International Exchange

View the Global Opportunities & International Student Services Office’s list of partners, or contact the office at isso@carleton.ca for brochures and help selecting host universities that suit your needs.

• See the Course Equivalencies Database for a list of courses that former exchange students have taken.
• Note that 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 kinds of courses you can take.
• Not all courses offered by your host university will be listed on the International Exchange Database since courses are only added to the database as students register for them.
• Some courses listed may not be available for registration during your exchange terms.

• You can look at university calendars on the host university’s website to see what was previously offered.
• You can also view the Course Equivalencies Database to see what courses have been offered and approved in the past.
• You can email exchange@carleton.ca to request contact information for your host university if you cannot find it.

• It is not unusual to find that you can’t register for some of the courses you planned on taking. The list of courses you provided to your host university is only a preliminary list.
• If this happens, you should submit the new courses via the “Outgoing International Exchange Application” in Carleton Central.
• Your Registrar Specialist will review the courses to determine the Carleton course equivalency and if the courses are appropriate for your program.

You may take courses that correspond to a discipline taught at Carleton (e.g. English, Law, History, Business). You should avoid taking course that do not directly correspond to one of our departments because it is unlikely that another department will grant you credit for it (e.g. Jewelry Making, Introduction to Acting, etc.).

• Tuition fees will be paid the same amount as usual to Carleton University.
• Fee payment to Carleton must be made before you leave on exchange.
• Residence and other such fees must be paid to your host university. Please consult your host university’s website for details as fees will vary.

You are strongly advised to meet with your departmental advisor to ensure your remaining courses requirements can be completed while on exchange.

We cannot transfer exchange credits until we receive an official transcript directly from your host university. Transcripts may arrive too late from your host to allow you to graduate. In these cases, you will be required to postpone your graduation until the following term.

You can still study on exchange if you have no electives left, however you must consult with your departmental advisor to be sure your remaining courses can be completed at another university.

Please contact the Awards Office to determine eligibility criteria for maintaining your scholarship.

• Meet with your departmental advisor as soon as possible after you have accepted the offer to participate in the exchange program.
• During this meeting you can discuss whether the courses you plan on taking will fit into your major, and what courses you should either take or avoid to meet your program requirements.

• Credit value systems vary from university to university.
• A good rule of thumb for European universities is that 6 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) would count as 0.5 Carleton Credits. Courses valued less than 6 ECTS will be required to be bundled together in a given faculty to obtain 0.5 Carleton credits. For example, 3 Political Science courses valued at 2 ECTS each can be bundled together, upon approval of the Registrar’s Office, to satisfy the equivalency of one 0.5 Carleton credit.
• Please consult with your Registrar Specialist before you leave to be sure that you understand how your host university’s credits will transfer.

• The letter grade you receive in your exchange courses will not appear on your Carleton student record and will not be factored into the calculation of your CGPA.
• Passing grades will appear as “SAT” on your record.
• Failing grades will appear as “UNS” on your record, and will not be calculated in you CGPA.

• Many courses at exchange partners do not have an exact match at Carleton. You will still be given credit for these courses even if we cannot directly match it to a Carleton course.
• For example, you may be given the equivalency of LAWS 2XXX if you take a 2000-level law course that cannot be matched.

• Credit levels vary across universities. It is extremely important that you have all of your courses evaluated for an equivalency to make sure you receive the equivalency you anticipate.
• There are some cases where a course offered to 3^rd year students at the host university will only be given a 2000-level Carleton equivalency.

• You will need to arrange with your host university to have an official transcript sent to the Global Opportunities & International Student Services Office (GO-ISSO) before you leave.
• We strongly recommend that you request multiple copies for your own purposes because they can sometimes be difficult to request and are often required for graduate school applications.
• We are unable to provide certified copies of the transcript that is sent to GO-ISSO.

Please contact the host institution directly for any inquiries regarding official transcripts. Prior to your departure from the host institution, we strongly advise requesting extra copies for your personal records. If you intend to apply to graduate schools or pursue future opportunities, it’s important to secure additional transcripts from the host institution, as obtaining them at a later date may prove challenging. Please note that the official transcript provided to the Registrar’s Office is solely for internal use during the credit transfer process.

Your exchange courses will appear on your audit (with a grade of “EXC”) as soon as your courses have been evaluated and you confirm your registration via the “Exchange Application” page in Carleton Central. Your credits will be transferred as soon as we receive an official transcript from the host university.