Application guide for incoming exchange students

As an exchange student, you are expected to study full-time, i.e. 30 ECTS credits per semester. You also have the option of increasing your course load by taking Swedish language courses in addition to your general course selection, see below.

Note that full-time study is a prerequisite for obtaining a residence permit from the Swedish Migration Agency.

Lund University offers more than 700 courses suitable for exchange students, in a wide range of subjects. Here you can find links to the courses offered by our nine faculties:

Find exchange courses

You can also take Swedish language courses as part of or in addition to your approved course load. Examples are 'Swedish: Introductory Course for Exchange Students' (SUSA, 3 ECTS credits) offered during the Orientation Weeks and 'Swedish for Exchange Students' (SVEE, 7.5 ECTS credits) offered during the semester.

Swedish language courses for exchange students

Read the course descriptions for all the courses you are interested in and remember to check the entry requirements to see if you are eligible.

During the application process, you will be asked to list your 'main choice' courses and 'alternative choice' courses.

If you are nominated for a full academic year, you will need to submit two applications at different times: one for your autumn semester courses and one for your spring semester courses. You will receive instructions before the next application period.

It is recommended that you use the Chrome, Firefox or Opera web browser to create your application in SoleMove.

This is how you log in and start your application:

• Go to solemove.lu.se.
• Select 'Lund University [LU]' from the drop-down list under 'Login'.
• Select 'Local' from the drop-down list under 'Log in using'.
• Log in with the user ID you have received by email. Note that you will need to choose a password and activate your account before you can log in.
• Give your consent to the processing of your personal data (in accordance with GDPR) when you log in for the first time. Once you have given your consent, you can start your application.

Once you are in the system, the first thing you need to do is create your application form:

• Click on 'Application form for incoming student mobility'. Do not select 'Application form for short student mobility'.

The instructions continue below the image.

Next, you need to: 

• Select 'S – Study' from the drop-down list under 'Mobility type', unless you have been told otherwise. This is important.
• Click on the 'Save' button.

You are now ready to start your application.

In the 'Personal data' tab, you will see that some information has already been filled in by your home university, e.g. 'Duration of your exchange', 'Date of birth' and 'Email'.

Follow these steps: 

• Check that the pre-populated information is correct.
• Enter your personal details. All telephone numbers must be in the international format, without spaces, e.g. +44701234567.
• Indicate whether you have previously applied for studies in Sweden or not. If the answer is ‘Yes’, you should already have a temporary personal identity number that you should enter in the application in the field “Swedish personal identity number” in the format ‘YYMMDDXXXX’.

Note that all mandatory fields must be completed before you can proceed with your application. If you leave a mandatory field blank, you will see a red 'Missing data' box indicating which fields cannot be left blank. A warning sign (triangle icon) will also appear on tabs where data is missing.

In some cases, you will see a question mark icon next to a field. Click on this for more information about what is required.

Now you need to fill in some general information about your exchange studies at Lund University.

Follow these steps:

• Click on the 'Study information' tab.
• Tick the box 'Double degree' only if you are coming to Lund as part of a double degree agreement. Do not tick the box if, for example, you are doing a double major at your home university.
• Click on the pencil icon to select a faculty/department. In most cases, you will only have one choice. What you select in this field determines who will coordinate your exchange at Lund University, not which courses you can apply for.

You will also need to provide some information about your current studies at your home university.

Follow these steps:

• Click on the 'Current studies' tab.
• Select the level of your current studies.
• Enter your field of study/major.
• Enter the number of years of higher education you have completed so far. This should include all years of Bachelor's and Master's studies completed before coming to Lund. 
• Select your language of instruction from the drop-down list. 
• Enter at least your level of English in the drop-down lists under 'Language knowledge'.

The next step is to create your proposed study plan by selecting the courses you wish to take in order of priority.

Note that it can be difficult to make changes at a later stage, both before and on/after arrival (as Lund University does not have a formal add-and-drop period at the beginning of the semester). So please think carefully about your choice of courses, both when it comes to your 'main choice' courses and your 'alternative choice' courses (see below), before you complete your study plan in SoleMove. 

To create your study plan, follow the steps below:

• Click on the 'Proposed study plan' tab. 
• Click on '+ Add new study'.
• Select 'Course' from the 'Type of study' drop-down list (do not select 'Research project').
• Click on the pencil icon next to 'Code' to open the course catalogue.

The instructions continue below the image.

Next, follow these steps: 

• Enter the code of the course you want to apply for, and add any other keywords or filters. Extend your search by using the asterisk (*). Click on the magnifying glass icon to start the search.
• Select the course you want to add. You can only select one course at a time.
• Click on 'Save and close'.

Note that the 'Period' column shows the start and end periods. If only '1' or '2' is displayed, the course is taught during a single period. If '1–2' is displayed, the course is taught during both periods.

The instructions continue below the image.

