FAQs

If you are an exchange student (not fee-paying), nominations are completed by your home university (usually your study abroad/international office team). Please check with them to ensure you have been nominated.

The nominations deadlines are:

For the Autumn semester and full year: 31 March

For the Spring semester: 30 September

Usually, the application link is sent around 5 working days after the nomination deadline and after our online application information sessions.

When applying, you will need to upload the following:

• A copy of an official Transcript of Records signed and stamped;
• A copy of your passport valid for the period of the exchange;
• English Language Proficiency certificate (if applicable).

Please refer to our Study Abroad and Exchange Entry Requirements page.

If you are joining us in Autumn, you can expect to receive your offer between June and July. If you are joining in January, you can expect to receive your offer letter between November and December.

If you receive a conditional offer, it will explain the reason on the letter. Most likely it’s because your English proficiency certificate doesn’t meet our entry requirements. As soon as you send us a new certificate, we will upload it onto your application and our admissions team will process it again. 

We ask you to accept the conditional offer using the link in the offer letter as you will not receive an unconditional acceptance unless requested. This might take time to because the priority will be to send out offers to applicants that have accepted their conditional offers.

You will receive a visa document after being made unconditionally accepted. Please note that you might not receive an unconditional offer letter itself but will get your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number (if you are a full year student) or Standard Visitor Visa (SVV) letter (if you are a one semester student) to apply for the visa. 

Not all students will receive letters at the same time. They are completed in no particular order, and we cannot expedite this process but do not worry, you will have enough time to apply for the visa.

We will send you an email with instructions and the module application form that you will need to fill in before the deadline. You will need to choose up to 12 modules and place them in the order of preference. The College(s) you have applied for will contact you directly to discuss your module selection.

If you are a Postgraduate/Master's student, you will need to contact your college or school directly to arrange module selection.

Please refer to our What can I study? page.

One semester: 60 UK credits (equivalent to 30 ECTS)

One year: 120 UK credits (equivalent to 60 ECTS)

Most of our modules are worth either 20 or 10 UK credits

LC is certificate level (first year), LI is intermediate level (second year) and LH is honours level (third year) - all undegraduate (UG). LM is Master level - postgraduate (PG).

Yes. However, you need to remember that you have to take 40 UK credits from your preferred college and there might be limitations to what you can choose due to different timetables.

This is relevant to students coming from our European partners.

All incoming students have an allocated academic exchange tutor through their host school, they will be able to sign your Learning Agreement or Study Plan after your modules are confirmed. Some schools might sign it earlier but this is not guaranteed.

You need to send a pdf file to your academic exchange tutor for the signature or do it in person, once you have arrived.

For September intake, modules will be confirmed in September and you will be able to see them on your timetable about a week before your classes start.

For January intake, you can expect your modules to be confirmed and appear on your timetable in the first two weeks of January.

Yes, in general, once the teaching starts, you will have two weeks* to change your modules.

*Please note that our School of Biosciences only has a one week window due to the timing of the lab practicals.

If it will be necessary, we will transfer you to a different college/school in which you have the majority of your modules.

Once your marks are released, your official transcript will be available on Verify within 3-5 working days of your marks being released.

Please note that you must give your home university access to your UoB academic transcript of records via the Verify system - no hard copies will be posted or electronic copies emailed to home universities.

Your home university must register on the system as a third party to be given access to your academic record.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - you can still use your UoB login details to access Verify after being made a leaver/Alumni of the University of Birmingham. So, even when you can no longer access your UoB email, you can still use your UoB login details to access Verify. If it doesn't work, try replacing the last bit of your student email with ‘alumni@bham.ac.uk’.

For more information, please refer to the FAQ link below: Secure Documents website: how do I share my degree documents?

If you have any questions regarding your official transcript or Verify – please email securedocuments@contacts.bham.ac.uk – the study abroad team cannot answer these questions.

Please refer to our Academic Year Dates page.

• Single accommodation with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities
• Single ensuite bedrooms with shared kitchen facilities
• Studio and studio apartments with exclusive use of bathroom and kitchen facilities

Most our accommodation can be found at one of our three villages: Pritchatts Park, The Vale, and Selly Oak. We also work with trusted accommodation partners to provide contemporary student homes across Birmingham.

