Outgoing Students
The International Office advises and supports students who are interested in studying at a partner university in Switzerland or abroad.
Students on Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes at the HGK Basel can spend up to two semesters of their studies at one of our partner universities.
ATTENTION: We are introducing a new application procedure from 2025! Please read the following sections carefully before you start your application.
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).
- Preparation
Interested students should start planning as early as possible. The offering, nomination/application deadlines, language of instruction and admission criteria of the partner universities must be researched and taken into account when selecting potential destinations. Certain information can already be found on the list of partner universities. Content-related and study programme specific questions (which time is ideal for going 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 (international.hgk@fhnw.ch).
- Recommendation form
Students fill out the recommendation form (available to download from Inside (AAI login required)) with the head of their study programme. A maximum of 3 preferred universities from the list of current partner universities of the HGK can be specified in the form. The International Office will then decide which one of these to nominate the student to.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they fulfil the admission criteria of their preferred universities before submitting the form.
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 (international.hgk@fhnw.ch).
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 so that the form reaches the International Office on time.
- Registration on Mobility-Online
After receiving the recommendation form, the International Office provides the student with the link to Mobility-Online. Mobility-Online is the mobility management system of the FHNW, in which all applications for an exchange semester are recorded.
Students fill out an application form in Mobility-Online within 5 days, also uploading their letter of motivation and language certificate (if applicable) to the system.
- Allocation of places
The International Office checks the applications and allocates the places available at the partner universities. Students will then be informed by the International Office which partner university they can apply to.
ATTENTION: There are only limited places available at each partner university. As far as possible, every effort will be made to give all students their first choice of host university. However, the International Office assumes that students will be willing to undertake an exchange semester at any of the partner universities they have indicated on their initial application.
- Nomination
The International Office nominates the students to the assigned partner university. The students will then be contacted by the partner university and informed about the next steps.
- Application to the partner university
Students submit their application to the partner university in accordance with the instructions and deadlines provided.
ATTENTION: Students are responsible for submitting their application to the partner university correctly and on time. It is therefore important that students check their FHNW mailbox regularly during this period.
- Response from the partner university
- If accepted, the International Office HGK will provide students with the necessary forms (Learning Agreement and Declaration of Honour) in Mobility-Online. Students can then start preparing for their exchange semester.
- If unsuccessful, students must contact the International Office immediately to discuss possible alternatives.
- Organisation of the stay
Students are 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.