When can you go on exchange during your studies?

Students can go on an exchange in their third bachelor's year (first semester) or first master's year (first semester).

Students can do a traineeship abroad in their third bachelor’s year (second semester).

Exchange Coordinators

Should some of your questions remain unanswered, feel free to get in touch with your Exchange Coordinator Lars Breuls or Exchange Assistant Jasmine De Backer.

View the general exchange information (IRMO)

View the exchange information session 2023.

Destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

Students can apply for the following exchange destinations

It is also possible to go on an exchange outside Europe. Available destinations are: 

Please note: If you wish to go on exchange outside Europe, you must submit your application via e-mail to the exchange assistant no later than the 15th of December of the academic year preceding the exchange period. Besides the general exchange procedure, you have to take into account some extra steps. More information can be found here.

Application process

You must apply by completing the selection file of the Faculty of Law and Criminology. This file consists of: 

  • Completed selection form
  • Transcript of records. The transcript of records can be downloaded from Student Selfservice.
  • CV
  • Motivation letter
  • Any language certificates you have taken and other possible relevant information. 

You apply for a maximum of three destinations. If you are not selected for the destination of your first choice, you may still be eligible for the destination of your second or third choice.

Before submitting your application, we advise you to inform yourself properly. After all, you are applying for a certain destination. It may therefore be useful to find out if the course units offered at a particular destination suit your study curriculum.

You must sent your application to the Exchange Assistant (in one pdf) by the 15th of February of the academic year prior to the exchange period.

When you've been selected

As soon as you have been selected for a destination, you must compile a study programme in consultation with the Exchange Assistant. The study programme of the faculty shows which course units you will follow during your exchange period, which course units of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel you will replace it with and which course units you will follow at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. As soon as the Exchange Assistant approves your study programme, you have to include it in your Learning Agreement. See below for further explanation of these documents.

Study programme

What is the study programme?

The study programme of the faculty shows which course units you will take during your exchange period, which course units of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel you will replace with it, and which course units you will still take at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Download the faculty study programme template

ECTS credits

Every university in Europe has to grade its course units with ECTS credits. In every European university, an academic year consists of 60 ECTS credits. The ECTS credits of the course unit indicate the load of a course unit compared to the entire year programme.

Within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme, your study programme is split into two semesters: the first semester at the host university and the second semester at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Each semester represents approximately 30 ECTS credits. Within the framework of the Erasmus Belgica programme, two formulas are possible (a semester or a full academic year). It is sometimes difficult to divide the semesters into two equal halves. But we strongly advise you to do this calculation exercise as well as possible, so that the workload is evenly spread. In any case, you need to take at least 21 credits at the host university.

Course units

For the exchange period, your study programme includes a number of course units that replace the course units you would normally take at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The following rules apply here:

  1. You may also substitute VUB courses from the second semester, not only from the first semester.
  2. There does not have to be a one-to-one substitution. This means that one course at the host university can replace several VUB courses.
  3. The content of the course units that will be taken at the host university must, in principle, more or less correspond to the content of the course units that will be replaced at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. However, we understand this is not always possible. The Exchange Assistant will be able to provide more information about this.

Do not forget, the better prepared your file is, the more trouble-free your stay at the host university will be.

Approval

The study programmes are approved by the Exchange Committee of the Faculty of Law and Criminology. If the Exchange Committee is of the opinion that adjustments are required, these must be made as soon as possible.

Grade conversion

If you choose to participate in a study exchange program, your grades will be assessed by the host institution, and the conversion of your grades will be part of the recognition process. Grade conversion is the translation of a grade obtained abroad (host grade) to the local grade scale of the student (home grade). The conversion is based on your position within the cohort at the partner institution and its corresponding position within the VUB Criminology program. The conversion of your grades is carried out per course using the Grade Distribution Table, which shows the percentage of students receiving each grade. 

For the Criminology program, the average grade distribution is as follows: 

Bachelor  
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
0,00% 4,41% 24% 35,76% 23,85% 8,55% 3,44% 0,00% 0,00% 0,00% 0,00%
100,00% 100,00% 95,60% 71,60% 35,84% 11,99% 3,44% 0,00% 0,00% 0,00% 0,00%

 

Master  
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
0,00% 2,57% 15% 31,01% 26,85% 16,02% 6,67% 1,57% 0,31% 0,00% 0,00%
100,00% 100,00% 97,43% 82,43% 51,42% 24,57% 8,55% 1,88% 0,31% 0,00% 0,00%

 

In the first line the percentage of students receiving each grade is given, in the second line the accumulated percentage e.g. with 15 you belong to the top 11,99% of students in the bachelor programme of Criminology.

The conversion process depends on the policies of the partner university.

Situation 1: We have access to the Grade distribution table of the host university at the program level or institutional level.

The use of Grade distribution tables in converting exam grades is illustrated in the following figure (source: ECTS Users’ Guide). In the example, a student with a grade of 27 out of 30 at a university in Italy ("X") belongs to the top 46% of the reference group. To convert the grade to the system of a French university, the percentile of this institution ("Y") that best corresponds to 46 is considered. In this case, percentile 46.62 of institution Y best corresponds to percentile 46 of institution X, resulting in the Italian exam grade of 27 being converted to a 12 at the French institution.

