Study while discovering New Zealand and fall in love with the natural beauty here that is impossible to forget. The country’s lakes, mountains, native forest, open spaces and clean air provide a magical backdrop and an outdoor adventure playground for your student exchange experience.
What is the Incoming Student Exchange at UC?
The Incoming Student Exchange is a programme between UC and our exchange partner universities. If you are studying at an exchange partner institution you may be eligible to apply for the Incoming Student Exchange. When you study through the Incoming Student Exchange programme, you are studying as an exchange student from your home institution and are not required to pay tuition fees to UC.
Exchange partner institutions
To apply for the incoming student exchange programme, you must be nominated by one of UC’s partner institutions. As an exchange student you are not required to pay tuition fees to the University of Canterbury and the credits you earn while studying here may be transferred back to your home institution.
Check from the list below to see if your institution is amongst UC’s 60+ exchange partners.
If your institution is not listed, your home institution’s International Relationships Office will be able to tell you whether there is an exchange agreement in place with UC and advise you how to apply for nomination.
Incoming Exchange Application closing dates
There are two opportunities per year to apply for the Incoming Student Exchange programme:
- Semester One (February to June) – the closing date for applications is the 1st of November of the previous year.
- Semester Two (July to November) – the closing date for applications is the 15th of April
Entry requirements for Incoming Exchange students
High academic standard in your studies at your home university are usually expected when applying for the Incoming Exchange programme. Your home institution needs to nominate you to be considered for the exchange programme, so check the entry requirements determined by your home institution.
If English is not your first language, you must also meet UC’s English language requirements.
Select your studies
Some UC courses run first semester, some second semester, and others are full year courses. When you apply, check that the courses you want to take are available.
Search or browse Qualifications and courses or Subjects to explore your options.
A standard workload is 60 points per semester, and although different courses have different points values, in most cases each course will be 15 points. A normal full-time programme for a semester would be three or four courses.
Course offerings are subject to change.
Confirm your course selection
Some courses may not be available to Incoming Exchange students which inclulde the following. If you need to know in advance whether you are able to take a particular course, please include a course list in your Incoming Exchange application.
- Distance learning courses
- 200 level Law courses
- Fine Arts (studio art) courses
- Forest Biology (FORE218)
- Teacher Education courses
- Note: Education courses with EDUC course code under the Bachelor of Arts schedule are available to Exchange students.
- some Physical Education and Sport Coaching courses require police checks. Please contact us at [email protected] to check if the Physical Education and Sport Coaching courses you wish to take require police checks.
- Journalism courses
- Courses in MBA and Executive Development programmes
- All clinical practice courses
- Communication Disorders are open to students who meet pre-requisites except for the clinical practice courses
- Social Work – field work courses are not open to Exchange students. Entry to other theory courses will be considered case-by-case basis and approval from Social Work will be required.
Some other courses are limited entry and may have additional entry requirements. Please contact the International Mobility Co-ordinator if you have enquiries about course restrictions.
Engineering courses
Students wishing to study Civil and Natural Resource Engineering should provide a list of intended courses with their application.
If you are applying to other engineering courses it is also recommended that you provide a list of courses with your application.
Pre-requisites
Some courses have pre-requisite requirements and students need to have sufficient academic background to be considered for entry to these courses.
Tuition fees
As an exchange student, you will not be required to pay tuition fees to UC. You will pay tuition fees to your home institution.
Additional costs
There are additional costs to factor into your budget per semester:
- Medical and travel insurance- see more information about insurance below
- Living costs – Costs will vary but you should budget approximately $7,500 NZD per semester
- Course-related fees such as field trips
- Administration Fee – this fee is waived if you complete your international enrolment by the due date
- Any applicable visa application fees.
Accommodation
Most exchange students stay at the UC Accommodation Student Village on campus which offers an accommodation package for exchange students.
Find out more about accommodation for Exchange students.
Visas
It is not possible for exchange students to travel to New Zealand on a visitor’s visa and apply for a student permit upon arrival in New Zealand, even if you are a citizen of a country with which New Zealand has a visa waiver agreement. It is imperative that you apply for and receive your student visa before travelling to New Zealand as you may be refused a student permit if you apply for a student visa once you are here.
Full details of visa and permit requirements, advice on rights to employment in New Zealand while studying, and supporting requirements are available from Immigration New Zealand. When your application for admission to the University of Canterbury is approved, we will provide you with an Offer of Place letter (acceptance document) which you can use to submit to Immigration New Zealand for your student visa application.
Insurance
Exchange students must have appropriate and current medical and travel insurance while studying in New Zealand. This insurance must meet requirements set by the New Zealand government under the NZ Ministry of Education Code of Practice.
Studentsafe-university Insurance is the University’s current default insurance cover which meets the standards of the New Zealand Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students. Exchange students can purchase Studentsafe‐University cover when they complete their enrolment in person on campus. If exchange students hope to utilise an alternative insurance policy, they must have the cover assessed at least four weeks before enrolment to determine whether it meets NZ government requirements.
The application form for insurance assessment is available on the web page below. It is important to note that many overseas policies do not meet New Zealand requirements. An insurance policy required by your home university may also not necessarily meet New Zealand requirements and if it does not, you will be required to purchase the default insurance, Studentsafe-University at enrolment.