Outgoing Students

15 March for the following autumn semester.
15 September for the following spring semester.

Interested students must be enrolled at the Academy of Art and Design FHNW, have achieved good examination results and be able to prove the required language skills. In addition, they must be able to prove the support of the head of their degree programme for an exchange semester by means of a recommendation form (see below).

Interested students should ideally start planning 1 year before the exchange. The offering, nomination/application deadlines, language of instruction and admission criteria of the partner universities should be taken into account when selecting potential destinations. Questions regarding content (when is the best time to go abroad, which university is suitable, which modules must be attended in order to achieve the required number of ECTS credits, etc.) must be discussed with the head of the study programme. For administrative questions (deadlines, documents, etc.), students should contact the International Office (aW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbC5oZ2tAZmhudy5jaA==).

1. Recommendation form
   Students fill out the recommendation form (available to download from Inside (AAI login required)) with the head of their study programme or institute. A maximum of 3 preferred universities can be specified.
   The recommendation form must be submitted to the International Office by 15 March for an exchange in the autumn semester or 15 September for an exchange in the spring semester (aW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbC5oZ2tAZmhudy5jaA==).
   ATTENTION: There are different admission deadlines at the various universities, some of which are already in March or September. Students must take these into account and ensure that the form reaches the International Office on time.
2. Nomination
   The International Office nominates the students to the desired partner universities upon receipt of the form. Students are then usually contacted by the partner university and invited to apply there directly.
3. Fill in and submit the required documents
   If accepted, the student informs the International Office. The International Office will then release the necessary documents.
   The student submits the following completed forms to the International Office before the start of the exchange semester:
   - Learning Agreement (signed by the student, study programme at the HGK and degree programme, department or institute advisor at the host university)
   - Declaration of Honour (scholarship agreement), if applicable (see "Financial Support").
   The International Office will check the documents and, if necessary, initiate payment of the scholarship after the start of the stay. Payment of the scholarship is not possible without these two documents.
4. Organisation of the trip / stay
   The student is responsible for organising their own travel, including visa, insurance, accommodation, vaccinations, etc. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) provides helpful information.

If you spend an exchange semester at one of our partner universities abroad, you do not pay any additional semester fees there, but remain regularly enrolled with us and pay the regular semester fees at the HGK Basel. Occasionally, however, small payments may be requested for the registration fee by the partner university.

Exchanges at partner universities may take place within the framework of Movetia's Swiss-European Mobility Programme (SEMP) and may be eligible for financial support. This is not possible if there is no active partnership with the desired university.

The SEMP grant for study exchanges is approximately CHF 300 - 500 per month.

Information on alternative funding options can be found here.

The decision on the transfer of coursework completed at another university is generally the responsibility of the study programmes or institutes. It is agreed by means of a learning agreement between the student, the study programme at the HGK and the degree programme, department or institute representative at the partner university before the start of the exchange.

After their stay, students receive a Transcript of Record (ToR) from the host university, which lists all modules attended. The ToR must be forwarded to the International Office to enable the transfer of credits.

Students of the HGK Basel who would like to complete an exchange semester at a university with which the HGK does not have an active partnership may apply directly to the desired host university as a Freemover.

Freemovers are essentially visiting students and not exchange students, as their studies abroad are not part of an interinstitutional agreement between two universities. This primarily means that they would be on leave of absence from the HGK Basel for the duration of their stay abroad and pay lower semester fees here. However, they may be asked to pay semester fees at the host university.

The International Office may provide support for Freemovers, but students are generally responsible for all matters relating to their studies abroad, including clarifying the transfer of credits (ECTS) with the head of their study programme.