Application Process
The application process requires you to submit the following by the due date.
You should submit your complete application to your Faculty advisor NOT to Melbourne Global Mobility.
After submission to find out what happens next please go to the selection and nomination webpage.
- an application form
- one academic reference
- an approved study plan
- an exchange essay
- a résumé
- a certified copy of the details page of your valid passport
- one passport-size current photograph
For more information on these categories see the relevant section below.
Submitting you application
All students must submit their signed Study Plan for their first preference destination together with their Application Form to their Faculty advisor by the due date.
Combined degree students applying to go on exchange for credit to both degrees should submit their application to the one of the faculties. Faculty staff will subsequently pass it to the second faculty for approval.
Stop! Before reading further, remember to...
- plan your exchange at least 6 to 12 months in advance
- read the brochure (2010 1.9Mb pdf) from cover to cover
- attend information sessions
- talk to academics about appropriate exchange destinations
- talk to returned exchange students about their experiences
- talk to Faculty advisors about student exchange opportunities available to you
- use the helpful links and addresses webpage to research host countries
- look at partner institution websites
Important tips!
If possible, students who are undecided whether to apply for one semester or a year (two semesters) on exchange or have no reason to limit their exchange to a semester are advised to consider applying for a year. Once accepted it is easier to reduce your exchange length than to extend.
If you intend to incorporate travel, do this after your exchange rather than before it. You may need a student visa to enter your host country and it is often not possible to apply for a visa if already overseas.
Get plenty of alternative subjects approved!
You do not necessarily have to take subjects which have an equivalent at the Univeristy of Melbourne.
Speak to as many people as possible about your exchange. Melbourne Global Mobility staff may be able to put you in contact with returned exchange students, or students currently overseas, who can provide tips about specific institutions.
Base your choice of institution on academic opinion, not just general reputation! Speak with academics here in Melbourne about the exchange and ask their opinion on appropriate destinations. Often institutions will excel in particular disciplines and discovering which destination is most appropriate for you will take some research.
Investigate all scholarship options. Be aware of scholarships available through the University of Melbourne and those through other bodies. Depending on your destination, there may be numerous ways to help fund your exchange.
1. Application form
The application form asks you to list your personal details, preference destinations and course of study.
In completing this form you must also provide a financial plan. This is designed to make you consider where you are getting the funds from for your exchange and on what you will have to spend money and how much while you are on exchange. In some cases partner institutions or foreign governments will ask you, or someone else, usually your parents, to prove that you or they have sufficient funds to support you while you are on exchange.
Download a copy of the 2010 Application form (114kb pdf) (download four pages here, then scroll down to download the other pages, including academic reference form and study plan. There are eight pages in total,numbered A-H).
Application forms/brochures are also available at Melbourne Global Mobility.
2. Academic reference
Obtain one academic reference using the Academic Reference form provided. The reference is confidential and must be from lecturers or tutors who have taught you recently in the faculty(s) for which you are seeking credit for your exchange studies. Combined degree students seeking credit for both degrees while on exchange should obtain one academic reference from either faculty (that is, one academic reference in total).
Referees may be lecturers or tutors. If tutors are also students at this University they should be at masters level or higher. We will not accept references from honours-level students.
Where you feel that you do not know enough of your tutors or lecturers sufficiently well to ask them for a reference, if you work in a professional capacity in the area of the degree being studied, you may get ONE reference from your employer. In some cases, however, the host institution application asks for two academic references so you may need to get a second academic reference later.
Referees must print the reference on letterhead, sign it and send it directly to the relevant Faculty advisor by the due date for exchange applications. It is your responsibility to ensure that your referee submits the form and their reference to the same Faculty advisor who will be receiving the rest of your completed application.
Download a copy of the 2010 Academic Reference Form (100kb pdf)
Academic Reference forms are also available from Melbourne Global Mobility.
3. Study plan
The study plan must list all subjects you would like to take while overseas, together with alternative subjects should your first subject choices be unavailable. Please read over the choosing your subjects webpage very carefully.
All prospective exchange students must submit an approved study plan for their first preference destination only together with the Melbourne Global Mobility application form by the due date. While you only need to get a study plan approved for your first preference destination, it is a good idea, while you are researching your second and third destinations, to at least jot down prospective subjects in case you need to consider that destination at a later stage.
Download a copy of the 2010 Study Plan (100kb pdf)
Study Plan forms are also available from Melbourne Global Mobility.
4. Exchange essay
Outline your reasons for applying to the Melbourne Global Mobility Exchange Program. Things you should include are "why you want to go on exchange," "what you hope to get from the experience," and "why you want to go to the destination you have chosen." The essay should be one to two pages in length.
In some cases partner institutions ask for this type of effort as well so this can be seen as a first draft that you review with fresh insight later when you come to complete the host institution application.
5. Résumé
Provide a summary of your relevant personal, academic and employment history.
6. Passport details page
Provide a certified copy of your passport details page. A certified copy is a photocopy which has been compared with the original and endorsed as a true copy by a Justice of the Peace or a public officer such as a police officer. Alternatively you can bring your passport and a photocopy of the details page to the Melbourne Global Mobility office where the photoccopy can be verified and stamped as a true copy.
If you do not have a current passport you should apply for one immediately through Australia Post. If your passport is due to expire within six months of the end of your exchange you will need to renew the passport and you should begin that process as soon as possible. In both cases you should note that you are doing so in your application. When the new passport arrives you will need to provide a copy of the details page to Melbourne Global Mobility.
7. Passport photo
Provide a recent passport photo with your name and student ID number on the back. You can have a set of four photographs taken at most pharmacies, for example, for around $12.
Don't throw the left overs away as your host institution application might need a photograph and they are also useful for things like an international driver's license.