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UoE Go Abroad, Edinburgh (2026)

15/09/2026

This Linguistics & English Language student spent Semester 1 of their 2025/26 academic year at The Arctic University of Norway!

'When I was first told I’d been accepted to go to Tromsø, I remember debating whether to go or not. Because it’s in the arctic and quite remote, I remember thinking that I was going to be quite bored and that all there would be to do was hike. But I was very wrong. Tromsø’s university, whilst small, is very integrated into the town community, and there are always cultural events going on for youth - from the local arts centre (Tvibit) that ran subsidised music lessons for students to the Erasmus network that did trips around the county, I felt so at home in the 5 months I spent in Tromsø.'

'If I could go back and tell myself one thing before going, I’d say to try everything. The university had lots of societies and student groups to get involved in. I personally helped out a student garden every week where we picked fruit and vegetables and ate meals with what we’d cultivated - and joined a sci-fi group which played games and watched movies. The university ran lots of events for international students, like free waffles every Friday and so it was very easy to meet people and feel integrated into the community. The nature is beautiful, but Tromsø is so much more than just the hiking around it. I’ve met wonderful people and have so many positive memories I even keep with me to this day.'

'For students just setting off now, I’d say that it does get better. When I first landed, I felt so scared that I wasn’t going to make any friends. But you do! It definitely does feel scary and lonely at times, but most other people are probably feeling the same. But, keep going to things and trying to enrich your exchange with as much as possible and your people will come.'

'My exchange has taught me that there’s so much more to life. I’ve made friends, grown in confidence immensely and even when going back to Edinburgh, it encouraged me to put myself out my comfort zone and try join new societies and meet new people. My exchange did wonders for my anxiety and self esteem.'

03/09/2026

💬 Language Explorers Scotland: Mentor Information Session 💬

🔸Online event
🔸Wednesday, October 7 • 3PM GMT

SCILT is now recruiting student mentors for the Language Explorers Scotland (LES) programme. Entering its fifth year, LES gives students with lived experience of language learning or internationalism the chance to develop leadership and employability skills by volunteering in short mentoring sessions with small groups of school pupils. The aim is to support pupils to think about the opportunities that language learning could open for them.

Language Explorers Scotland consists of a short series of mentoring sessions for learners in secondary schools, led by university students with lived experiences of language learning and multiculturalism. It aims to win hearts and minds of young people by giving them time to explore the bigger picture of language learning with a trained, supportive student mentor.

Volunteering as a mentor means sharing your passion for language and cultures with young people, opening their eyes to the possibilities that learning a language can offer them, both now and in the future. Being a mentor will add valuable leadership and employability skills to your repertoire and will offer you the chance to learn more about leading and facilitating mentoring sessions online. Not only is this a hugely rewarding experience, but adding this experience to your CV can also provide an excellent way to make you stand out from the crowd.

SCILT are inviting interested students to join an online information session on Wednesday, 7 October 2026 - click the link in our bio for more information and registration!

26/08/2026

Are you going into your 2nd UG year? Then look this way if you want to know more about where your degree can take you! 🧳✈🌏

We're down to double digits! Did you know that there are approximately 67 or so days* until the start of SWAY's exchange application season for 2027/28 exchanges?

Time flies when you're having fun so make sure to give us a follow to not miss any helpful and important information we'll be posting on here over the coming months 👋

17/08/2026

Are you a Chinese Language student? Look this way for what previous students have had to say about their time in Taiwan!

Check our website for more information on our exchange destinations today! 🇹🇼

13/08/2026

Going even further from Scotland now, and let's see the adventures of this Social Anthropology student, who went to the University of Otago in New Zealand!

'I always thought you had to be a certain kind of person to move abroad and set up a new life, that I wasn't experienced or confident to do it but I quickly found that it's just following steps really and suddenly you're there all settled in. I would tell myself to trust the process, things might not feel perfect at the start but sometimes they just need time. I met some of my closest friends and had some of my best moments in the last few weeks of exchange so don't judge the experience too quickly.

For students currently preparing, I know organising the documents and travel plans can seem like a lot but its short term pain, long term gain! Even the process of applying itself can feel inconvenient and for some may clash with other assessments, but I know a few people who simply couldn't be bothered at the time who really regretted not even applying because you have nothing to lose.

One of parts of exchange I loved was meeting such different types of people. It was the first time I had a friend group where each person was very much unique in their interests and hobbies which can make a nice change from the university bubble where you tend to settle in friend-groups from societies and courses.'

If you would like us to share your year abroad content or advice, please fill out the form in our bio! (Or DM us!)

12/08/2026

University-wide or Subject-specific? What does this mean?

If you have been looking into study exchanges you will already have come over information on University-wide vs. Subject-specific exchanges, which might not mean a lot to you at this stage.

Basically, these are two different kinds of exchanges and what's cool is that unless for a few exceptions (Business, Chemistry, Law, Social Work, Primary Teaching, Art, Design, Architecture or Landscape Architecture + some specific CMVM subjects are not eligible for University-wide) you will be able to submit an application for both - two separate applications, to increase your chances of success!

