Spending a year studying abroad can be a great way to explore new cultures and educational experiences, enhance your CV with an international perspective, and broaden your range of technical knowledge.

There are a number of options available to students wishing to study abroad. In recent years we have had DCS students go to:

• Australia (Monash University)
• China (Schenzen University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
• Hong Kong (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
• Japan (Nagoya University)
• The Netherlands (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
• France (Universite Grenoble Alps)
• etc.

Each year we are allocated some of the exchange spaces negotiated by the University.

Application Process

The Department is allocated places in our partner universities in November, and we release the Application Form when this allocation is known, typically in November. Applications open in mid-November and close in December. The availability and web-address of the Application Form will be announced via group e-mail. Notification of placements are made by mid January. At that time, selected students will be nominated by the Department and the Student Mobility team will guide the students in then liaising with the host institutions. Host institutions may have their own application and approval procedure.

Once you confirm to the Department you will go ahead, we will initiate process of Course Transfer. However, this Course Transfer will only be completed after the successful completion of your year of studies, confirmed by the Exam Board, at the end of June. It is a condition for the Study Abroad scheme to pass all modules in the second year at Warwick without Resits.

The application form will ask for a personal statement, where you can explain why you feel a year of Study Abroad will enhance your degree and what you hope to achieve. We also ask you to describe your particular strengths and suitability for the experience, and in particular any relevant language skills. Note that we normally expect students who go abroad to have achieved at least a 2.1 in their first year.

The form will specify all the available places (with links with further information supplied by the host institutions) and you will be asked to make a choice of upto three places you would like to study at. Note that at this point there is no commitment to actually accept the place if it is offered to you.

Fees

During your intercalated year, the University charges a reduced fee; further information on the fees is available from the Academic Office website. If you wish to speak to someone about this in more detail, you can visit Student Reception in Senate House or email studentfinance@warwick.ac.uk.

Students who are supported by their Local Education Authority need to make sure they do not miss the LEA deadline for approval of funding, which may mean that they need to transfer to an Intercalated Year degree during the 1st term of the academic year preceding their year away.

Be aware of the costs of travel and potential insurance issues.

Support during your Year Away

The department will ask you to stay in touch in a variety of ways throughout your year away, and these will be recorded as part of the Student Monitoring Points system--please look at your Tabula page for further details.

If you experience difficulties during your year away which you would like to discuss with us, you can contact your personal tutor, the Intercalated Year Coordinator, the SU Advice Centre or Student Support.

Assessment for students taking Study Abroad in 2024-25

Evidence for the successful completion of the placement is through a report submitted by you via Tabula. The deadline for submitting your final report will be 02 June 2025.

Your Final Report

You need to submit a written report about your intercalated year activities. This report should include details of (a) the work pursued/completed during the year, and (b) how you have benefited from the experience. It should be approximately 1500 words long, plus appendices if needed, and submitted as a PDF document.

It is not necessary for you to provide a very detailed description of the modules you have taken. However, you should provide sufficient information for the assessors to determine whether the work was relevant to your degree course. We will eventually receive your transcript, but this may not be available in time for the Exam Board meeting, so please include any marks that you have received in your modules.

How did you personally benefit from the intercalated year? For example, the report should describe if you learnt any new key/personal skills, if the experience was helpful in determining the direction of your future career, if you would recommend an intercalated year to other students, if you participated in any extra-curricular activities (e.g. university student recruitment, group travel and social events), if you enjoyed the year, etc.

The report is intended to be free format and open-ended. Intercalated year placements vary enormously and therefore it is difficult for us to be prescriptive about the content of the report. Some past students have included appendices such as a diary, departmental structure diagram, etc. A video diary highlighting your outcomes will be very welcome. The choice is very much yours.

Contact Details

You will be required to complete a form with your contact details during your year away which will be sent to you during term 1. However you will also be expected to check your Warwick email frequently, for any important announcements and updates.

Returning to University

As you will be away for a year, there are some matters which will require your attention:

Selecting a Project for the return to University

You will need to find a project for the year when you come back (i.e. the Third Year Project or MEng Fourth Year Project). On returning from a year in industry, many students will choose a project aligned to their experiences. You can do this during your year away by browsing the project suggestions and contacting the relevant academic members of staff by email. In the case of 3rd year projects, you can alternatively find a supervisor and project before you depart. or further assistance, you can approach the project organisers Greg Watson (3rd Year) and Sara Kalvala (4th Year).

Accommodation

You will need to contact Warwick Accommodation to arrange accommodation for the year after - you will be able to contact them from term 1 during your year out. The deadline for applications is usually in November but check the Warwick Accommodation website in October. The telephone number for the Accommodation Office is +44 (0) 24 76523772.