Requirements and selection for exchange studies
On this page, you will find information about what applies when it comes to requirements for exchange studies, and how the selection is made.
Requirements
To be eligible for exchange studies, there are a number of criteria you must have achieved. You can apply for an exchange place during year 2, but cannot conduct exchange studies until during year 3, at the earliest. You can check your eligibility with your school's international coordinator.
Reported courses in Ladok
All courses must be reported in Ladok at the latest at the end of the application period, and it is the student's responsibility to ensure that course elements are reported by this date. The examiner has 15 working days to correct and report examination results.
Contact the course examiner and your international coordinator in good time if course elements are not reported. Also leave a report to KTH's complaint form if course elements are not reported on time.
File a complaint regarding your studies
If you intend to study abroad in year 3
If you plan to go on exchange studies in year 3, you must not have more than two uncompleted courses when you apply for exchange studies.
- At the regular application round in November, this applies to courses up to and including study period 1.
- For the extra application round in February, this applies to courses up to and including study period 2.
If you intend to study abroad in year 4 or 5
If you plan to go on exchange studies in year 4 or 5, you must not have more than three uncompleted courses when you apply for exchange studies.
- At the regular application round in November, this applies to courses up to and including study period 1.
- For the extra application round in February, this applies to courses up to and including study period 2.
If you only study a master's programme at KTH
Applicants who only study a maste's program at KTH and have taken a bachelor's degree at another university than KTH must have obtained 30 credits in completed courses at KTH up to, and including, study period 2 the academic year you submit an application for exchange studies.
If your programme courses overlap the semesters, it is important that you are in phase with your studies and have completed the courses that you should have completed up to period 2.
Grade requirements at certain universities
If a student has a grade point average (GPA) that is lower than 3,0, it is not only difficult to manage the studies in time during the exchange period, there may also be a risk that the student will not get admitted to the partner university. KTH therefore advises students to have a minimum of 3,0 at the moment of application.
Some exchange universities are distinctly elite universities where the pace of study is high, and to be successful with the studies at these universities, it is required that the applying student has good grades.
To be able to apply as an exchange student to these universities, KTH requires a minimum average grade of at least 4.0 unless otherwise stated at the exchange university on KTH’s website . This grade point average is based strictly on academic results and, therefore, without additional points from THS's reception activities of 0.2. Some universities have their own stated minimum average grades for exchange student applicants.
Selection
There are a limited number of spots at each exchange university. If the number of applicants to a specific university exceeds the number of spots, a selection is made based on the student's grade point average. The grade point average is based on the credit giving course components completed in Ladok on the last day of application and possible participation in the reception of incoming exchange and master students.
Calculate your GPA
We calculate a weighted grade point average for all students applying for exchange studies, and we rank the students according to this value. The formula used is as follows:
Total (Grades x (number of compulsory credits))/[Total (number of compulsory credits)]
In order to be able to compare the grade scale (A-F) with the previous system (3-5), the letter grades are translated to figures according to the following model:
- A = 5
- B = 4,5
- C = 4
- D = 3,5
- E = 3
- F = 0
Uncompleted courses are equated with the grade F=0. Keep in mind that uncompleted courses reduce the grade point average a lot because these courses are also included in the calculation of the average point.
Extra credits
International activities within KTH currently give 0.2 points extra to the GPA. International activities mean that you have actively participated in the Student Union's (THS) activities for the reception of incoming exchange or master's students. This applies to both the central student union's, as well as the sections', activities. Certificate of participation is issued by THS and must be attached to the application. The certificate is valid in two consecutive application rounds after the activities have been completed. The supplement of 0.2 cannot be included in the GPA required at certain universities. More information on how to get involved can be found at THS or your section.
Nomination value
The so called nomination value on each exchange university on KTH’s website is the GPA of the student getting the last place at a university.
Place allocation and lottery
The applicant with the highest merit rating/GPA is the first to be awarded the first choice. The places are then allocated in descending order. When allocating places, it is primarily semester places that are allocated. Secondly, full-year places are allocated, but only if there still are places left at the end of the allocation meeting. If two (or more) students end up with the same average grade and compete for the same place, the exchange place is distributed by drawing lots.
Rules for selection
Study qualifications
- Study qualifications are based on the courses the student takes within their program up to, and including, study period 1 the academic year the student submits an application for exchange studies. No courses that run over both study periods 1 and 2 of the current semester may be included.
- Exception: you who have been admitted to a master's programme at KTH and have not studied your undergraduate programme at KTH according to search group 2 (see below) and must have obtained 30 ECTS at KTH the academic year you submit an application for exchange studies, including study period 2.
Which courses are included?
- For departure in year 3, 4 and 5, only the compulsory courses in previous years are included. If the study plan in the previous year comprises less than 30 credits of compulsory courses per semester, elective courses of up to 30 credits are included.
- The final reported courses that only give the grade "Pass" are not included in the calculation of the GPA, but are included in the eligibility assessment.
- Uncompleted courses that run over several years may not be included in the calculation of the average grade.
Partial grade of “pass”
- If a partial grade of “pass” is given for a non-completed course at KTH, the grade is counted as a 3. If a grade is assigned in a partial course, “partial grade X points” is stated.
Including credits
- When including credits from other universities, grades from a whole finalized course at these universities are only counted if studies have been undertaken in a Bachelor or Master of Science in Engineering programme in Sweden. In all other cases the grades are not included, grade point average will be based on studies at KTH only.
Master of Science in Engineering/Education Degree Programme
- In the Master of Science in Engineering/Education Degree Programme, students study compulsory courses at the Stockholm University Teacher Education Department. This department awards the grades Pass and Pass with Distinction. These grades are awarded the figures Pass = 3,5 and Pass with Distinction = 4,5.
Search groups
In order to achieve a fair allocation of exchange spots to all KTH students, applicants will be divided into three search groups. Spots at the exchange universities will be assigned in a percentage scale depending on the number of applicants in the groups 1 and 2 and will be done region by region.
Search group 1
Student who is studying a whole educational programme at KTH. This includes students on bachelor programmes, “högskoleingenjör”-programmes and 5-year degree programmes. Student currently in a master programme who completed the bachelor degree at KTH is also included in search group 1.
Search group 2
Student on a 2-year master programme at KTH who got the bachelor degree at another university than KTH, in Sweden as well as other universities abroad.
Search group 3
Student having already been nominated and carried out exchange studies within the frame of their educational programme at KTH and applies again, or a student who has been nominated and declined the exchange allocation. These students can only be allocated a spot after the allocation to search groups 1 and 2.