Requirements and selection for exchange studies

Requirements

To be eligible for exchange studies, there are a number of criteria you must have achieved. You can apply for an exchange place during year 2, but cannot conduct exchange studies until during year 3, at the earliest. You can check your eligibility with your school's international coordinator.

Reported courses in Ladok

All courses must be reported in Ladok at the latest at the end of the application period, and it is the student's responsibility to ensure that course elements are reported by this date. The examiner has 15 working days to correct and report examination results.

Contact the course examiner and your international coordinator in good time if course elements are not reported. Also leave a report to KTH's complaint form if course elements are not reported on time.

File a complaint regarding your studies

If you intend to study abroad in year 3

If you plan to go on exchange studies in year 3, you must not have more than two uncompleted courses when you apply for exchange studies.

• At the regular application round in November, this applies to courses up to and including study period 1.
• For the extra application round in February, this applies to courses up to and including study period 2.

If you intend to study abroad in year 4 or 5

If you plan to go on exchange studies in year 4 or 5, you must not have more than three uncompleted courses when you apply for exchange studies.

• At the regular application round in November, this applies to courses up to and including study period 1.
• For the extra application round in February, this applies to courses up to and including study period 2.

If you only study a master's programme at KTH

Applicants who only study a maste's program at KTH and have taken a bachelor's degree at another university than KTH must have obtained 30 credits in completed courses at KTH up to, and including, study period 2 the academic year you submit an application for exchange studies.

If your programme courses overlap the semesters, it is important that you are in phase with your studies and have completed the courses that you should have completed up to period 2.

You who study with an individual study plan

If you study with an individual study plan, your eligibility will be calculated based on this study plan.

Updated requirements for exchange from study year 2026/2027

New eligibility rules will apply if you plan to go on exchange studies from the 2026/2027 academic year. These eligibility rules will come into effect when the application opens in the academic year 2025/2026.

For questions, please contact your international coordinator. Find contact details on the page Contact programme .

You who are studying or have studied your bachelor at KTH

You can apply for exchange studies in your second year of bachelor's at KTH and onwards, but you cannot go on exchange studies until your third year. To be eligible for exchange studies, you, as a KTH student, must have met the following criteria when you submit your application for exchange studies:

• If you apply for exchange studies in year 2 (bachelor's level), you can not have more than one unfinished course up to and including your most recently completed semester.
• If you apply for exchange studies in year 3 (bachelor's level) - you can not have more than two unfinished courses up to and including your most recently completed semester.
• If you apply for exchange studies in year 4 (1^st year of your master's level) - you can not have more than three unfinished courses up to and including the most recently completed semester.

You who only study a master's programme at KTH

Suppose you are studying a master's programme at KTH but have taken your bachelor's degree at another university. In that case, you must have achieved the following in the academic year in which you submit your application for exchange studies:

• 30 credits completed in courses up to and including period 2
• 60 credits completed in courses up to and including period 4

If you have completed one of your two academic years at KTH but then took a study break, you can not have more than one unfinished course from year 1.

You who study with an individual study plan

If you study with an individual study plan, your eligibility will be calculated based on this study plan.

Grade requirements at certain universities

If a student has a grade point average (GPA) that is lower than 3,0, it is not only difficult to manage the studies in time during the exchange period, there may also be a risk that the student will not get admitted to the partner university. KTH therefore advises students to have a minimum of 3,0 at the moment of application.

Some exchange universities are distinctly elite universities where the pace of study is high, and to be successful with the studies at these universities, it is required that the applying student has good grades.

To be able to apply as an exchange student to these universities, KTH requires a minimum average grade of at least 4.0 unless otherwise stated at the exchange university on KTH’s website . This grade point average is based strictly on academic results and, therefore, without additional points from THS's reception activities of 0.2. Some universities have their own stated minimum average grades for exchange student applicants.

Selection

There are a limited number of spots at each exchange university. If the number of applicants to a specific university exceeds the number of spots, a selection is made based on the student's grade point average. The grade point average is based on the credit giving course components completed in Ladok on the last day of application and possible participation in the reception of incoming exchange and master students. 

Calculate your GPA

We calculate a weighted grade point average for all students applying for exchange studies, and we rank the students according to this value. The formula used is as follows:

Total (Grades x (number of compulsory credits))/[Total (number of compulsory credits)]

In order to be able to compare the grade scale (A-F) with the previous system (3-5), the letter grades are translated to figures according to the following model:

• A = 5
• B = 4,5
• C = 4
• D = 3,5
• E = 3
• F = 0

Uncompleted courses are equated with the grade F=0. Keep in mind that uncompleted courses reduce the grade point average a lot because these courses are also included in the calculation of the average point.

