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.
Navigate on this page
- Requirements
- Reported courses in Ladok
- You who are studying or have studied your bachelor at KTH
- You who only study a master's programme at KTH
- If you are studying with an individual study plan
- Grade requirements at certain universities
- Selection
- Calculate your GPA
- Extra credits for international activities
- Rules for selection
- Search groups
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
You who are studying or have studied your bachelor at KTH
You can apply for exchange studies in your second year of bachelor's at KTH and onwards, but you cannot go on exchange studies until your third year. To be eligible for exchange studies, you, as a KTH student, must have met the following criteria when you submit your application for exchange studies:
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If you apply for exchange studies in year 2 (bachelor's level), you can not have more than one unfinished course up to and including your most recently completed semester.
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If you apply for exchange studies in year 3 (bachelor's level) - you can not have more than two unfinished courses up to and including your most recently completed semester.
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If you apply for exchange studies in year 4 (1st year of your master's level) - you can not have more than three unfinished courses up to and including the most recently completed semester.
Please note:
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The courses must be reported in Ladok at the time of application.
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If you have a uncompleted courses because they overlaps two semesters, you must be in phase with your studies and have finished the moments you should have completed when applying for exchange studies.
You who only study a master's programme at KTH
Suppose you are studying a master's programme at KTH but have taken your bachelor's degree at another university. In that case, you must have achieved the following in the academic year in which you submit your application for exchange studies:
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You should have completed your courses up to and including period 2 (if you are applying in the application round in February).
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You should have completed your courses up to and including period 4 (if you are making a late application in August/September).
Please note:
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The courses must be reported in Ladok at the time of application.
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If you have a uncompleted courses because they overlaps two semesters, you must be in phase with your studies and have finished the moments you should have completed when applying for exchange studies.
If you have completed one of your two academic years at KTH but then took a study break, you can not have more than one unfinished course from year 1.
If you are studying with an individual study plan
If you are studying with an individual study plan, your eligibility will be calculated based on this study plan.
Grade requirements at certain universities
KTH recommends that you who want to go on exchange studies have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 at the time of application. If you have an average grade lower than 3.0, it may be challenging to complete the studies during the exchange period, and there is also a risk that the partner university will not accept you.
Several exchange universities are distinguished elite universities with a high pace of study. To succeed at these universities, you must have good grades. KTH requires a GPA of at least 4.0 for these universities, unless otherwise stated on the exchange university's information webpage . This average grade is strictly based on your academic results, and you cannot earn any extra credit points from THS's reception activities of 0.2 to meet the GPA requirements.
In addition to KTH's requirements, some universities have their own requirements for a minimum GPA for applying exchange students, which you can find on the university's information page.
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.
Calculating grade point averages correctly means that you have to consider a number of different variables, such as programme-related courses, credit transfers and/or changing of programmes. Therefore, there is currently no service that can easily calculate an exact automatic average grade. After the application has closed, your international coordinator will calculate your grade point average. You will then be able to see it in your application in Mobility Online.
Extra credits for international activities
KTH allocates exchange places based on the applicants' average grades (GPA), where students with the highest GPA have the best chances of being allocated to their first choice. If you participate in international activities at KTH, you can receive 0.2 extra points for your GPA in connection with the selection process. These additional points give you a better chance of being allocated an exchange place at one of your first choices.
Please note that you cannot use the 0.2 credit points to meet GPA requirements from KTH or the exchange university , as these requirements are entirely based on your academic merit.
International activities mean you have actively participated in the student union's (THS) activities for receiving incoming exchange and master's students. This applies to both your chapter's and the central activities of the Student Union. THS issues a certificate of participation that you must attach to your application. The certificate is valid for two years from the date you participated in the activities. For more information on how to get involved, contact THS or your chapter.
Nomination value
The so called nomination value on each exchange university's information webpage 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 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.