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Incoming exchange students

Eligibility

There are 3 things that incoming exchange students need to be eligible for our program:

  1. Your home university is an exchange partner with the Gustavson School of Business. Visit the exchange office at your home university to confirm if you are eligible for exchange.
  2. You have completed a minimum of 1 year of business courses before the exchange.
    • students who have taken microeconomics, statistics and finite math will have a larger course selection at Gustavson, including core courses which vary each term
  3. You have strong English language proficiency. All of our courses are in English and require active participation. We request students have a strong English level in order to succeed and get the best experience in our program.

Nomination process

You must first apply for exchange at your home university. They will then nominate you to Gustavson. Once we have received your nomination, we will email you with exchange application materials.

The nomination period has closed for fall 2024 and spring 2025. For late nominations, please contact the International Student Advisor.

Application process

Once you have received our exchange application materials, please read the instructions carefully and submit documents through our online portal by the deadline.

You will be asked to include the following items:

  1. A coloured head & shoulder photo of yourself.
  2. Transcript of grades in English.
  3. List of preferred courses, in order of preference.

Note: A detailed application guide will be sent to all nominated incoming exchange students during the third week of March. This guide will provide instructions on how to submit an exchange application and information about what documents are required. 

Important dates

Fall & spring semesters

  • nomination deadline: March 15
  • application deadline: April 30
  • fall incoming exchange orientation: Sept. 1 (mandatory)
  • spring incoming exchange orientation: Jan. 5 (mandatory)

Application processing and course registration

  • end of March: UVic student number (V#) sent to students
  • end of May: letters of acceptance (study permit information letter (SPIL) and student exchange letter (SEL)) emailed to all students
  • end of June: course registration for fall and spring terms begins
  • end of July: communication about course registration, orientation and other exchange details sent to students

Please refer to our academic important dates for information about semester start and end dates, reading breaks and exam periods.

Note: You must be on campus until the completion of your exchange term (class and final exams). Your return flights should be booked after the final exam period. 

Academic terms, courses and transcripts

The following information is applicable to both incoming exchange and study abroad students.

Academic terms

  • fall term: typically first week of September to third week of December
  • spring term: typically first week of January to third week of April

You can find more information about important academic dates in the Academic Calendar.

Courses

Course load 

A typical course load at Gustavson is 5 courses (7.5 units). Each course is worth 1.5 units (the equivalent of 6 ECTS credits).

Exchange students usually take 3-5 courses depending on their academic comfort level.

Course registration

In your Exchange Application Form, you will be asked to list your top 10 preferred courses, in order of preference. We will do our best to register you in your selected courses as long as there is space and you have the proper course prerequisites.

When registering, you need to ensure that you:

  1. Register in courses approved by your home university.
  2. Have the prerequisites for your chosen courses.
  3. Register in your home university’s required course load (check with your home institution to verify how many credits you need to fulfill your exchange course credit requirement).

Course availability varies year-to-year so we recommend students remain flexible when registering for courses. After you have submitted your application, you will receive more information about course registration in July.

Note: We register fall and spring students in courses starting the end of June. Course changes can be made during the first week of term, but course selection will be limited.

Grading

Review the University of Victoria's grading legend.

Transcripts

  • official transcripts for the fall term will be sent to partner institutions late January/early February
  • official transcripts for the spring term will be sent to partner institutions late May/early June