Institution X- Italy
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30+
6,9% 1,9% 5,7% 2,3% 6,0% 2,7% 11,3% 8,2% 9,0% 11,8% 12,3% 0,5% 15,7% 5,7%
100% 93,1% 91,2% 85,5% 83,2% 77,2% 74,5% 63,2% 55% 46% 34,2% 31,9% 21,4% 5,7%

 

Institution Y- France
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
34,79% 18,59% 18,45% 12,05% 9,46% 3,65% 2,30% 0,43% 0,22% 0,06% 0,00%
100,00% 65,21% 46,62% 28,17% 16,12% 6,66% 3,01% 0,71% 0,28% 0,06% 0,00%

 

Situation 2: We do not have a grade distribution table of the partner institution but we do have the ECTS grades "A-B-C-D-E”. 

Based on the grade distribution table of the criminology program, the following scores were assigned to the ECTS grades for the criminology program (bachelor and master).

Bachelor Master
ECTS Cijfer ECTS Cijfer
A >15 A >16
B 14 B 15
C 13 C 14
D 12 D 12
E 11 E 11

 

If your host university assigns the ECTS grade B to your score, your score will be 14 (if you are in your bachelor's) or 15 (if you are in your master's).

Exceptions for high scores: If a student's individual scores significantly exceed the threshold of the partner university's A scores, higher grades will be awarded. 

FAQ

What is a Learning Agreement?

The Learning Agreement is a contract between the selected student(s), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the host university. This contract contains a list of the course units the student will follow at the host university.

Once the study programme has been drawn up and approved by the exchange assistant, you can fill in the Learning Agreement on mobility online. 

How can I make changes to the Learning Agreement during my mobility?

Once you have arrived at your destination university, you must immediately contact the local Exchange Coordinator or Assistant in order to complete the necessary formalities.

If the Learning Agreement cannot be followed through no fault of your own (e.g. because a subject on your Learning Agreement is not taught or because you cannot follow this subject due to overlaps), you will have to adjust your programme. Consultation with the Exchange Assistant of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is necessary. 

If the proposed adjustment of your programme has been accepted by the local Exchange Coordinator and the Exchange Coordinator of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, you must complete the form Changes to the Learning Agreement via Mobility Online by 15 October of the academic year of the exchange period at the latest.

The form Changes to the Learning Agreement is then signed by the Exchange Coordinator of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and returned to the host university.

One or two semesters?

If your exchange period lasts one semester, it is possible that a number of course units, for which you have to take exams at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, are taught during that semester. It is therefore advisable to make clear arrangements with the lecturers and assistants of these course units about sitting the exams at the beginning of the academic year.

If your exchange period takes place in the first semester

It is possible that you can still take the examinations for the course units that take place in the first semester during the examination session of the first semester, that is if your exchange period ends early enough. If you are still residing abroad when the exam takes place at VUB, you have the right to take the examination of the course units during the examination period in June. You should contact the professor of the course to request this. Please note, this right does not apply to courses that do not belong to the RC faculty. 

If your exchange period takes place in the second semester

This is sometimes possible within the framework of the Erasmus Belgica programme. If you study in the second semester at a university of the French Community, you have to take the exams for the course units of the second semester that you still have to take at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel during the exam session of the second semester (or during the second sitting period). These exams cannot be transferred to the first semester.

In case an exam at the host university falls on the same day as an exam at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, it is advisable to contact the Exchange Assistant in order to find a solution.

If your exchange period is a full year

This may be possible within the framework of the Erasmus Belgica programme. If you can study for a full year at a university of the French Community, it is possible that you still have to take a course unit at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel because you would like to take this course unit at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, or because for a compulsory course unit no similar course unit is available at the host university.

If this is the case, you will have to find a solution in consultation with the Exchange Assistant. This may consist of taking the exam for this course unit in the second term or commuting between the two universities.

Will I receive a grant?

The number of available scholarships varies from year to year and strongly depends on the number of applicants. Unfortunately, not everyone receives a grant.

The faculty creates a ranking list in May and sends it to IRMO. If you're a student who belongs to the category 'fewer opportunities' (scholarship student or near-scholarship student), you will be given priority on the list. The remaining ranking depends on your grades. In July you will be notified by IRMO whether you have received a grant. 

For more information about scholarships, you can contact IRMO at exchange.outgoing@vub.be

What if I fail at a course during my exchange?

If you failed one or more courses during your stay abroad, you must follow the rules of the host university regarding retaking exams. The timing of these resit exams may differ from what you are used to. For example, they may take place shortly after the regular exams, instead of during the usual re-exam period.

Only in exceptional circumstances (for example, if your resit exam at the host university conflicts with a VUB exam) may the dean grant you permission to take examinations for the equivalent VUB course unit at VUB during the August examination period of the same academic year, if you did not obtain a credit certificate for a course unit taken at the host institution.

If you retake the exam at your host university but fail, you will be automatically excluded from the August examination period at VUB. 

More information needed

Interested in an exchange? 

In October, there will be a session on campus where the entire application process will be explained and where you can ask your questions. Keep a close eye on Canvas for the specific date.

Selected? 

In March, a session will be organized where it will be thoroughly explained again how to fill in your study program. The date will be communicated to you.

In May, IRMO organizes a take-off session for all outgoing students. The date will be communicated to you.

One last golden advice

To conclude this manual, we would like to give you one more piece of advice: take care of your accommodation! Sometimes students get into trouble because they did not arrange for accommodation, or did not do so in time. 

  1. Check the website of the host university if it does not offer housing. If this is the case, try to enrol as soon as possible. Do not wait for a week, but do it the day the selection is announced! 
  2. If no accommodation is offered by the host university, or if you are on a waiting list, it is advisable to contact the students who studied at your destination university last year. They can give you useful tips on where and how to look. The Exchange Assistant of the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel can refer you to these students. 
  3. During your holidays, you may want to go to your destination where you can possibly reserve a room. 
  4. There are also websites where you can find information on housing: