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The requirements are different for undergraduate and postgraduate students. For the full list of eligibility requirements, please see here.

Eligibility to participate is assessed as of the application close date, not when you submit your application. Let us know If you don’t quite meet the eligibility requirements so we can help you work out your best possible options.

A study plan is a schedule outlining all the courses within your UniSA program and when it’s recommended you complete them.

When on a semester exchange, you’ll need to be able to receive a minimum of 13.5 units or a maximum of 18 units from your overseas studies - so, you’ll need to work out if a semester exchange will fit in your remaining study plan.

Where can you get a study plan?

• UniSA Business students – please contact the Business Hub 
• Students studying in other Academic Units – please contact Campus Central
• UniSA Online students – please contact UO Student Advisers

TIP: When requesting for a study plan, mention that you’re thinking of applying for a semester exchange. Your Academic Team will be able to give you some advice about whether any of your remaining courses must be completed within Australia, or if there’s any flexibility in the plan. Your Academic Unit will also be able to help you identify the best time in your degree to go on exchange. It might not be the same time that you were originally thinking, so keep an open mind and try to be flexible. This is one of the key reasons we say it’s great to start planning as far ahead as possible!

Once you’ve determined the courses you have remaining in your degree, and have identified which semesters/study periods would be feasible, it’s time to start looking into your host institution, and which courses are available for you to take. This part of the process is one of the more labour-intensive steps. It can be tricky navigating all those partner university websites and decoding their lingo. Keep at it though and let us know if you need help. The final experience of being on exchange more than makes up for the time spent looking into courses.

Use the Global Opportunities Course Planner tool to map out your exchange courses.

You may already have a specific country or location in mind for your exchange program, but it's essential to consider that not all universities UniSA partners with offer courses in every teaching area. In fact, some countries may only offer a limited range of subjects. Therefore, it's crucial to remain open-minded about your host location. You might not find the subjects you need in France, for example, but you could have a similarly rewarding experience studying in Denmark or Hong Kong.

Our exchange partners page lists all of UniSA's partner institutions by country, providing information on the level of subjects available (undergraduate, postgraduate, or both) and the general study areas offered. Each partner profile includes detailed study areas available for full semester exchanges, as well as a link to their course homepages.

When searching for courses at partner universities, keep the following in mind:

• Semester availability: Ensure the subjects you're interested in are available during the same timeframe at UniSA.
• Language of instruction: While all our partners offer courses in English, some may have limited English courses. Unless you plan to take classes in the local language, focus on English-taught courses.
• Credit equivalence: Refer to this page for more detail, but ensure you're looking at an equivalent study load, as UniSA's subject weighting is unique.

Some countries are going to be much more expensive to travel to than others. Something to keep in mind when deciding on a destination is the associated funding and grants that are tied to specific countries and regions.

On an exchange program, you’re not required to pay tuition to the exchange partner - you will pay tuition to UniSA the same way you would normally. You will, however, need to budget for costs such as accommodation, living expenses, flights, student amenities fees, incidental travel, etc.

Use this template to start preparing your budget.

Is there additional funding available?

Absolutely! The Australian Government currently offers travel grants to students who would like to travel to countries within the Asia-Pacific. This funding is awarded to university students under the New Colombo Plan (NCP) – an initiative that was designed to help strengthen Australia’s ties within the region. If you would like to know more about NCP travel grants, check-in with us to see what grants are available.

There may be grants or scholarships that are available to help you further fund your time abroad. If you are approved to participate in an in-country Semester Exchange or Short Term program, delivered by one of UniSA’s established mobility partners, you will automatically be considered for a UniSA International Travel Grant.

Read our funding and scholarship webpage for more information. 

Once you’ve investigated your overseas study options, come meet with one of our team members to discuss your plans.

We can go through your Global Opportunities Course Planner and make sure you’re on the right track and help you navigate any particularly tricky parts of the application process.

We’ll also answer any questions you might have about funding, application, semester timing, where to find the relevant information, and share any advice we may have specific to you or your anticipated program of study.

Appointments are available in person at our office at Level 1, 101 Currie Street, Adelaide, or via Teams/Zoom. Let us know your meeting preference by emailing student.exchange@unisa.edu.au with your availability. In your email, please also explain what step you’re up to so we can better assist you.

As your Program Director will be approving your exchange credits, it’s advisable that you let them know that you’d like to go on an overseas experience and get their support before you formally apply. So before meeting with your Program Director, you should have:

• Checked your eligibility for the exchange program
• Determined which courses you have remaining at UniSA, including flexibility in the remainder of your program (e.g., obtain a study plan)
• Identified the best study period(s) for you to participate in the exchange semester
• Identified a number of courses at a few partner universities that you think would fit into your UniSA program (e.g., complete the Global Opportunities Course Planner), and
• Met with UniSA Global Opportunities

In your meeting with your Program Director, you should discuss things like:

• how the exchange is going to fit in your study plan,
• if you’re on the right track with your course selections,
• whether you’re able to receive credit for your overseas courses,
• if the overseas study will take the place of one of your UniSA core courses. or
• it’s more likely to take the place of an elective.

Remember, your course selection doesn’t have to be perfectly planned now, but you’ll need to ensure that should you be accepted to go on exchange, there will be suitable courses for you at your selected host university.