Extra credits

International activities within KTH give 0.2 points extra to the GPA. International activities mean that you have actively participated in the Student Union's (THS) activities for the reception of incoming exchange and master's students. This applies to activities connected with the central student union and/or the sections. THS issues a certificate of participation, which you must attach to your application. The certificate is valid for two years after you have completed your activities. The supplement of 0.2 cannot be included in the GPA required at certain universities. You can find more information on how to get involved at THS or your section.

Nomination value

The so called nomination value on each exchange university on KTH’s website  is the GPA of the student getting the last place at a university.

Place allocation and lottery

The applicant with the highest merit rating/GPA is the first to be awarded the first choice. The places are then allocated in descending order. When allocating places, it is primarily semester places that are allocated. Secondly, full-year places are allocated, but only if there still are places left at the end of the allocation meeting. If two (or more) students end up with the same average grade and compete for the same place, the exchange place is distributed by drawing lots.

Rules for selection

Study qualifications

• Study qualifications are based on the courses the student takes within their program up to, and including, study period 1 the academic year the student submits an application for exchange studies. No courses that run over both study periods 1 and 2 of the current semester may be included.
• Exception: you who have been admitted to a master's programme at KTH and have not studied your undergraduate programme at KTH according to search group 2 (see below) and must have obtained 30 ECTS at KTH the academic year you submit an application for exchange studies, including study period 2. 

Which courses are included?

• For departure in year 3, 4 and 5, only the compulsory courses are included. If the study plan in the previous year comprises less than 30 credits of compulsory courses per semester, elective courses of up to 30 credits are included.
• The final reported courses that only give the grade "Pass" are not included in the calculation of the GPA, but are included in the eligibility assessment.
• Uncompleted courses that run over several years may not be included in the calculation of the average grade.

Partial grade of “pass”

• If a partial grade of “pass” is given for a non-completed course at KTH, the grade is counted as a 3. If a grade is assigned in a partial course, “partial grade X points” is stated.

Including credits

• When including credits from other universities, grades from a whole finalized course at these universities are only counted if studies have been undertaken in a Bachelor or Master of Science in Engineering programme in Sweden. In all other cases the grades are not included, grade point average will be based on studies at KTH only.

Master of Science in Engineering/Education Degree Programme

• In the Master of Science in Engineering/Education Degree Programme, students study compulsory courses at the Stockholm University Teacher Education Department. This department awards the grades Pass and Pass with Distinction. These grades are awarded the figures Pass = 3,5 and Pass with Distinction = 4,5.

Selection criteria for architecture students

It is mandatory for architecture students that applies for exchange studies to submit a portfolio.The quality of the portfolio is evaluated by a jury that consist of the Programme Directors and a team of teachers at the School of Architecture. By reviewing the portfolio, the jury assesses whether the applicant can be considered to be nominated for an exchange spot.

The portfolios are divided between the members of the jury. Three separate jury members assess each portfolio. After the assessment, each portfolio is assigned a merit value. The scale for the merit value goes from one to six where one is the lowest and six is the highest value. A portfolio can receive a maximum of 6 points from each jury member and a total of maximum 18 points. The merit value is generated through a weighted assessment of how well the portfolio meets the objectives of the Architecture programme syllabus.

The exchange spots are distributed to the applicants based on the following principle: Applicants with the highest merit value on their portfolio are the first to be awarded a spot and then the places are awarded in a descending order where the portfolio with the lowest merit value will be the last to receive a spot. If two (or more) portfolios has received the same merit value and they compete for the same place, the exchange place is distributed by drawing lots.

Search groups

In order to achieve a fair allocation of exchange spots to all KTH students, applicants will be divided into three search groups. Spots at the exchange universities will be assigned in a percentage scale depending on the number of applicants in the groups 1 and 2 and will be done region by region.

Search group 1

Student who is studying a whole educational programme at KTH. This includes students on bachelor programmes, “högskoleingenjör”-programmes and 5-year degree programmes. Student currently in a master programme who completed the bachelor degree at KTH is also included in search group 1.

Search group 2

Student on a 2-year master programme at KTH who got the bachelor degree at another university than KTH, in Sweden as well as other universities abroad.

Search group 3

Student having already been nominated and carried out exchange studies within the frame of their educational programme at KTH and applies again, or a student who has been nominated and declined the exchange allocation. These students can only be allocated a spot after the allocation to search groups 1 and 2.