The Semester Abroad Study Plan is an electronic form, so it is preferable that you complete it electronically- you'll need the latest version of Adobe.
The new study plan has two parts:
Page 1 of the study plan is to be completed by you
Page 2 is for Course Director and Course Enrolment Specialist approval only
To fill out the study plan you should list the units you intend to take at your host institution/partner university – these may be called courses, subjects, modules, or units, depending on the country
Units can be chosen to match with Swinburne units in two ways:
a. Matched Core units - these are matched exactly to the academic content of your Swinburne core units, and you will be granted an EXEMPTION for the Swinburne unit of study after you return from Exchange
b. Unmatched elective/component units - these are units where you may have the flexibility to take stand-alone electives, if your degree permits. These do not need to be matched to any specific Swinburne unit.
You will need to indicate in the “Type” column if the unit you are proposing is a Core or an Elective, depending on the above.
List units chosen at your proposed host institution on the left side of the Study Plan. Make sure you include the unit code, unit title, credit value and year level, if available. List MORE units than you intend to take in case your initial selection is unavailable due to timetable clashes, full units, cancelled classes etc. (minimum of six units).
Match the host institution units with units at Swinburne in one of the two ways listed above.
You will need to complete your Study Plan and email a copy of your completed Study Plan document to Swinburne Abroad before you complete your online exchange application. To submit your study plan, email exchange@swin.edu.au with the subject titled “Exchange Application: YOUR NAME”.
Once you email your proposed Study Plan to Swinburne Abroad, complete your online Exchange application at https://swinburne.aglobal.education/exchange- application.
Swinburne Abroad will assess your application, and if accepted will send you an offer into the Semester Exchange Program. *Please note: this offer is provisional until you receive full approval of your study plan AND any conditions listed in your offer letter from your Course Director (if applicable). If there are special conditions in your Offer Letter, you will need full approval to be able to go on an Exchange.
Once you accept your offer into the program, you will receive more information from Swinburne Abroad about how to get your Study Plan approved.
Once your Study Plan has been approved and signed off, you will need to submit the signed copy to Swinburne Abroad by emailing exchange@swin.edu.au
Step 2
Once you have a list of potential partner universities that you are satisfied with (that offer courses in your discipline area) rank them in order of preference in a Word document.
Step 3
Go to the website of the Partner University ranked first on your list. Navigate to the Exchange section of their website and look at the course material/units they offer in your discipline area. For countries that do not speak English, make sure you are looking at the units that the partner University teach in English. Partner universities might call their classes 'courses', 'modules', 'units' or 'classes'. You may find course material by searching 'course catalog', 'syllabus', or another search term that is unique to that university. You might have to spend a bit of time digging on their website!
Step 4
Browse the units offered by the partner university and try to find units with similar names to the core units scheduled in your degree
If you find any similar units, copy the unit title and course description of the unit you found on the partner university website and the Swinburne unit you are scheduled to complete, onto a Word document.
Step 6.
If you are able to find enough matches at a partner university to satisfy a full time load (minimum 37.5 credit points) then you can record the matches you find in your Study Plan document which can be submitted to Swinburne Abroad for pre-approval (and will eventually be submitted to your Course Director for approval).
If you cannot find enough matches you can move onto your second preference partner university and return to step 4.
If you are very keen on a particular partner university, but cannot find enough matches, you can apply for a Unit Overload. A Unit overload can add 1 or 2 electives onto your degree and you can use these electives to study any units offered by a partner university. *Note that only domestic students can apply for Unit overload and adding extra units onto your degree will increase the cost of your degree and could extend it.
Make sure you include the following documents to help your Course Director with the approval process:
- A copy of your course planner to ensure the exchange semester fits in your degree.
- Detailed course description and /or unit outlines including information on the unit level (example first year unit) for all the proposed units (this is especially important for MATCHED units, but your Course Director may also want to see content of unmatched elective units)
- The normal full-time load at the host university, as per the Credit Transfer Equivalence table (linked on the website and study plan)
- Make sure that the information you submit is well organised and easy to understand. You can create a Word document where you copy and paste the proposed units’ course descriptions and the links of where to find them.
- If there are any additional comments to add get your Course Director to complete the Special Remarks session. Special remarks can include supporting your exchange even if you have less than the required 60% average.
Please be aware that you may need to undertake MORE units at your host institution to get credit for less at Swinburne due to different academic systems.
For example, in the US you may need to complete 5 units to gain 4 unit exemptions upon your return.
In the situation that you need to take an extra unit at your host institution, you will label this unit as ‘credit filler’ on your Study Plan. Because the ‘credit fillers’ objective is to complement the credit load it doesn’t need to be matched to any Swinburne Unit.
As an indication, here are some general guidelines –
USA partners = 15 credit hours (Depending if units are worth 3 or 4 credits, you will need to take 4 or 5 units)
UK partners = 60 credits (Usually anywhere from 3 - 5 ‘modules’)
Japan = 17 -19 credits
Click here to review the Credit Equivalence Guide and find your preferred partner university
