Study abroad

Studying abroad is an exciting and rewarding experience that adds an international element to your degree programme. The scheme offers students an opportunity to study your core subject or broader social sciences, arts and humanities subjects in a different learning environment of host institutions abroad. We have a wide range of partner institutions in Europe, North America, East Asia and Australia.

Year abroad

The programmes offered are:

  • Childhood Studies with Study Abroad
  • Criminology with Study Abroad
  • Social Policy with Study Abroad
  • International Social and Public Policy with Study Abroad

Students spend Year 3 of a four-year degree programme studying abroad. At host universities, courses are taught in English and students will take units on their core subject and/or broader social sciences, arts and humanities subjects.

Semester abroad

Students studying Social Policy (SH), Social Policy and Sociology (JH) and Social Policy and Politics (JH) degree programmes have the opportunity to study abroad for part of their degree. Students spend a term studying abroad in their second year to earn credit points.

Joint Honours students need to consult with their department Study Abroad Academic Director.

Destinations

See list of partner institutions for details of the locations available for both schemes.

Eligibility criteria

For both schemes, students will be selected and/or allocated their place of study on the basis of academic performance in their first year.

Students complete an application form and submit a short statement (not more than 500 words) explaining why they would like to participate as a student on the exchange programme. Students are required to reach an average mark of 60 per cent in their first year to qualify for the scheme.

For further information please contact Dr Mohammed Alruzzi: m.alruzzi@bristol.ac.uk.

Credit points

Students are required to take the equivalent number of courses in the exchange scheme. For example, if you need 60 credit points in teaching block two, you need to take three courses whilst at your host university.

For Joint Honours (JH) students, you need to consult/inform your tutor in Sociology or Politics about your intention of studying abroad.

In any case, both Single (SH) and Joint Honours (JH) students must agree the number and choice of courses to be undertaken with the programme director.

There is no restriction on which units you can select other than you must avoid units that are similar to ones that you may have already undertaken or plan to take at Bristol.