Next, follow these steps: 

• Click on 'Save' to add the selected course to your study plan.
• Click on '+ Add new study' to add another course.
• Click on 'Return' to see an overview of the courses you have selected.

The instructions continue below the image.

Note that you must add all of your courses before you define your first and second alternative courses. All of your courses will be listed as main choice courses until you define your alternative courses in the next step.

Note that it is recommended that you apply for at least two main choices and two to four alternatives per period. When you view the overview of all your selected courses, you will see the total number of ECTS credits you have applied for. Please note that once you have prioritised your choices, this total will change to show only the total number of credits for your main choices.

In the same overview, you will also be able to see how many ECTS credits you have been accepted for once you have received your 'Letter of Acceptance'. Note again that all courses are now listed as main choice courses. In the next step, you will learn how to prioritise your courses and select alternatives.

You now need to select which courses you wish to consider as alternatives to your main choices. An alternative course will only be considered if you are not eligible for, or have not been accepted to, a main choice.

Follow these steps for each of your main choice courses:

• Click on the pencil icon to open a main choice course to which you want to add alternatives (see examples in the two images below).
• Add alternative courses for each main choice course. You can only select courses that you have previously added to your application.
• Click on 'Save'.

The instructions continue after the images below. 

In the first image, the main choice is 'SVEE11', and the alternatives chosen are 'SASE13' and 'SASA16':

In the second image, the main choice is 'FEKH91', and the alternatives are 'FEKH45' and 'FEKG25':

You have now selected all the courses you want to apply for and ranked them in order of preference. Take some time to review them. Start with the first course and then click on 'Next' to go through all the courses you have applied for.

Proceed as follows: 

• Check that you have only selected each course once, either as a main course or as an alternative course. Adding a course more than once will not increase your chances of being accepted for that course.
• Check that your alternative courses do not have any alternatives listed. If they do, they will automatically be changed back to a main choice.
• Check that you have a total of 30 ECTS credits for your main choices when you are finished. All other courses should be alternative courses and the remaining ECTS credits should be linked to them.

Note that you can edit your courses and order of preference until you submit your application.

In the images below, you can see two accepted course loads of 30 ECTS credits (the minimum) and 40.5 ECTS credits respectively.

In the second image, two Swedish courses have been added to the main course load: Swedish: Introductory Course for Exchange Students 1 (SUSA11, 3 ECTS credits) and Swedish for Exchange Students: Level 1 (SVEE11, 7.5 ECTS credits). You can also choose to take these courses as part of your main course load of 30 ECTS credits.

You will be asked to upload the required supporting documents to your application in the 'Enclosures' tab.

The file format should be .pdf or .doc/.docx – please do not upload .pages files.

Visit the link below for details about enclosures:

Enclosure instructions

Follow these steps to upload your supporting documents:

• Click on the pencil icon next to the supporting document ('Enclosure') you want to upload.
• Select the correct file, and click on 'Upload file'.
• Click on 'Next enclosure'.

Check your application carefully. If you have completed all the mandatory fields and uploaded all the mandatory supporting documents, there should be no warning triangles left on the other tabs of your application.

The 'Send application' option should now be visible in the 'Check and send application' tab.

Follow these steps:

• Click on 'Send application' when you are ready.
• Click on 'Yes' when asked 'You can not edit the application after it has been sent. Do you really want to send the application?'.

Your application status will now change from 'Application not ready' to 'Application sent'.

Once you have been accepted, a new tab will appear in your application – the 'Acceptance' tab.

Please log in to SoleMove and confirm your exchange once you have decided to come to Lund University for the semester you have been accepted.

Once you have confirmed your exchange, you can also let us know when you plan to arrive in Lund.

Note that you can cancel your application at any time by logging in to the application system and updating your status (even after confirmation). If you cancel your exchange, it is important that you also inform your international coordinator at Lund University by email so that this information can be updated in other systems too.

The course review process is usually completed by mid-to-late May (for the autumn semester) and mid-December (for the spring semester). This means that, even after you receive your 'Letter of Acceptance', there is no guarantee that you will get the courses you have applied for. 

You can check your course status by logging in to SoleMove. Here is a list of the different statuses and what they mean:

• Confirmed – you are eligible and have been admitted to the course
• Rejected – the course is full/you are not eligible/you already have a full study plan
• Withdrawn – you no longer wish to take the course/the course is not approved by your home university
• Added to waiting list – the course is currently full, but you have been placed on the waiting list. If you no longer wish to take the course, please inform your coordinator.
• Pre-selected – this is not a 'Confirmed' status, it is only used during the admissions process. The status will change to either 'Confirmed' or 'Rejected'.
• Waiting action – this course has not yet been processed. If courses are still listed as 'Waiting action' at the end of the admissions process, they are usually not main choices and will not be processed unless you specifically ask to make the course a higher priority.