The Department of Physics follows the University's code of good practice for Study and Work Experience Abroad. While abroad students will follow a full timetable of physics and elective modules, the specifics of which will be decided in conjunction with the host institution and the student, as described below.
Stage 2 students on Physics with Study Abroad programmes, or who wish to transfer onto one, must complete the University's application process, which opens in November and has a deadline in December:
When physics places are limited at a particular institution, priority will be given to students who applied via UCAS for direct entry into one of the 'Physics with Study Abroad' programmes.
Transfers onto 'with Study Abroad' programmes are limited to Stage 2 students and are subject to the availability of fee-exchange places at the host institutions. Forms will only be accepted from students who have been offered a place by the Study Abroad Office. Programme transfer forms will be considered for approval in the two weeks after the release of Stage 2 Term 1 exam results.
Students intending to transfer into 'with Study Abroad' programmes must advise the the Outbound Study Abroad team of their plans by the start of Term 1 of their Stage 2 year so they can be sent invitations to relevant meetings, etc.
See also:
There are many universities students can study at, given in Exeter University's lists by subject.
Students planning to study abroad will find the detailed information they require the host institution's website; search for pages for international students.
Students on the Study Abroad programmes will meet with the relevant Study Abroad Co-ordinator to discuss in detail the arrangements for their year abroad, by the end of the Spring Term of their Stage 2 year:
While abroad the student will have access to e-mail and will stay in occasional contact with the Study Abroad Co-ordinator in Exeter. As part of the bilateral arrangements students will also have an advisor in their host institution.
At the time of writing (2021) a student studying abroad pays a relatively small fraction of the normal Exeter tuition fees for the year abroad. The Exeter student pays their (reduced) tuition fees to Exeter. For more information see:
While abroad you may still apply for a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan. We would encourage you to contact Student Finance to find out what extra funding might be available to you.
Guidelines for the selection of overseas modules are given in the Description sections of the applicable module descriptors:
In order to facilitate the assessment of their year abroad, students returning from host institutions must provide the Study Abroad Co-ordinator with a portfolio of work undertaken while they were away. This should include copies of:
The portfolio must be received and assessed in advance of the relevant APAC (Board of Examiners) meeting. The Study Abroad Co-ordinator will notify students of the relevant deadlines, which vary from year to year.
The curriculum and assessment of the Exeter physics programmes is tightly specified and documented. Students and staff are used to high degree of consistency between modules at the same level and a clear progression from one level to the next. Exams, for example:
are set so to ensure that they test not only basic skills and recall of knowledge but also the application of that knowlege and, at the higher levels, the synthesis of new ideas and problem-solving methods. Stage 3 Physics modules that are delivered by lectures are normally assessed by a single examination employing a criteria-referenced mark scheme and worth 100% of the marks.
Overseas hosts typically do not use these conventions, which leads to technical, cultural and philosophical problems when one attempts to ‘convert’ marks from the scheme used by the host onto the Exeter scale. See, for example, the documentation associated with the ECTS system:
where Annex 3 explores some of the issues. University's code of good practice for Study and Work Experience Abroad provides guidelines for assessment (§8) and conversion of grades/marks (§9). Our scheme and procedures comply with these guidelines, which will be referred to as SWEA hereafter.
Each module taken at the overseas host institution will be assigned a mark, corresponding as far as possible to the Exeter conventions, by the Study Abroad Co-ordinator. The mark will normally be based on a combination of:
If the host institution does not provide marks on a scale directly comparable to the Exeter scheme, the first stage of the process converts letter grades, etc. onto a 100-point scale by using the grade conversion tables published elsewhere in this handbook. These were originally constructed in consultation with both students and staff from our host institutions and are reviewed periodically in meetings with the host institutions. The portfolios provided by students are then scrutinised by a member of staff with appropriate expertise in curricula and assessment, normally the Director of Education, who proposes moderating adjustments to the marks received from the host in order to bring them into line, as far as possible, with custom and practice at Exeter. The proposed adjustments are reviewed for consistency and compared with historical values by the Study Abroad Coordinator. On completion of the dialogue between the DoE and Study Abroad Coordinator, the agreed marks are entered into SITS. The Board of Examiners considers these, along with all other module marks. The whole process is subject to scrutiny and monitoring by External Examiners.
Note: Study abroad is academically demanding and students should note carefully: