This page is for KBS students who wish to go on academic exchange to Europe (Erasmus) or outside of Europe (international exchange). Incoming international and exchange students should visit the International Students page.

The KBS currently has 101 exchange partners (70 in Europe and 31 outside of Europe). KBS undergraduate students that are interested in studying at one of our partner institutions can access all the information they need from the Erasmus information below (for our European partners) and the international exchange information at the bottom of the page (for our non-European partners).


ERASMUS - Our European Partners

Erasmus enables students registered at UL or any other higher education institution in Ireland to study for part of their degree in another country. This page contains most of the information that any KBS student interested in going on Erasmus requires. Any students who require further information or who wish to participate in the programme can email exchange.kbs@ul.ie.

All BA in International Business students must go on exchange in Semester 5 of their degree. BBS students with a cumulative QCA greater than 2.40 from 1st year are also eligible to apply for an exchange placement in Semesters 5 of their degree. There is a common misperception that only BBS with a language students can partake in Erasmus and must go to a University where the language they study as part of their degree is spoken. This is not the case. Any BBS student can study abroad and the vast majority of our partner institutions across Europe offer business-related subjects taught through English.

Students can attend any University in the EU with whom UL has a formal partnership agreement in business studies. The KBS currently has 70 partner institutions for business students across Europe, with 39 of these partners ranked in the Top 100 European Business School by the Financial Times in 2024. You can view a list of our current Eurpean partners here or you can view all of our European partners on this Google map which shows the location of each partner and contains links to more information on the subjects available etc. in each institution

Details on how to apply for the Erasmus programme are sent to all BBS and BAIB students in the Autumn of 2nd year when the application process for exchange placements in Semester 5 commences. Any queries on the application process can be sent to exchange.kbs@ul.ie.

For both BBS and BAIB students who go on exchange, the grades they achieve while abroad are converted on a pass/fail basis (i.e. they do not impact on a student’s QCA). All students are expected to complete a total of 30 ECTS credits on their Erasmus placement. Where this proves to be impossible they need to obtain the approval of the academic exchange coordinator. The grading systems used in other countries can differ substantially from the grading system in operation in UL (for example, universities in France generally award grades ranging from 0-20, while universities in Germany generally award grades ranging from 1-5). However, all institutions indicate what their ECTS equivalent grades are (A, B, C, D, etc.) so that business students from UL can get a better idea of how their grades will translate back into the UL system.


International Exchange Information for Current Students

BAIB and BBS students can also study at any of KBS's international partners outside of Europe where a formal exchange agreement is in place. Unlike the Erasmus programme, there is no grant available to students who choose to study at a non-EU partner, however, students are not liable for any of the host institution's academic fees while on an international exchange and simply pay their fee to UL as normal.

The KBS has also established a growing number of KBS-specific international exchange agreements with highly accredited partners outside of Europe. We currently have 31 exchange agreements outside of the EU and you can find more details on our non-EU partners on our list of KBS partners.