The University of Birmingham has signed exchange agreements with specific institutions of higher education throughout Europe and you are only eligible to study at Birmingham as an Erasmus student if you are a student at one of these partner institutions.
The exchanges have been set up for specific number of students who will initially be selected by the home institution. You will usually have to go through a selection process at your home university before submitting an application to the University of Birmingham.
The exchanges have also been set up in specific academic subject areas and you will only be allowed to participate in the exchange if you are studying the relevant subject.
If you require any further information please contact the Study Abroad and Exchange Office at studyabroad@bham.ac.uk
Birmingham Study Abroad ProgrammeWelcome to Birmingham! The following information will help guide you through your period of studies in the Department of Political Science and International Studies, usually referred to as ‘POLSIS’.
The POLSIS Student Handbook
The First Year Student Handbook is a general guide to studying in POLSIS, designed for First Year students embarking on a full degree course here. As a result, some of the information contained in it will not be directly relevant to ERASMUS / International Exchange students. However, it will give you an idea of how we expect students to approach their work and will help you become familiar with the British university system, which may be different in a number of ways to what you are used to. You should pay particular attention to the section introducing the POLSIS staff and how to contact them, the section explaining how work is assessed, and the advice on how we expect essays to be written.
Registration Documents
A registration form and plagiarism form will be enclosed in your welcome pack. These forms must be completed in full and returned to Karen Gouldbourn, Student Records Officer, Departmental Reception Office (Room 204, ERI Building).
Module Availability
You will be provided with a number of modules available during your time at the University. You will also be able to choose modules across the University in accordance with your home institutions regulations. We cannot guarantee any one module will be available during your time at the University. For students attending for the Autumn Term only they must choose modules that have a 10 credit value in the first term.
The number of modules you take should be governed by your home institutions instructions.
Web CT
The department of Political Science and International Studies will be conducting all module activity through WebCT. Information regarding each module you choose can be found on the relevant Section Tab found on your WebCT home page. Log on to the Module Section Tab and you will be able to register for a particular class and also print out your reading list. Further information will be given to you at the introductory meeting. The Administrative support team will be available to help you with your registration following this meeting.
Timetables and Course Information
You should consult the timetables to find out when the lectures and classes are held and to ensure that you have no clashes between different courses you have chosen. You will also find a list of course descriptions for the second and third undergraduate years which will help you to work out your programme of study. Please note Lectures begin during the first week of term. Classes/Seminars commence from the second week of term.
Masters Programmes
Modules on masters programmes can only be chosen after consultation with Julie Gilson (POLSIS ERASMUS Coordinator), Room 211, 2nd floor, ERI Building who will ensure you have undertaken equivalent modules to a British undergraduate degree. Information regarding masters modules can be found on our web page: http://www.bham.ac.uk/POLSIS or contact Vicki Allen-Ahmed (0121 414 5921). Again these may be restricted depending on your academic experience and credit value for the module.
What To Do When You Arrive in the University
If you have not done so already, in order to regularise your position and get all the necessary documents (library and guild card) for life at the university, you should go to the International Office, which is located in the Aston Web building, the large semicircular redbrick building behind the clocktower. Hilary Steer is the person you should contact there. It is recommended you make use of the induction courses organised by the International Office for incoming exchange students. The International Office also has a useful website, at http://www.ao.bham.ac.uk/dalia/international.htm
As far as the POLSIS department is concerned, it is important that you make an initial contact with the department and ensure you have understood how to register for your courses. Meetings are arranged (which you may already have attended) so that you can get to know the members of staff responsible for Erasmus/Year Abroad exchange students.
Your main points of contact are:
Suzy Ritchie-Kennedy, (Departmental Manager) ERI Room 205 0121 414 6526
Karen Gouldbourn, ERASMUS Secretary (POLSIS Reception Office) Room 204 0121 414 3910
Melanie Humphreys (Exchanges Assistant) – International Office (414 7696) Aston Webb Building m.humphreys@bham.ac.uk
Suzy Ritchie-Kennedy can be contacted on 0121 414 6526 s.kennedy@bham.ac.uk and can be located in the Administrative Office (room 206). If you have any administrative problems or questions she will be happy to help.
Karen Gouldbourn (k.d.gouldbourn@bham.ac.uk ) 0121 414 3910 can be contacted through the Departmental Reception Office. You should keep Karen Gouldbourn informed at all times of any changes that you make to your chosen courses, to enable accurate transcript information to be passed to the International Office.
Dr Julie Gilson (ERASMUS Co-ordinator) Room 211 ERI, 0121 414 3305
Dr Julie Gilson: Is the member of academic staff responsible for exchange students, and should be consulted about all questions relating to academic matters. She acts as academic tutor to exchange students, and should be consulted if you are facing any serious problems which affect your ability to study. Her office is Room 211, 2nd floor European Research Institute, and she can be reached by telephone 0121 414 3305 (j.a.gilson@bham.ac.uk ). She has office hours set aside specifically for receiving students: in the autumn term which will be posted on her departmental noticeboard.
If the department needs to contact you, this will normally take place through the department’s ‘mail boxes’ – this mail box located next to the Departmental Undergraduate Reception Office Room 204, where messages and post for students are placed. You should identify your ‘mail box’ by the first letter of your surname/family name. Please check your post regularly (ie every week) since important information is relayed to students in this way. The department of POLSIS will also contact you directly through your University B’ham email address. This should be kept clear and checked regularly. Messages will also be posted on WebCT. Students should check their Section Tabs for any announcements made regarding teaching – i.e. cancellation of classes.
Choosing Courses
You should study the course option booklets carefully, and go along to the first meetings of the courses you may like to follow during the first week of term. In these sessions, lecturers usually hand out course outlines and explain broadly what a course will consist of. You can also take the opportunity to ask questions about course content. This information will help you make your final choices. Bear in mind that it is not normally possible to change courses after the second week of term, so decisions should be taken as quickly as is reasonably possible.
If you are taking courses mainly in the POLSIS department, there should not normally be difficulties in registering for the courses you prefer, since as exchange students based in the department you will be able to follow the majority of 2nd and final year UNDERGRADUATE courses you may choose. It is important that you check the assessment method before you finally make your module choice. If you do not intend to take the examinations in May/June you will need to choose a module that has an assessment you can complete before leaving the University. For example, if you are only here for one term you will need a module that has an assessment in the first term so this can be used as a mark for the time you were here. The assessment for each module can be found in the Module choice booklet – it is not possible to change the assessment that has been assigned to the module. If you have any queries regarding this issue please contact Suzy Ritchie-Kennedy or Karen Gouldbourn.
If you are taking courses outside the POLSIS department, the procedure is similar: it is courteous to request permission to follow the course from the lecturer concerned. It is also a good idea to make contact with the department whose courses you are interested in and asking for advice and information about what is on offer. It is advisable to contact the departmental Erasmus coordinator in external departments and introduce yourself, leaving contact details in case they need to contact you.
The standard workload for students at the University of Birmingham is 120 credits per year (which is equivalent to 60 (ECTS) in most other European university systems – we British always have to be different…). Undergraduate courses are worth 20 credits, graduate courses 40 credits. You should bear this in mind when determining your programme of study.
