Visiting students: How to apply

What are the entry requirements?

  • A cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or equivalent.
  • The level of class students will be admitted to depends on classes taken to date.

When should you apply?

Application help

How do I choose my courses?

Course choice

Study Abroad and International Exchange students can choose from courses in our course catalogue. There are also unique courses set up especially for Study Abroad students. 

Credits and teaching style

You must be registered as full time and take courses worth 60 Glasgow credits per semester. On average you will take three or four courses per semester.

Advice on selecting courses

Please think carefully about the course choices that you submit on your application. Provided you are eligible, you will be enrolled on the courses you select before you arrive in Glasgow.

Course choices emailed to the Visiting Students team after the application has been submitted will not be accepted. 

  • Level 1 and 2 are lower level courses requiring no/little previous experience. 
  • Level 3 and 4 are upper level courses requiring at least two years background experience in the subject area that will be studied at Glasgow. Often you must have a Major in the subject area to be admitted to level 3 and 4. Students with no previous experience in a subject area will not be admitted to level 3 and 4. 

Completed applications are reviewed on an individual basis to ensure you have met the pre-requisites required for the courses.

We cannot guarantee that you will gain entry into courses that are not submitted on the application as courses are subject to change and so will not be finalised until students arrive in Glasgow.

Pre-requisites
Pre-requisites listed in the course catalogue may not apply to visiting students, but these should be considered in conjunction with the provided course selection guide. 

Take care when selecting courses from different years
Certain subject areas (see below) do not permit students to take courses from different years at the same time e.g. level one courses (first year) at the same time as level three (third year) courses. Note that the following list is subject to change.

  • Engineering - students cannot mix levels of course OR disciplines of Engineering (eg it is not possible to take Civil Engineering courses at the same time as courses in Mechanical, Electrical & Electronic, Biomedical or Aeronautical Engineering)
  • Adam Smith Business School – including Economics, Accounting & Finance and Management – it is not possible to take courses from different levels in any of these subject areas
  • Politics – it is not possible to take courses from different levels at the same time in this subject area
  • Chemistry – it is not possible to take courses from different levels at the same time in this subject area. 

Note for Semester 1 applicants

Students who are studying for Semester 1 finish in December and will submit all assignments and sit exams before the end of the Semester. Please note Semester 1 grades for certain subject areas are only ratified at end of academic year exam boards in June. 

Semester 1 only students are not permitted to take level 3 and 4 courses in Computing Science, Statistics and Mathematics as these subjects do not provide alternative assessments for Semester 1 students.

What documents will I need to provide? What are the English Language requirements?

To apply for the Study Abroad Programme or for an international exchange you will need to provide:

  • Current official undergraduate degree transcript (and an official translation if required) - scanned copy in colour of the original document. Please note unofficial copies will not be accepted.
  • Copy of your passport (photopage).

In addition, you may need to provide the following:

  • If English is not your first language, you will be required to provide a language test.
    The entry requirements for the Study Abroad and international exchange programme are IELTS 6.0 with no subtest less than 5.5. If you don't meet our English Language entry requirements you could come to the University early to study on one of our pre-sessional courses.

Please see English Language requirements  for all accepted English testing options.

How to apply

2024-25 semester 2 applications are now closed. 2025-26 applications open March 2025.

The application process for the Study Abroad and Exchange programmes is online. 

You should refer to the following documents when completing your application:

Technical support

If you have difficulties with the Application form, see Application troubleshooting / FAQs.

When will I find out that I've been admitted to Glasgow?

Study Abroad and Exchange

Semester 1 and Year-Long applications will be processed from mid-March onwards. Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible as applications are worked through on a chronological basis. All Semester 1 and Year-long applicants will be made aware of the decision by 30 May.  Due to the volume of applications received we cannot comment on application decisions before this date.  

Semester 2 applications begin to be processed early mid-October.  All applicants will be made aware of the decision by 30 November. Due to the volume of applications received we cannot comment on application decisions before this date.