ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´

What is study abroad?

NOTE: The 2026/2027 Program is now closed.

The study abroad program at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ is designed for undergraduate students who wish to study short term at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ and whose home institution is NOT one of our formal exchange partners. The study abroad program is not offered at the Graduate level. Study abroad students may study at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ for one or two academic terms, (Fall, Winter or Fall/Winter). As a study abroad student, you pay international tuition fees to ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

Duration of Study (3 options):

• Full Academic Year (September to April)
• Fall Term (September to December)
• Winter Term (January to April)

Language of Instruction: English

• All course deliverables (e.g. tests, quizzes, assignments, reports, midterm and final exam) must be completed in English.

How can I apply for study abroad at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´?

There are several steps that are required before studying at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ as a study abroad student. Carefully review the steps below and feel free to contact us should you require further information.

Step 1 – Read and understand the application instructions

In submitting your application for study abroad to ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University, it is important to ensure that all requirements are completed and supporting documents are uploaded into the online application..

Please use the following checklist for submission information and required supporting documentation:

• Incoming Study Abroad Application Form: submitted online by the deadline date (refer to the table below).
• Course Selection: Students should not select courses they do not have the academic background for. All applicants must present adequate evidence of sufficient preparation/background for the courses they are interested in.

Definition of Prerequisite: Most courses require a student to have a certain level of knowledge before they are approved to take the course. For example, a student must have completed an introductory course in Psychology before they can be considered for an intermediate level Psychology course. Thus, the introductory course is said to be the prerequisite for the intermediate course.

• Official transcript (academic record). Document must be current and in English. It must be an official document endorsed by the home institution and include all completed courses and the grade achieved in each course.
• Grading system of the home institution must be included with the official transcript.
• Portfolio is required when requesting courses in , , or
• An Audition is required when requesting performance courses in Music.
• Official proof of English proficiency (required if the student’s first language is not English):
  1. Document must be original and translated into English.
  2. The test date cannot be more than 24 months from the time of application
  3. Acceptable test reports and required test scores are noted below:
     • TOEFL iBT:
       • Tests taken before Jan. 21, 2026: 100 (minimum of 25 in writing, speaking, reading and listening)
       • Tests taken after Jan. 21, 2026: 5.5 (minimum of 5.0 in all bands)nternet Based TOEFL (iBT): 86 (minimum of 22 in writing and speaking, 20 in reading and listening)
• Note: we cannot consider a student based on their TOEFL MyBEST Scores. Eligibility will be assessed using the Test Date Scores.
  • IELTS: 6.5 (minimum of 6.0 in each band)
  • CAEL (Canadian Academic English Language Test): 70 (minimum of 60 in each band)
  • DAAD (minimum B2 score)

Students must achieve the TOTAL minimum score indicated. They must also achieve the minimum score indicated for each BAND in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

Step 2 – Complete and submit the online study abroad application with supporting documents

On the application, in order of priority, students must list ten (10) ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ courses they would like to take, including the course title and course code.

Students can use the following resources when researching courses and building a study plan:

• • Courses Not Available
  • Public Class Schedule => Used to check if courses are offered in the student’s study abroad term.[NOTE: available in early June, students will be provided with the link]

Course Selection – Key Considerations

Please take the following into consideration when preparing the study plan for your term:

1. Course availability is subject to change and for this reason, we cannot guarantee registration in all requested courses. Students should create a study plan that includes a mixture of courses from their major, minor, concentration and most especially free electives. Our academic departments will determine which courses a study abroad student is approved to take. Each department has their own criteria when assessing course requests, the most important of which is whether a student has the required academic background to meet the course prerequisites. Other factors include, but are not limited to, if the course is restricted, if there are still seats available in the class, which term the course is offered, and so on.
2. A placement test is required for all students who wish to take a language course at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´:
   • All other language courses placement test
3. ENGLISH as a SECOND LANGUAGE COURSE (ESLA Course): To be eligible to take an ESLA course, an official Proficiency Test report (TOEFL, IELTS, CAEL) is required (no exceptions or substitutes). The test report must be in English and the test date cannot be more than 24 months prior to application.
4. Students must not request any courses found on the  list. These are restricted courses and are not available to exchange students. Please note as well that Departments reserve the right to restrict courses not found on this list if deemed necessary.
5. Portfolios must be included for students applying for courses in ,  and .
   
   An audition is required for performance courses in Music. Information can be found on the Music Department website.
6. In June, students can access the Public Class Schedule in ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Central to search for courses that will be available in their term (Fall, Winter or full year).

• Courses that are listed as â€¼«±è±ð²Ô’&²Ô²ú²õ±è;in the schedule should be selected.

• Courses that have notations such as, â€˜Full, no waitlist’ or ‘Waitlist Full’ should not be selected.

• Courses labelled as â€˜Waitlist Open’ are not recommended because there is no guarantee that a spot will open up in the class and the ‘wait’ time to find out if a spot is available can be quite long.

How Courses Are Labelled

Every course at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ is identified by four letters and a number (for example, ARCH 1111). The four letters indicate the department name, in this example it is Architecture. The numbers indicate the course level: 1000 level courses are first-year, 2000 are second-year, 3000 are third-year and 4000 are fourth-year undergraduate courses.

Study Abroad students are not permitted to take graduate courses (level 5000).

Course Load

Study abroad students are required to be enrolled in full-time studies, which is equivalent to 1.5 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ credits or 3 undergraduate courses per term. Students are permitted a maximum of 2.5 credits or 5 undergraduate courses per term. Students must also follow the requirements set by their home institution with regards to their course load.

1 semester course = 0.5 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ credits

0.5 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Credits (1 Course) = 6 ECTS

2.5 ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Credits (5 Courses) = 30 ECTS

Course Registration

Initially, students have registration holds which prevent them from registering in courses. Once a student has been approved and registered by ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ in the minimum number of courses required per term, they will have achieved full-time status. Students will then receive an email confirming their registration details. Upon receipt of this email, a student will be issued a time-ticket and given access to the course registration system which will then allow them to make changes to their schedule on their own.

Registration Resources

The Registrars’ Office has developed the following resources:

• Registration Process: registration at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ is done through ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Central. ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ Central is ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s secure online centre for student registration and administrative activities.
• Registration Support: contact the Registrar’s Office for support

Step 3 – Letter of acceptance

After you have submitted your application form, the ISSO will review it. Upon acceptance to the study abroad program, the ISSO will email your letter of acceptance.

The Letter of Acceptance is quite detailed and will include information such as:

• ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University Identification Number (CUID)
• MyÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´One (MC1) username for email set-up and records system access
• Visa requirements
• Orientation

Step 4 – Prepare for your study term

Please review the new student website for important resources and tasks to complete before arriving at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

Questions? Contact the Global Opportunities & International Student Services Office (GO-ISSO):

isso@carleton.ca or +1 (613) 520-6600