An exchange semester allows students to gain new perspectives and reference points in their field of study. You can get an insight into the architectural discourse of other places and the teachings of other institutions.

In your study abroad you can spend a semester at another university and get the classes accredited at UdK. That way your curriculum is not necessarily prolonged.

• Obligation to Go Abroad

  The examination regulation for architecture bachelor students intends every student to spend one semester abroad and one semester in an intership. Before your graduation exam you will need to provide evidence for those to the IPA. It is possible to combine those semesters with an internship abroad. It is also possible to do both, a study abroad as well as an internship abroad. Under certain conditions, like illness or parenthood, you can be exempt from the obligation to go abroad.

  Master students of architecture do not have such an obligation. For that reason bachelor students get prioritized in the internal application for a study abroad. However, we strongly encourage master students to do an exchange. There are exchange partnerships reserved specifically for master students as well.

• Exchange Partnerships

  Thanks to exchange partnerships students can apply at the partner universities through a simplified process and get exempt from the tuition fees. The exchange partnerships of UdK are organized in three scholarship programs.
  Here you can find a list of the current exchange partnerships for each degree program.
  As partnerships can change, the lists get renewed every year befor the application period.

  The UdK offers three scholarship programs:

  • Erasmus+ Exchange scholarship of the EU, as well as Iceland, Norway and Türkiye

  • Swiss European Mobility Programme (SEMP) Exchange scholarship of Switzerland

  • Intercontinental Studies Abroad (ISA) Exchange scholarship of the UdK for destinations outside of Europe

  Each scholarship has different conditions and obligations. Please consider the financial and administrational aspects when choosing an exchange destination. You can find more details under each link.

  The internal application process is the same for each of the programs. During your exchange with on of the programs you will be supervised by the International Office of UdK.

• Individually Organized Study Abroad

  It is also possible to study abroad for one or two semesters outside of UdK's partnerships, but this involves significantly more effort. The International Office offers informations on that, however it can not supervise an individually organized study abroad.

   

• Internship Abroad

  There are also scholarships for internships abroad. Here you can find further information from the International Office. The UdK does not offer scholarships for internships after graduation.

  Bachelor students that complete an internship abroad, fulfill both their obligation to go abroad and their obligation to do an internship. If you have previouly gotten a scholarship for an internship abroad you can still apply for study abroad as well. However you will no longer be prioritized during the application process.

  You can find general information on the criteria for interships here.

Application

Here you can find more detailed information on the general application process.
This section provides complementary information specifically for architecture students.

To apply for a study abroad architecture students must enroll in the Moodle course 'Study Abroad'. There you can also find other useful information like the testimonials of previous exchange students.

• Application Process

  The application process consists of two phases:

  1. an internal application to be nominated by UdK for an exchange at a partner university
  2. an external application at the partner university to be accepted for an exchange semester

  
  In the first, internal application you can list up to three partner universities in the order of your preference. The Exchange Coordination of the Architecture Studies then internally distributes the applicants among the exchange destinations and publishes the list of nominations in the beginng of February.

  In the second phase you apply at the university you have been nominated for. It is up to the partner university to accept your application for an exchange semester.

• Qualifications and Language Skills

  Any enrolled student of UdK, full-time or part-time, can apply for a study abroad, regardless of their age, nationality or place of origin.

  Bachelor students can apply in their 3rd semester for an exchange in their 5th semester earliest.
  Master student can apply from their 1st semester for an exchange in their 3rd semester.
  A study abroad after graduation is not possible.
  Due to the austerity measures of the Berlin Senate, applications from students who have already completed a study abroad can currently not be accepted.

  Please mind the specific conditions set by the partner univerities. They are noted on the list of exchange partnerships.

  Some partner university require certain language skills, in some cases with sufficient proof.

  1. For the internal application any proof of language skill is accepted, whether it is a certificate or school report, a receipt of a course booking or a screenshot from a learning app. The submitted proof will be considered according to its credibility.
  2. For the external application please comply with the requirements of the partner university.

• Application Documents and Deadline

  There are two platforms used for the internal application process: MoveOn and Moodle.

  Firstly, please register your application on MoveOn. Fill in your data and your desired exchange destinations. MoveOn will generate an application form that you need to save.

  In the next step, the following documents need to be uploaded to the Study Abroad course on Moodle:

  • the application form from MoveOn
  • a CV
  • a motivational letter
  • a portfolio
  • optionally, proof of language skills

  
  All application documents need to be submitted digitally on Moodle. They can not exceed 8 MB and need to be uploaded within the deadline. Applications via email will not be considered.

  The first, internal application phase is once a year for both, the winter and summer semester of the following academic year. It begins in December and ends in the first week of January. The exact application deadline will be announced by the International Office.

  The second, external application phase is set by the partner university. You can inform yourself on their website. After your nomination you will be reminded about it by the International Office.

• Internal Application

  Internally the exchange destinations are distributed in separate priority groups and in multiple rounds. The aim of the procedure is:

  • to nominate as many students as possible
  • to ensure that bachelor students are able to fulfill their obligation to go abroad
  • to nominate students for their most preferred destination where possible

  
  First, the received applications are categorized in separate priority groups, based on the study level of the applicants:

  1. priority: bachelor students in their 7th semester, that have not studied abroad yet
  2. priority: bachelor students in their 5th semester, that have not studied abroad yet
  3. priority: bachelor students in their 3rd semester, that have not studied abroad yet
  4. priority: master students that have not studied abroad yet

  
  Starting with the first priority group, the applications for each destination are compared in the following criteria:

  • rank of the destination in the application (1st, 2nd or 3rd wish)
  • language skills and credibility of the proof
  • cv and social engagement
  • motivation for the exchange
  • quality of the portfolio

  
  For each destination the most convincing applications from the priority group are selected. The remaining destinations get distributed in the next priority group. The process is repeated until every application has been viewed.

