Outgoing Exchange: Starting Your Exchange Journey

The following eligibility requirements must be met at the time of your application.

Undergraduate students must have:

• Minimum 2nd year standing in a degree program
• Completed at least one full academic year at Carleton University (4.0 credits at Carleton University)
• Minimum of 2.0 credits remaining in their degree to study full-time at the partner institution
• Minimum overall Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 7.0 in completed courses
• For the Killam Fellowships Program, a minimum overall CGPA of 10.0 in completed courses is required

Please note that these are the requirements for students to complete an exchange application. The Registrar’s Office will conduct an official eligibility review of all undergraduate exchange applications in January. At that point, they may connect with students about potential academic obstacles for their exchange. Students are expected to maintain their good academic standing throughout their participation in the Exchange Program

Specific degree requirements:

• Architecture: students must have a minimum overall CGPA of 8.0 and 10.0 studio GPA. Students must apply for a Winter exchange (departmental approval is required for Fall exchange)
• Engineering: students must consult their academic advisor about eligibility
• International Business: students must refer to the Sprott School of Business website for eligibility requirements

Graduate students must have:

• Approval from their graduate department in order to be eligible for an exchange placement abroad. We recommend you consult with your Faculty Advisor to discuss the possibility of exchange

Students must attend an Exchange Information Session before applying to the Exchange Program. These sessions occur every Fall term both online and in-person. For more information on the schedule and to register for a session, please visit our Exchange Information Session webpage.

Topics covered:

• Eligibility requirements
• Application steps
• Important dates
• Funding opportunities
• Testimonials from past participants

Visit our Stories from Exchange webpage to learn about other students’ experiences while abroad. This webpage is updated every term to include new photos and testimonials.

The Exchange Team does not offer academic advising. Therefore, you must meet with your departmental advisor to discuss where you stand in your degree, and how an exchange will fit into your studies. Some academic considerations for you to discuss with your advisor are:

• Saving your electives for your exchange term/year. This may make it easier for you to transfer courses back to Carleton. It is important to consider that you may not have access to specific required courses (e.g. major/specialization requirements) at a partner university.
• Taking summer courses. Some students complete summer courses at Carleton before or after their exchange to fulfill degree requirements they missed while abroad and to minimize the impact on their anticipated graduation date.

Most students complete their exchange during their third year of study. If you are considering an exchange during your fourth year, you will have additional considerations to discuss with your advisor. Going out on exchange in the last term of the final year of your program will definitely delay your graduation.

The Exchange Partner Institution list is a starting point only and the information listed is a general guideline. Students are responsible for thoroughly researching their partner institutions of interest. Some factors you may consider while doing your research are:

• You will need to rank five institutions on your application in order of preference. While the ISSO makes every reasonable effort to place students in their preferred choice, due to the competitive nature of the Exchange Program we cannot make guarantees.
• The language(s) of instruction: Many partners offer courses taught in English, so learning another language is not a requirement to go on exchange. If you are traveling to a country where English is not the first language, you might want to:
  • Take a language course as an elective.
  • Check out the conversation groups offered by the Language Resource Room to help practice your skills.
• Academic Calendar: Not all partner institutions follow the same academic year as Carleton. It is very important to consider approximate start and end dates when planning for your exchange.
• Review Legend: Not all our exchange agreements are open to all students. Please review the legend to determine if the partner accepts your degree and level of study.

The Registrar’s Office maintains a Course Equivalencies Database which includes a list of courses that exchange students have taken in the last 3 years. This is not a complete or current list of all available courses at your host university, but you can use it as a guide to determine what kind of courses you can take.

Students can find the Outgoing International Exchange Application on Carleton Central under “Student Online Applications”. You will have the ability to save your progress at each stage of the application and come back later. Your completed application must be submitted by the deadline.

1. The system will conduct an automatic review of your eligibility. Please note that satisfying the preliminary eligibility review at the time of application only guarantees that your application will be considered, it does not guarantee acceptance to the Exchange Program.
2. Identify and rank five preferred institutions on the application and the term(s) you wish to apply for (Fall, Winter, or Full Year). We strongly recommend that you consider all five of your choices carefully. While the ISSO makes every reasonable effort to place accepted students at their preferred partner institution, due to the competitive nature of the Exchange Program we cannot make guarantees.
3. Respond to short-answer assessment questions regarding your motivations and objectives for the Exchange Program. There are no right or wrong answers; these questions are an opportunity for you to tell the Exchange Team a bit more about yourself and your goals.
4. Submit the following supporting documents:
   • Consent to Publish Form (Undergraduate and Graduate students – complete and sign Part C only).
   • Graduate Student Acknowledgement for Exchange (Graduate students only)
5. Pay non-refundable application fee of $100.00 CDN by Visa or Master card. For the Bachelor of International Business students, the application form will automatically bypass the fee payment requirement.
   • You will receive an automatic confirmation email after your application is successfully submitted.

Killam Fellowships Program Application Package

If you are applying to the Killam Fellowships Program, you will need to complete and submit the Killam Fellowships application package in addition to your Carleton Central exchange application. Please begin your Killam application well in advance of the deadline to allow ample time for the required documents to be collected.

Killam application package must be submitted online by December 15, 2024.

Application decisions will be sent out to students’ Carleton email by mid-February. You will be informed whether you have been accepted to the exchange program and to which partner institution you will be nominated by Carleton University. Students will be placed in one institution only.

Students who apply for the Killam Fellowships Program will be notified by mid-February about their acceptance to the Exchange Program. Around April, those students will receive the results of their specific program applications.