Student Exchange (Outgoing)

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 or contact the International Office.

All BA in International Business students must go on exchange in Semester 5 of their degree. BBS students with a QCA greater than 2.6 are also eligible to participate (provided they have not failed a module in UL in the academic year they plan on going on Erasmus). BBS students are allowed to go abroad in Semesters 4 or 5 (i.e. in the second semester of 2nd year or the first semester of 3rd year). 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 there are numerous institutions across Europe that 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 57 partner institutions for business students across Europe, with 26 of these partners ranked in the Top 95 European Business School by the Financial Times in 2018. Click here for a full list of all our European partners with links to information for exchange students in each partner institution. Alternatively use the Google map below which shows the location of each partner and contains links to more information on the subjects available etc. in each institution. Follow KBS Exchange on Twitter for updates on exchange opportunities available to students and what our partner institutions are up to. UL students can access information sheets on all of our partners, along with student reports from UL students who have studied there recently, on UL's SharePoint system by clicking here.

Click here for a map of all our European partners

Erasmus provides a unique opportunity for you to study at another European institution. The academic, social, personal and cultural benefits of participating in the Erasmus programme are enormous. While living away from home and studying in another country can be challenging, it can also offer you a unique opportunity to travel, meet new friends and study modules that may not be offered on your UL programme. The programme is highly rated by employers.

Read a little about the history of the programme on the European Commission's Erasmus website. The site also offers plenty of useful extra information on the Erasmus programme.

Details on how to apply for the Erasmus programme are sent to all BBS and BAIB students when they become eligible to apply. 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 are QCA neutral). 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.

Business students can study at any of UL'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-European 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 exchange agreements with the following Schools:

Asia-Pacific

For further details on our partner schools and how to apply for a study abroad placement please contact exchange.kbs@ul.ie.

KBS Asia-Pacific / Latin America Scholarships

The KBS has a scholarship fund to encourage students to study at one of our Asia-Pacific or Latin American partners. The KBS offers a limited number of scholarships for BBS and BAIB students to take part in an international exchange for a semester with one of our partners in these regions. To be eligible to apply, students must have a QCA of at least 2.80. The KBS can generally send up to two students per partner on semester exchange to any of our Asia-Pacific or Latin American partners listed above. Any student that is interested in studying at one of our partners in these regions and applying for a scholarship can contact exchange.kbs@ul.ie for further information.