Who is eligible to apply?

To be eligible for an exchange you must achieve an average of 3.00 GPA in stage 1 and stage 2 of your degree. Generally, for students going on exchange in stage 3, the average GPA is calculated as follows:(Stage 1 + Stage 1 + Stage 2 trimester 1) divided by 3.

If you are successful in your application, you will need to have completed 60 credits at Stage 1 including all cores, and at least 50 credits in Stage 2, to be eligible to take your exchange or Erasmus place. N.B Please note that your progression to stage 4 might be affected if you don’t achieve 60 credits in stage 2.

Note: It is strongly advised that any student who does not pass all stage 2 modules, does not take up an opportunity to study abroad for a full year as it will be very difficult to remediate your outstanding modules and successfully complete stage 4 on your return. Should you wish to discuss this further please contact  Erasmus Exchange Programme Manager ((opens in a new window)outgoing.socialsciences@ucd.ie) to explore this further.

You should be aiming to balance your academic workload over the two trimesters as evenly as possible. You are required to attend lectures during the whole academic year and the minimum number of credits that a student is required to take during any trimester is 20 ECTS. 

Note: If you take exchange outside of Europe, you will be required to take specific course workload relevant to each university, as outside of Europe institutions don’t use the ECTS system.

• Where Can I go?

The destinations available depend on how long you wish to go abroad and your joint major subjects. They are linked in the information by subject below.

• Who can I contact for additional information?

 Programme Manager for Social Sciences Outbound Mobility (Erasmus and Non-EU Exchanges) will answer your queries.  outgoing.socialsciences@ucd.ie  

• Outgoing Erasmus and Exchange FAQs
• UCD Social Sciences Outgoing Student Exchanges Handbook 2023-24
• GPA information for students who study abroad in Stage 3  
• Application Process 
• UCD Global Information on Exchanges  
• Contact the Social Sciences Office
• Email: Programme Manager for Outbound Erasmus and Exchange: (opens in a new window)outgoing.socialsciences@ucd.ie 

It is important that you research the language requirements for any institution that you wish to apply to. As the exchange programme is very competitive and you may not be offered your top preference, you are encouraged to check at least a few options -  which you can then include in your application.

It will be your responsibility to ensure that you check in advance the course catalogue on a host university website to see if there are sufficient subjects/modules offered through English.

You don’t need to select modules before you apply but you must check their suitability in advance so you are fully aware of subjects choices should you be nominated to that institution. Your Academic/ Erasmus exchange Coordinator  will be able to advise you if you have a specific question on particular subjects offered in host university.

For more information on requirements please check the  UCD Global website.