Apart from the exceptions outlined above, all undergraduate students regardless of degree area are eligible to apply for a University-wide exchange. This means that the competition is on and you'll be competing for these spaces with Psychology students, Language student, Computing students, Geography students... you get the gist! The only thing YOU have to do prior to applying for a University-wide exchange is that you need to sit down and do some research on places where you are interested in applying to make sure that they are teaching your degree and appropriate courses.

For a Subject-specific exchange, you will only compete against students who are studying the same degree as you as these exchanges are only open to students based on what they study. This means that there is no need for you to do the research in the same way as you would need to for a University-wide exchange as we already know that this is exchange is academically appropriate for your degree. That doesn't mean that there aren't other things you need to look into for a Subject-specific exchange, but that is how it differs from a University-wide one.

A good place to start learning more about how these exchanges work, the application process, what to consider when writing your personal statement and so on is to familiarise yourself with our application guides on our website - there's one for University-wide and one for Subject-specific.

Click the link in our bio to get to these - there are 81 days until November 1st! Let's get prepping.

10/08/2026

We're travelling halfway round the world again to get an insight from this Finance and Business student who spent their year at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore!

'Firstly, choosing your courses is much more difficult and time consuming than you might think at first and the systems may be very different to what we know from home. So make sure to start as early as possible and speak to your student advisor beforehand (make sure they know the exact courses you want to take and that they approve of the year the courses are taught in as well as the content) and make sure to have some backup courses in case you don't get the ones you wanted.

Also, check the exact location of the university before you apply (for example NTU in Singapore looks like its far out but getting into the city actually takes even longer than expected).

You will definitely grow as a person and change a lot. You'll be confronted with very uncomfortable situations, you'll be far away from home and maybe not even know anyone. But you'll meet a ton of great people and have a good time. But don't expect it to be amazing from day one on, some things take time (especially if you are moving somewhere very far away where things just work differently). So give it time and be open for this different way of living.'

If you would like to share your year abroad content or advice, please fill out the form in our bio! (Or DM us!)

04/08/2026

Are you an Undergraduate student in CAHSS or CSE? Good news! You are quite likely to be eligible to apply for a study exchange through SWAY!

🔸SWAY study exchanges are open to students on most undergraduate programmes in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Engineering.
🔸Are you a joint honours student? If so, please double-check first with your School for your specific degree combo but we send many joint honours students abroad every year!
🔸From an academic point of view, you must complete 120 credits in your first year and pass all second year courses at first sitting in order to qualify.
🔸Don't speak or study a second language? Not a problem - this is still for you! At many European as well as most of our non-European partner destinations, you will be able to study in English.

Remember!

📌A study exchange is a year long programme that gives you the opportunity to go study you degree programme at a different institution somewhere else in the world.
📌Most students on 4-year programmes would apply for an exchange in Semester 1 of their 2nd year, they would go abroad for their full 3rd year and return for their 4th year at University of Edinburgh.
📌Doing a study exchange through SWAY does not add any time onto your degree and you would keep paying the tuition fee of University of Edinburgh - not the tuition fee of your host institution
📌 Around November time, SWAY will publish the application links on their website and students normally have around two weeks to submit their applications.

There are 89 days left until November 1st 2025 - there's no time to lose so let's get clicking that link in our bio to get the research going! Will we receive YOUR application? 🫵

30/07/2026

We're going back to the USA again, to Chicago this time, to see what this AI and Computer Science student did at Northwestern University!

'Taking a year abroad was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I met amazing people, joined a competitive dance team (and even won an inter-university competition!), and built friendships that I’ll keep for a long time. It gave me the chance to experience American university life firsthand, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

I made some great friends who were also on their exchange year, and together we travelled around the US and created memories I'll never forget. I also became especially close with people through my dance team. We travelled across multiple states for competitions, which was an amazing experience and brought us even closer together.

I was definitely nervous before arriving. I worried about whether I’d make friends, whether I’d end up feeling lonely, or whether I was missing out on life back in Edinburgh. The reality was the complete opposite. I hung out with the exchange students from the start and some of us became very close.

Some of my favourite memories are the simple ones: taking trips into downtown Chicago with friends, exploring the city, regular intense dance practices, dining with friends on campus and just everyday things. Since Northwestern is a campus university, it was very convenient to meet friends daily and everything was very close by. Having family in the US was also a bonus, as I was able to visit them throughout the year.

My biggest advice would be to join clubs, societies or teams as early as possible. They’re one of the easiest ways to meet local students and feel part of the university community. Your fellow exchange students are going through the same experience as you are and often become some of your closest friends. Most importantly, enjoy every moment. A year sounds like a long time, but it goes by much faster than you think.'

If you would like to share your year abroad content or advice, please fill out the form in our bio! (Or DM us!)

28/07/2026

This is one of our Sociology students who went to University of Miami, US for their 2023/24 year abroad - but it could be you in 2027/28! 🎢

Are you starting your second UG year at University of Edinburgh? Give us a follow to learn how!

Applications will open around November time!

UoE Go Abroad

15/09/2026

03/09/2026

26/08/2026

17/08/2026

13/08/2026

12/08/2026

10/08/2026

04/08/2026

30/07/2026

28/07/2026

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