  You can find a detailed step-by-step explanation of the process in the Moodle course 'Study Abroad'.

  Since 2026/27 the number of nominations is limited to a total of 45 architecture students per academic year. The limit is a result of the austerity measures of the Berlin Senate.

• Nomination and External Application

  The list of nominations will be published in the beginning of February. The number of nominations at each destination can not exceed the agreement with the partner university. Additionally, the total number of yearly nominations is limited to 45 due to the austerity measures of the Berlin Senate. This limit is in effect since the academic year of 2026/27.

  Your nomination will be for a specific exchange destination. In the next phase you can only apply at that partner university. If it is not predetermined by the partner university, you can choose whether you want to do the exchange in the winter or summer semester.

  Once the list of nominations is published, it will be forwarded to the UdK International Office. From this point on, the International Office will supervise your further preparation for the exchange semester. If there are any changes regarding your planned study abroad or you have to cancel the exchange semester for any reason, please notify the International Office immediately.

  The deadlines for the external application differ from one partner university to another. You can inform yourself on their website. You will also be reminded by the International Office.

Learning Agreement – before your exchange semester

The Learning Agreement (LA) is a mandatory part of the Erasmus+ and the SEMP scholarships. It is a contract between you, the UdK and the partner university. It ensures that your academic achievements from your exchange semester will be accredited and integrated into your study progress at UdK.
In the Learning Agreement you need to list all the courses you want to take during your exchange semester. Your course selection then needs to be approved by the UdK Exchange Coordination and the exchange office of the partner university.

• Preparation

  For the Learning Agreement you need to preapre two course lists. In the first list you note all the courses you are planning to take at the partner university. In the second list you note all courses of your UdK curriculum that you want to substitute with them. The courses on both lists need to relate to each other in their content.

  The UdK courses in the second list need to be courses that you have not completed yet. Please look into the study plan to see what courses you still need to complete before graduation.

  At the same time inform yourself about the courses that the partner university will offer during your exchange semester. You can look into their website or contact the exchange office there.

• Course Selection

  When selecting your classes at the partner university, please keep their later accreditation at UdK in mind. Each class that you want to take needs to have an equivalent at UdK.
  Before picking a class at the partner university, think of which module of your UdK curriculum it can be attributed to. The content and the ECTS of the class should be comparable to the equivalent at UdK. If you are not sure whether a class can be accredited to a certain module at UdK, you can ask at the responsible department about the expectations and requirements for the accreditation.
  It does not mean that during your exchange you can only take classes that exactly match the classes of UdK. You are encouraged to explore the specific class offerings of the partner university. Class topics outside of the compulsory subjects of UdK can be accredited as an elective class or a Studium Generale class.

  At some partner universities the courses can be weighted with a different focus than at UdK. For example: The design projects can have less ECTS while theory courses have more credits. In that case you, should make sure that the total number of ECTS that you take at the partner university is roughly balanced with the ECTS you want to get accredited at UdK.

  In total you are expected to take around 30 ECTS per semester.

• Submission and Deadline

  The Learning Agreement is prepared as an online form on MoveOn. We recommend to prepare the two lists of courses as a separate note first. Then discuss them with the Exchange Coordination and if necessary with the departments before filling out the official form on MoveOn. To make corrections on MoveOn can be quite tedious and often slows the process of approval.

  The deadline for the submission of the Learning Agreement depends on when your exchange semester will begin at the partner university. In any case the agreement needs to be prepared before the beginning of your exchange. You will get the first payout of your scholarship only after the first version of your Learning Agreement has been approved by UdK and the partner university.

• Changes in the Learning Agreement during the Exchange

  It is generally not a big problem if the classes that you take once your study abroad has begun differ from the ones you previously listed in the Learning Agreement. It often happens that classes end up being unavailable, that they collide in their hours or that you simply change your mind about them.

  But it is very important to document those changes in the Learning Agreement. Your new selection of classes should still comply with all requirements and needs to be discussed with the Exchange Coordination. After your exchange semester has started, you have five weeks to make changes in the Learning Agreement. It then needs to be approved once again by UdK and the partner university.

Accreditation of Academic Achievements – after your study abroad

The aim of the exchange scholarships is it to support studies abroad that enrich the student's studies at home. Therefore the accreditation of your academic achievments at the partner university is an important last step to complete your exchange.

For the accreditation, the classes that you took at the partner university need to be reviewed for their content and scope. As verification of your passing and grading you need to provide a Transcript of Records, issued by the partner university.

• Accreditation of Compulsory Courses

  For the accreditation of compulsory courses, like Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaft or Architekturgeschichte +theorie, please contact the responsible department. It will review the class to see whether it meets the requirements for accreditation. For that you should prepare a discription of the class as well as a overview of its contents. You need to forward those to the department, together with the Transcript of Records and your submissions, like essays or presentation notes. The department will let you know whether further documentation is needed and how the accreditation will further proceed.

   

• Accreditation of Design Projects and Elective Courses

  The Prüfungsausschuss Architektur is responsible for the accreditation of courses which are not related to one specific department, like design projects or elective classes. There are two dates each semester at which you can present your achievments to the Prüfungsausschuss in person. It will then assess the accreditation and convert the grades of your classes.

  Here you can find further information as well as the dates for the accreditation appointments of the Prüfungsausschuss.

• Accreditation as Studium Generale

  For the accreditation of a class as Studium Generale, please contact the Studium Generale Office directly.
  Keep in mind that it will only accredit interdisciplinary classes or contents outside the field of architecture.
  General language classes can not be accredited as Studium Generale. Thematically focussed language classes can be an exception.

  Here you can find further information.