Although we would love to send everyone we can on study abroad, ultimately your academic interests have to take priority, and so we only send students abroad if they are of a suitable academic standing, and the partner university they select offers courses that are equivilant to what they would be taking at Keele.

Having said that, the vast majority of people that apply are successful in their application, and the process is far from as strenuous as it may first appear!  Below are the basic requirements to undertake a study abroad semester or year at Keele.

Who?

Students of virtually any subject combination can apply to study abroad for the first (or second) semester of their second year at the discretion of their schools. Students must be in good academic standing in their principal subjects in order to be considered, and must pass all modules in their Principal subjects with a minimum 50% average to be able to take part in the exchange (N.B. some subject areas require higher averages). Students must also have completed the required courses from the Complementary Studies Programme.

Keele students are studying abroad in the U.S.A, Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Africa and Turkey at one of Keele's partner universities taking the following subjects: American Studies, Business Administration, Biology, Biochemistry, Criminology, Economics, Educational Studies, Music Technology, English, Finance, French, Geography, History, Human Resource Management, International History, International Politics, Law, Mathematics, Music, Media & Communications, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology and Sociology.

When?

  • For one semester in the first (or second) semester of your second year.  
  • Semesters of study abroad in the U.S.A., Canada and most of Europe take place in the first semester.
  • Study abroad in Australia and South Africa , and at some European partners (for particular subject combinations) takes place in the second semester.
  • International Relations students and single honours American Studies and EALS (English and American Literature) students are encouraged to spend a YEAR abroad at one of a number of specified partner universities in Canada and the USA respectively.

Where?

Keele University has exchange agreements with universities in Australia, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands,Norway, Hong Kong, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the U.S.A. These exchange agreements allow students from Keele to study at one of these universities for a semester. An increasing range of courses at the European Universities are taught in English, which enables students to study there without the need to speak the host language. Of course, taking an intensive language course on arrival will help make the experience even more worthwhile and there is funding available to facilitate this, if you are a British or EU citizen.

How Much?

Everyone taking the opportunity to study abroad and travel to our partners in Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and South Africa will undoubtedly incur some additional expenses.

Ranging from visas, insurance, vaccinations and, of course, flights, to bungee jumping, cross country road trips and visiting the Great Wall of China, students can expect to pay between £1000-1500 more when travelling to Europe or £1500-£2000 extra  when going further afield.

As students this can seem a daunting prospect however with the wide range of financial support and incentives offered to study abroad students the time has never been better to invest in the once in a lifetime experience.

Tuition fees remain the same and student finance loans and grants are unaffected by the program, in some cases students can receive extra funds in the form of a loan or a grant.  Additionally, BUTEX and a number of other British institutions, as well as many of our partner universities offer bursaries and grants ranging from £500-£1000+ to encourage students to expand their degree abroad.  

For those travelling beyond Europe any expenses made for visas, vaccinations, insurance and flights over £300 can be claimed back from the Student Finance, depending on family financial circumstances.

Furthermore, those travelling to our less expensive partners in Europe will not only enjoy lower living expenses, but will also automatically receive the Erasmus Grant of around 375 Euros a month as well as numerous participation and priority country supplements of up to 500 euros. 

Any Grade Requirements?

The Academic Requirements:

 

(Most subjects require a 50% average)

 

The following subjects require a 55% average:

Criminology, Biology, History, Human Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Politics, and Maths.

 

The following subject requires a 60% average:

Actuarial Science (due to accreditation), Physics, Astrophysics and Law in Canada.

 

The following universities have specific requirements:

Macquarie requires 55%

 

The Academic requirements for KMS programmes, are as follows:

 

Dual Honours programmes requiring a 55% average are:

Accounting, Business Management, Economics, Finance, Human Resource Management and International Business.

 

Single Honours programmes requiring a 55% average are:

Accounting & Finance, Business Economics, and Management (all pathways),