Go on Exchange

Attend a Study Abroad Advising Appointment to express your interest in studying abroad, get information, and ask questions. This is mandatory before the deadline of the application. 

For an outbound advising appointment: 

- Go to Advisor Connect  
- Select "Study Abroad" and "Nicole Shearer" (the Outbound Study Abroad Coordinator). 
- Select Location as "ONLINE". Your request will then be reviewed and an email confirmation with an MS Teams link will be provided. Nicole is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Surrey Campus in the International Office for the online appointment to be changed to in-person.

Decide which KPU Partner Institution is your first preference, and which institution is your second preference. We have other partners in the Asia Pacific through UMAP. You can go here to find out more https://usco2.umap.org/ . 

Tip: Look for a place that you would like to spend time in for a semester and offers courses and an experience that best aligns with your personal and professional interest. 

Click here to start the MoveOn Study Abroad Outgoing Application. Please use your KPU email to register and read all the information in the application carefully to have a successful application.

The MoveOn application does save automatically as you go so you can return to where you last worked. 

Have 1 Faculty Reference Form completed by a professor at KPU. Kindly ask your professor to email the reference before the deadline to internationalprograms@kpu.ca. WSD students would need permission from their chair to go abroad. Best if your program chair provides the reference or is at least aware of your interest to go abroad. *If you are applying for scholarships please have 2 reference forms submitted. A second reference form could be from another faculty member or from a community volunteer/work supervisor.  

You will need to be a full time student when on exchange abroad taking and paying KPU fees for about 12-15 credits when abroad. First, look up at least 8 courses you are interested in taking at the partner institutions you identified as your first and second choice. Courses for the given semester may not be posted at the partner institution, but you can refer back to their last year courses of the given semester. The number of courses will be reduced down when it comes closer to the start of the semester abroad and your course enrollment through a Learning Agreement process.

Second, complete this draft Study Plan for Exchange - 2024-2025 or Study Plan for Exchange - WSD.COHORT - 2024-2025
Save it as a pdf and attach it to your MoveOn study abroad application. 

You are expected to visit an academic advisor (or chair if you are a Design student) within the Faculty/program you are enrolled prior to completing this form to determine what courses you have left to complete from your program. Academic advisors cannot tell you how the courses from exchange will transfer but you can use the information about your degree requirements to guide your decisions. Please click here to book an appointment with an academic advisor.

• You are not bound to your selections but you should become familiar with the academic program at your partner institution to ensure that your course choices will fit with your academic goals.
• See our partner profile pages for academic information about your study plan options and the transfer credit database for past approved courses. 
• As the course catalogue for your intended exchange term may not be published yet, please select your courses based on the most recent course listings available. e.g. If you're applying for a Spring semester exchange, try to find the previous year's courses at the partner institution that have an overlap with KPU's Spring Semester dates.
• Email internationalprograms@kpu.ca if you are having difficulty finding courses at the partner institution. 

*NOTE. It is important to understand that direct transfer credit for courses taken abroad may or may not occur. Courses could come back as elective credits for your program, be equal to a course at KPU, or not be approved for transfer. Therefore, it is best to search for a larger number of optional courses to take in the start through this draft study plan. Course approval will be evaluated for nominated students through a learning agreement process before the start of the semester abroad.  

In 500-750 words, please answer the four questions below for your Statement of Interest for Exchange.docx
Save it as a pdf and attach it to your MoveOn study abroad application. 

1. Why you have chosen your first and second choice partner institutions for exchange?

2. Explain how this international experience links to your educational and career goals. How will the international experience contribute to your current academic program?

3. What personal qualities and past experience do you have that will help you be successful in your international experience?

4. What do you expect to learn from this international experience, and how will you apply these lessons upon your return to Canada?

Your statement of interest should include both your first and second choice institutions and should be between 500-750 words. Include details about how the institutions and destination countries fit in with your academic, professional, and personal goals. Also outline the skills and experiences you have that will allow you to adapt to change and new situations.

Complete this Budget Worksheet for Exchange.docx
Save it as a pdf and attach it to your MoveOn study abroad application. 

Use estimate numbers for this preliminary budget sheet, and any additional information should be put into the notes section to explain the amounts. Please put amounts that you are certain of and add in the notes information regarding money you hope to receive ie awards. 

Budgeting is an important step in planning your KPU Global Learning Experience. Each person's spending preferences will vary substantially, so it is important for you to work out a budget suited to your goals and needs. The amount of money required for exchange varies greatly from country to country and from student to student. For reference information on costs and money-saving tips, read personal reports written by other students and research the living costs in the cities where your first and second choice institutions are located. You can find more information here: /exchange/go-on-exchange/money/budget

You can access your unofficial transcript online for free, and upload a pdf to MoveOn for your application. Go here for a youtube tutorial on how to find and save your KPU transcript as a pdf.

To access your transcript online:

1. Log into Online Self-Service
2. From the Student menu, choose Records
3. Choose Academic Transcript
4. Set Transcript Level to "All Levels"; and Transcript Type to "Web Transcript"
5. Click Submit