More information about housing options can be found on our University Accommodation page.

Yes, once you have received your offer letter and your University of Birmingham student ID (the number found on your offer letter, which usually starts with "2") you can apply for accommodation through the Accommodation Portal.  

Please note that you will need to register for an account using the same email address used during the University application process.

If you are joining us in September for a full year, you have up until 31 July to apply for accommodation to be guaranteed the opportunity to book a room in one of our accommodation villages, or with one of our trusted accommodation partners. All students that have applied by this date will be contacted by the Student Living from mid-August with their timeslot and more information on how to secure their room.

We also have a dedicated number of rooms available for incoming exchange students studying at the University for one semester. If you're joining us for the Autumn semester only you have up until 31 July to apply for accommodation. You'll be invited to book your room with us from mid-August.

Apply for accommodation from mid-November to be given the opportunity to book a room. Your Guarantee Scheme deadline will be released nearer to the time, but it's usually before Christmas.

Depending on your nationality you may need to apply for a visa to enter the UK for study. Check this page - Do you need a visa?

CAS is a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. Before you can apply for a Student Route visa you will need your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies number which is issued to you directly via Admissions. You can begin your visa application 6 months before your study start date.

For all study abroad and exchange students, the University is required by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to check your Right to Study (RTS). 

You are required to upload your immigration documents as you progress through your visa application and once you arrive in the UK. The International Student Team (IST) will then check your documents and the University will retain a copy of these documents. 

The Study Abroad and Exchange team cannot assist with any questions or concerns regarding RTS. Please find all the necessary information on the following Intranet page: My Right to Study (birmingham.ac.uk) 

We recommend that you take out health insurance before you travel and arrive in the UK.

The University has a health centre on campus and you should register with this service on your arrival.  If you will be in the UK for more than six months you will be able to use the National Health Service in the same way as anyone permanently resident in the UK.  However, pre-existing medical conditions requiring long-term medication or hospital treatment may not be covered.  Repatriation would also not be covered.  It is therefore essential to take out health insurance before you arrive.

If your course lasts less than six months you will be treated as a private patient and will have to pay to see a doctor.  The charges for this can be especially if you need medication or hospital treatment.  Dental and optical treatment must also be paid for, as is the case for those permanently resident.  It is therefore very important that you take out insurance cover before you travel.

You can use trains or if you have a lot of luggage, you might consider getting a taxi.

You can get a 16-25 (or 26-30) railway card, this will give you 1/3 of all train ticket fares. A lot of bus companies also provide discount, you might want to check the providers' websites. 

For finding and purchasing train tickets we recommend Trainline. 

Please refer to our Arriving at the airport page.

To become an official student of the University of Birmingham you must first register online. Before you arrive in Birmingham you will receive an email containing your username and password which you will need to complete Online Registration. It comes from our central system, not from the Study Abroad team. When you receive your registration email, please read the email thoroughly and follow the instructions carefully. For detailed information on Registration, please visit Online Registration. For general additional information, please visit our Welcome pages.

Once you have registered, you will have access to your 'My.UoB' portal where you can check your module registration status and our online learning platform called 'Canvas Learning Environment'. On Canvas, ensure you visit our Online Induction Module (UG), a dedicated resource to welcome new students at the University of Birmingham. You may also visit the Introduction to Canvas for Students module.

Although Welcome Week is very important for you to get to know the university and campus, as long as you join us for teaching week, it should be fine. However, if you are going to miss more than one week of teaching, you will need to contact the school and us. The latest date that students can arrive and be accepted onto modules is the last working day of the second week of teaching in each semester, students will not be accepted onto modules after these dates.  

Please contact our office regarding late arrivals via email: 

incomingstudyabroad@contacts.bham.ac.uk – for fee-paying students 

Incoming-europeanexchange@contacts.bham.ac.uk – for students from our European partners 

incoming-intenrationalexchange@contacts.bham.ac.uk – for students from our international partners