Application guide
STEP-BY-STEP ON HOW TO APPLY FOR EXCHANGE STUDIES
1. Search for available universities
Which universities that are open to apply for changes from year to year, and the selection of available universities is fully updated in LUSEM’s search tool – Where can I go? when the application opens. Here you can see what partner universities are open to your programme. You can filter your options by country, subject area, year, period and mobility type. Make sure to reset your filter before you do a new search with different options.
The links in the search tool will direct you into SoleMove, Lund University’s application system for different kinds of mobility, where you can find more info and links regarding courses, language requirements and other things of relevance for the university in question. You can learn a lot about each university by reading their fact sheet. Remember to check if there are any course restrictions or grade requirements.
In order to go back to your search results, do not use the “Back to results” button on the top of the page, since this will lead you to the SoleMove search function, which we do not recommend you use. Instead, use your browser arrow to go back to LUSEM's search tool in order to see what partner universities are available to your programme.
2. Research the countries you want to apply for
Research the countries that you want to apply for to get information about:
- potential entry regulations
- safety conditions
- legislation or local customs which may affect aspects of your identity.
Travel advice and other useful information is often provided online by local embassies. Swedish embassies publish travel information on Sweden Abroad.
3. Prepare your application
Creating a good application increases your chances of being nominated for an exchange seat. The "Skapa din utbytesansökan" playlist contains four videos with tips on how to succeed with four important steps in your application: General eligibility requirements, Statement of Purpose, Study Plan and CV. The films in this series were produced by Lund University's exchange ambassadors. English subtitles are available under Settings - Subtitles - Auto-translate.
Supporting documents
- For your application to be complete it needs to contain at least the following documents:
- Statement of Purpose (use LUSEM's template below)
- CV
- Study plan
- Individual study plan (if applicable)
- Enclosures should be in PDF-format. We can not open documents sent in Pages (.pages) format.
- You do not need to include a Ladok transcript of your studies at Lund University in your application, as this will be retrieved by us once the application round has closed.
- If you want to know more about the supporting documents you can watch this playlist on Lund University's Youtube.
We do not conduct any personal interviews so anything you want us to consider must be included in your Statement of Purpose. Your Statement of Purpose must be written in English. You only have to submit one Statement of Purpose, not one per university you are applying for.
Watch the clip about the Statement of Purpose here (please note that the limit of maximum one page does not apply for LUSEM students, as you are required to use the template above instead).
A study plan is a simple list of the courses you would want to study at each university, should you be nominated. Preferably include the course code (if available), course title and the number of credits at the host university. The total number of credits for all courses must correspond to 30 credits in Lund. Information about the number of credits required at each university can be found in SoleMove. Please note that the study plan is preliminary and your courses will likely change during the university’s application process, should you be nominated.
You have to submit a study plan for every university you want to apply for.
Watch the clip about study plans here
Bachelor's students only
Example of an individual study plan
Complete planning of the courses to be included in your degree. This only applies to students with an individual study plan or students not admitted to a study programme. This document does not need to be written in English.
All documents should be compiled into one PDF document and uploaded in your application.
- Work qualifications/association experience and possible letter of recommendation if mentioned in your CV (letters in Swedish are also accepted).
- Study results from international and other Swedish higher education institutions (i.e. courses not taken at Lund University).
If you do not fulfill the application requirements, you have the possibility to apply for an exemption. You must submit the following to your application in SoleMove:
- An explanation: There is no standard form for applying for exemption. Attach a document to your application in SoleMove stating what requirement you do not currently meet and an explanation of the circumstances that you believe entitle you to an exemption.
- Relevant enclosures: Along with your application for an exemption, attach documentation of the special circumstances you describe in the application. This could be a medical certificate for example.
Inform the International Office that you are applying for an exemption by sending an e-mail to outgoing@ehl.lu.se before the application deadline.
Decisions are made by the International Office (if relevant, together with representatives from your study programme) on a case-by-case basis.
Exemptions are generally only given if exceptional circumstances apply, i.e. circumstances which are out of the control of the student.
4. Create you application in SoleMove
- Log in to SoleMove with your student account details.
- Choose “Application form for outgoing student mobility”.
- Click “New”.
- Choose ”S – Study” as mobility type.
- Make sure to choose the correct application period:
- LUSEM - Spare exchange places for Bachelor's students, 2023/2024
- LUSEM - Double Degree Programmes for Master's students, 2023
- LUSEM - International Master Class, 2023
- LUSEM - Summer Exchange, 2023
- LUSEM - Tuition-based Mobility at UC Berkeley and Stanford University, 2023/2024
- LUSEM - Exchange Programme for MSc in Economics, 2023
- LUSEM - Exchange Programme for MSc in Innovation and Global Sustainable Dev't, 2023
Fill in your personal data
- State your personal identity number (personnummer) in 12 digits, with no dash according to the format YYYYMMDDXXXX.
- You and your contact person’s phone numbers should be written in international format +467… If you are not able to submit your application, it’s usually because the phone numbers are in the wrong format.
- Under ”Name of your faculty at LU”, click on the small pen to open up a list of choices. Choose ”School of Economics and Management” found at the bottom of the list (use the arrow button to move to the next page if necessary).
- Note that the red column to the right in the screen lists all missing dates for each tab. Once you click “Save”, this list gets shorter and will disappear once all fields are filled in correctly. Then the warning triangle will also disappear from the tab.
- If your full name (first, middle, last name) doesn't fit in the tab for Full name according to passport, you can put your full name in the tab Additional information instead.
Fill in your exchange study information
- Choose + Add new institution/enterprise
- Only choose universities and semesters that are available for your study programme (as found in the LUSEM search tool “Where can I go?”).
- Don't choose "Unspecified" or ”Other, please specify”.
- When adding universities, if the option comes up to select between exchange programs – always choose “Bilateral”.
The correct way to write your current studies
It’s important that you state the name of the programme you are following at LUSEM according to the list below:
- BSc Economy and Society
- BSc International Business
- Ekonomie kandidatprogram
- Fristående kurser
- Human Resources kandidatprogram
- Politices kandidatprogram
- Praktisk filosofi, politik och ekonomi
- Systemvetenskapligt kandidatprogram
- MSc Accounting and Finance
- MSc Data Analytics and Business Economics
- MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- MSc Economics
- MSc European and International Trade and Tax Law
- MSc Finance
- MSc Information Systems
- MSc Innovation and Global Sustainable Development
- MSc International Marketing and Brand Management
- MSc International Strategic Management
- MSc in Management
- MSc Managing People, Knowledge and Change
Under “Number of credits received within your programme” you should list the number of credits you have in your programme in Ladok at the time of application. If you have studied courses outside of your programme (from LU or outside LU) that you want to include in your degree, please count those in.
Enclosures
You should upload all required supporting documents as listed below even though only the Statement of Purpose is mandatory according to the system. Any extra documents, e.g. Alternative study structure or study results from international and other Swedish higher education institutions can be added under the next available Enclosure, marked in yellow.
Enclosures should be in PDF- or Word-format, but not in Pages (.pages) format.
5. Send in your application
You need to send in your application in SoleMove with the required supporting documents latest 23:59 on the last day of the application period. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
If you are unable to submit your application, it is usually because something is missing – make sure you open your application in full screen to see if there is still a red warning box of missing data. If everything is complete, the option to send in your application will appear on the last tab “Check and send application”.
If everything went well after clicking on “Send application”, the status of your application should change to “Application sent”. If this is not the case, your application has not gone through, and you need to go back and double check if any of the above points are missing or are entered in the wrong format. Only applications with the status “application sent” go through to the International Office.
Checklist
- I have read through and fulfill the programme specific requirements to be eligible to apply.
- I have only applied for universities that are listed as available to my programme (and during the correct semester) in the search tool "Where can I go?".
- I have read through and am aware of any specific requirements of the partner universities I am applying for.
- I have checked the travel information for every country that I want to apply for - including entry requirements, safety conditions and local customs which may affect my stay.
- I have prepared a Statement of Purpose in English according to the template found on the website.
- I have prepared a CV in English.
- I have prepared a study plan for all the universities I am applying for according to the example found on the website. I have made sure that each university I am applying for offers relevant courses for my program and study interest.
- If I am not following the official study structure of my programme I have uploaded an individual study plan in my application.
- I have created an application in SoleMove and have followed this application guide to ensure that I have completed the application in a correct way.
- I have written my personal number and the name of my study program according to the format and list given in this guide.
- I have made sure that the results of all courses that I want to be considered in my application have been graded and added to Ladok by the application deadline.