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).

1. Preparation

Start planning as early as possible. Research what is on offer, the nomination and application deadlines, the language of instruction and the admission criteria of the partner universities. Clarify questions relevant to your degree program (e.g. optimal timing, suitable university, modules required to fulfill ECTS credits) with the head of your study programme.

2. Recommendation form

Fill out the recommendation form (please download in Inside (AAI login required)) with the head of the study program. In the form, you can indicate a maximum of 3 preferred universities from the list of current partner universities of the HGK Basel, The International Office will nominate you to one of them. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet the admission criteria of your preferred universities before submitting an application.

3. Registration on Mobility-Online

Fill out your application in Mobility-Online and upload the required documents:

• Profile photo
• Letter of motivation
• Language certificate (if applicable)
• Recommendation form (see above)

The application must be submitted by March 15 for an exchange in the fall semester or September 15 for an exchange in the spring semester.

4. Allocation of places

After the deadline, the applications will be reviewed and the available places at the partner universities will be allocated. As soon as you have been informed of your allocation by the International Office, you have 5 days to accept or reject it.

IMPORTANT: The number of places per partner university is limited. An attempt will be made to give you your first choice. However, you must be prepared to complete an exchange semester at any of the other universities listed. Rejection of the allocation means that no new allocation will be made and your application will be canceled.

5. Nomination

The International Office will nominate you to the assigned partner university. You will then usually be contacted by the partner university and informed about the next steps.

6. Application to the partner university

Apply in accordance with the requirements of the partner university within the deadlines specified there.

IMPORTANT: You are responsible for submitting your application to the partner university on time. Check your FHNW e-mail inbox regularly during this period.

7. Response from the partner university

• If accepted: The International Office will provide you with the necessary forms (Learning Agreement, Declaration of Commitment) in Mobility-Online. You can then start planning your stay.
• If rejected: Contact the International Office of the HGK Basel immediately to discuss possible alternatives.

8. 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.

IMPORTANT: You do not need to apply directly to Movetia for the grant. The application procedure is handled directly by the International Office of the HGK Basel. All eligible students will be informed in good time about the further procedure.

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.