Studying abroad: outgoing

Different application procedures and deadlines apply to the different programmes, therefore it is very important to contact the departmental exchange coordinator at an early stage.

Worldwide ETH programmes

Please contact the departmental exchange coordinator at an early stage (November at the latest) if you plan a worldwide ETH-programme.

Apply online directly at the Student Exchange Office of ETH Zurich for up to three exchange destinations, usually by the first week in January for the following academic year (applies for FS and HS).

Students can apply at the same time for a worldwide ETH programme in Mobility-Online as well as prepare an application for the SEMP programme. Should the application in the worldwide exchange programme be rejected, an application in the SEMP-programme is still possible. The number of places in the global exchange programme is limited and are distributed ETH-wide by the ETH Student Exchange Office.

Swiss-European Mobility Programmes (SEMP)

If you are interested in an SEMP-Programme in the following academic year, it is important to contact the departmental exchange coordinator no later then beginning of January (applies for FS and HS) in order to allow a preselection. All exchange contracts of D-ERDW have a limited number of places.

In Switzerland

Please inform the departmental exchange coordinator by mail at least two weeks before your application.

Apply online at Mobility-Online by 15 April for the following Autumn Semester or by 15 November for the following Spring Semester.

The general conditions and requirements of ETH Zurich are mandatory such as:

• Passed first year examination (Basisprüfung) with a minimum grade point average of 4.5
• Successful completion of the 2nd year of study at the start of the exchange programme
  
• Master students only with ETH/EPFL Bachelor's degree (students with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Zurich only in exceptional cases)
• Good examination results
  
• Good foreign language skills
• Only credits agreed upon in advance (together with study advisor and departmental exchange coordinator) and completed at the partner university will be recognised.
  

• Fulfillment of the general ETH requirements.
• Exchange window Bachelor:
  fifth or sixth Bachelor semester (provided the approval by the department)
• Exchange window Master:
  generally first, second or third semester (provided the approval by the department)
• During the exchange, writing a bachelor's, master's, or research thesis is only permitted with the approval of the departmental.

It is mandatory to prepare a DownloadStudy Plan (PDF, 242 KB)vertical_align_bottom together with the study advisor before applying online. The study plan must be approved and signed by the study advisor. Furthermore the Study plan is checked, approved and signed by the departmental exchange coordinator also before the online application, if necessary it can be changed on site in consultation with the departmental exchange coordinator.

The DownloadStudy Plan (PDF, 242 KB)vertical_align_bottom lists the courses and credits to be completed at the host university. The courses must be assigned to the appropriate categories of the bachelor's or master's degree program at ETH.

At least 20 ECTS must be completed during the exchange, a maximum of 30 ECTS may be credited. There is no entitlement to full credit for mobility credits.

The crediting follows the regulations of the Department of Earth Sciences.

Before you apply we strongly recommend to visit the ETH Infomarkt. The ETH International Knowledge Base is a very good additional source of information. It is very important to check the requirements and conditions of the department before choosing an exchange programme or a host university.

The individual programmes have different contact persons and deadlines for the application. The procedure is as follows unless otherwise stated:

• Apply in Mobility-Online or as indicated by the exchange programme
  
• Decision by ETH
  
• Application at host university
  
• Decision by host university

Contact the mobility advisor at least six weeks before the application deadline!

The grade point average of the first year examination (Basisprüfung) or the grades of later achievements including the Bachelor's degree are relevant for the allocation of places.

As soon as you have received the transcript of records from your host university, please contact the departmental exchange coordinator for the conversion of the grades and credits completed at the host university. Exchange credits are only transferred to the ETH transcript  if the study plan, that was approved by the study and the mobility advisor before the exchange, is available.

Credits completed during a self-organised exchange have to be approved by the department in advance.

The credit points completed at the host university are credited as follows:

• There is no entitlement to full credit for mobility credits earned abroad.
• Exchange courses may only be counted towards a maximum of two categories of the ETH study programme.
• A minimum of two credits must be counted towards a category (no half or single credits).
• A maximum of five credits completed during a BSc exchange may be transferred to the Master's programme, provided it is an Master's course.
• Courses counting towards the D-GESS “Science in Perspective” programme can only be credited as exceptions with prior approval before the exchange.