Study abroad with Game design
Who can apply?
Game Design students enrolled in any of the Bachelor programmes in Game Design, the Master programme in Game Design or any of the single courses in Game Design at Uppsala University and who want to study abroad can apply for exchange studies.
Some of Uppsala University's central partners can also have Game Design subjects or another subject area that you wish to explore. There are also options for traineeship with other Erasmus+ countries or why not add a summer course abroad? Any student of Uppsala University can apply, but their application periods and selection criteria differ.
It is possible to apply for a place within the central agreements first, and if you do not want the place you have been offered, you can apply to any of the departmental agreements after giving notification that you do not wish to accept the place offered.
Contact
Stephanie Noroozy at the Department of Game Design, can be contacted for further details for Game Design students who are interested in complementing their Game Design programme with a study abroad period, stephanie.noroozy@speldesign.uu.se.
Where can you study?
University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
This exchange agreement in Portsmouth offers you similar courses that we have but also courses we don't offer, like sound technique. We cooperate with their School of Creative Technologies. One year, 60 credits, is equal to 120 credit points there, so one semester full-time studies there is 60 credit points.
- Information about the University of Portsmouth, visit their homepage.
- Information about the courses available there, can be found here.
University of Southampton-Winchester School of Art, United Kingdom
Here you can chose to study at an art school that has Games Design and Art. Courses from their bachelor programme, Bachelor of Games Design and Art could be very interesting. Their credit system is the same as ours with 60 credits=60 ECTS credits there.
- Information about the University of Southampton-Winchester School of Art, visit their homepage.
- Information about the courses available there, can be found here.
Universidad Francisco De Vitoria (UFV), Madrid,Spain
UFV, which is situated just outside of Madrid, offers several courses taught in English in Game Design but also interesting courses in Communications. We recommend that you are interested in studying some Spanish, which is offered at several different levels, in order to come up to full-time studies. Stephanie has an updated list of courses you can ask for also.
- Information about Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (UFV), visit their homepage.
- Information about the courses available there, can be found here and also in their handbook for international students.
HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, Netherlands
We are cooperating with the School of Games and Interaction at this university in the student friendly city of Utrecht. This is an awesome option if you want to study Interactive Narrtive Design and get connected to the diverse Dutch culture and make connections for career options in the future.
- Information about HKU, University of the Arts Utrecht
- Information about the School of Games and Interaction can be found here and more about Interactive Narrative Design can be found here.
Volda University College, Volda, Norway
Volda University College, VUC, is the place to choose if you are interested in animation and specializations within animation like stop-motion, drawn animation, digital animation and animation production. The animation programme has several studios with high-end equipment to use while you study there. Activities in the courses are centered around lectures, projects in teams and individual work with guidance.
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Hamar, Norway
This is an opportunity to dive deep into 3D-Art & Generalization, 3D-Animation and/or Digital Art & Motion Design in courses from their Bachelor of Animation and Digital Art or from the Game Technology and Simulation program. Read more about The Game School there.
- General information about Inland Norway University of Applied Science
- Specific courses in Game Development and Animation that you can select
Ionian University, Corfu, Greece
Here you have the opportunity to dive into Sound Design and Audiovisual Arts at their Faculty of Music & Audiovisual Arts. Note, however, that exchange students can participate in lectures and class but the language in the classroom is Greek. Exchange students can take the exams in English, usually together with the other exchange students.
FAMU: Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic
Courses at their Center for Audiovisual Studies (CAS) would be open to you as an exchange student there. Their game design department is very small but you could have the opportunity to work on practical game development with groups there and with the supervision from their instructors.
You could choose a more artistic subject within the Center for Audiovisual Studies (CAS) or you can choose between various other subjects, ranging from film, photography, sound, editing, etc. However, places are allocated based on previous knowledge and experience and a portfolio.
In general, it should not be a problem to get 30 credits from courses in English or from courses that are "English-friendly", which means that the course is given in Czech but you can get instructions in English from the instructor and participate in projects with English.
Note that their autumn semester is quite short, 13 weeks, from October 1st to mid-December.
Osaka Institute of Technology, Japan
To attend Osaka Institute of Technology as an exchange student to attend classes (for credit): Exchange students can attend classes for credits for 1 to 2 semesters. In this case, you are requested to start and end your studies according to the designated semester dates. In addition, it is necessary to have JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level N2 or more because most of their courses are conducted only in Japanese.
Tokyo University Technology (TUT), Japan
To attend Tokyo University Technology as an exchange student in their School of Media Sciences and to attend classes (for credit): Exchange students can attend classes for credits for 1 to 2 semesters. In this case, you are requested to start and end your studies according to the designated semester dates. In addition, it is necessary to have JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level N2 or more because most of their courses are conducted only in Japanese.
More choices within humanities/arts
As a student within humanities/arts, you can apply for study abroad with universities that the Faculty of Arts collaborates with: Study abroad within the humanities, (that information is only available in Swedish, contact Stephanie for more details).
Note that you have to apply using a different application form and you apply between March 1 and mid-March, for studies that begin the autumn.
How do you apply and when?
For studies abroad for the autumn semester for Game Design's own partners, the online application is open from January 15--February 15, 2025. The name of the application you should choose is: "Application for outgoing students - Department specific exchanges HUMSAM-Jan 15-Feb 15". In the application you will be asked to upload an Academic Purpose Statement, among other documents that you can get from My Ladok.
The Academic Purpose Statement, max 400 words, should include a list of courses you wish to study that you have found from the partner's homepage. The list can be for one semester, full-time studies. You should also describe how the courses fit in with your overall study goals and/or how it may relate to your future career.
For study abroad for the autumn semester within the central agreements, you need to apply in November, 2024. To apply for study abroad opportunities for the spring term, you need to apply in May the year before.
For the other study abroad experiences: Erasmus+ traineeship or Summer courses abroad, make sure you check out the central information as e-a-r-l-y as possible.
Who is offered a place?
After all the applications have been submitted and the deadline has passed, a working group consisting of the Director of Studies and a couple of teachers gather to review all the applications. If there are more applicants than the number of places, we make a selection based on the number of completed credits within the programme, number of credits with VG, and the course proposal plus the motivation letter. As a discretion criteria, student representation is used as well as representation of students from different programmes.
Notification of a placement is given a couple of weeks after the last application date, but an application directly to the partner university must be made where you wait for an admission notification from them. The wait can take a very long time but usually a positive notification is received.
What happens after the exchange studies?
The courses you manage to receive academic credit for from the partner university should be credited to your degree after your exchange. The rules are generous but there is a lot you need to plan for and know before you choose which courses you should study there, i e before you go. You should therefore have a good idea of what your degree requirements are and which courses you can choose from at the partner universities.
In order to finish your exchange, you need to write a travel report, transfer your credits and if applicable, apply for continued financing/studiemedel. During your exchange, you have to remember to apply for your continued courses for the next semester also.
More Partner Universities with Uppsala University
Find international opportunities in other subject areas, other than Game Design
Other Partner Universities within the Humanities
For other international opportunities within the Humanities, select the pdf called, "Här är de platser vi har till hösten 2025".