).

Søg legat hos Nordea-fonden (Info only in Danish)

Find other grants

There are many grants you can apply for. Find the ones relevant to you online, e.g. at Legat bogen or dansk studiefond - søg legat

Our library has also made a guide to help you find grants. The guide is only available in Danish (but grant applications must be written in Danish so you will need to get a Dane to help you).

How to find and apply for grants

'Udlandsstipendium'

For free movers only.

If you are eligible to receive SU while studying abroad, you are able to apply for “Udlandsstipendium” in addition to regular SU.

The “Udlandsstipendium” will pay all or part of your tuition fees at a foreign university.

Business Academy Aarhus must approve your stay abroad as a full credit awarding stay that can replace part of your programme at the academy.

Get more information about 'udlandsstipendium' (only in Danish)

How to apply

If you want to study abroad in the spring semester, the deadline is 15 September the previous year.

If you want to study abroad in the autumn semester, the deadline is 1 March the same year.

Please read ALL the information before you apply, especially the information regarding your programme.

In the application you primarily fill in data about yourself and prioritise the university you would like us to nominate you to. We recommend that you choose more than one university. You must attach a motivational letter with your application. This is for the international office at the Academy only. We use it to assess who we nominate to go abroad, so it is important that you spend time thinking about it.

Motivational letter

You need to tell us why you wish to go abroad to study. You must focus on the academic goals and maybe what it can do for your future work life, but you can also include thoughts about the personal development you expect. Content is more important than form.

Apply here

Free mover

Free mover gives you the opportunity to study a semester abroad at a self-selected higher education institution that the Academy does not have an exchange agreement with.

First of all, you have to do your own research, find a suitable university and write applications etc. There is a lot of work involved with studying abroad as a free mover.

Once you have found a suitable university, you need to contact your international coordinator. They will help you choose the courses abroad which can be approved by your programme.

Other than that you have to do everything yourself.

If you want additional help, the following companies can help you find suitable universities, and there are others as well:

EDU Danmark
Kilroy Education
StudySEA

For independent counselling about studying in the USA please also refer to Fulbright Kommissionen.

Udlandsstipendium

You initially have to cover the tuition fees yourself, but you can apply for an ‘udlandsstipendium’ to get full or part coverage of the tuition fees.

Do you have any questions?

Sharon Wilkins

Mail

shwi@baaa.dk

Phone

+45 7228 6071

Position

Head of International Relations