MHC UK Exchanges

Mount Holyoke College has reciprocal exchange agreements with the following UK universities:

Term Dates/Periods of Study

• Essex follows a traditional British academic calendar, with three terms of approximately ten weeks each (early October to mid-December, mid-January to late March, and mid-April to late June). Students choosing Essex or York must choose to study abroad either for an entire academic year (3 terms) or the spring semester (spring and summer terms).

• Kent,  Sussex, and York follow a semester system (mid September to mid-December with exams in January, though alternative assessments are offered for exchange and study abroad students, late January to late May/early June).

• Royal Holloway follows a trimester system, but their autumn term runs 12+ weeks rather than 10 and therefore, fall study abroad, spring study abroad (for spring and summer terms) and academic year are permitted. 

Housing

• Student accommodation--as housing is called in the UK--is usually prioritized for exchange students, provided you apply before the deadline. You have two options:

  • Self-catering accommodation: You’ll have the use of a shared kitchen so you can cook your own meals

  • Catered accommodation: Most meals are included in the cost of the accommodation at a student dining hall. Catered Halls have small kitchenettes so you can prepare hot drinks and snacks.

• The process and deadline for applying for accommodation will be sent by the UK university after acceptance.  UK students mostly live in single rooms with shared bathrooms/kitchen facilities.

Exchange Requirements

• Minimum GPA of 3.0

• Must have completed sophomore year (or at least three semesters, for spring entrants) prior to enrolling at Essex

• Must be eligible for need-based financial aid at Mount Holyoke

Academics

• You will enroll directly into courses offered by the UK university to its degree-seeking students

• Exchange students may generally register for courses, referred to "modules" in any combination of subjects, provided they have sufficient background and the courses are "open to exchange/visiting students"

• You can search the module catalogues here: Essex, Kent, Royal Holloway, Sussex, York. Search by term/timeframe you will be there. You may need search the current year's catalogue as the next year's module catalogue is not usually published until the summer.

• Some modules are more popular than others and there is no guarantee that you’ll be able to get all the modules you request. (Individual academic departments at the UK exchange university make the final decision.)

• British undergraduate degrees are three years with course levels listed at 1, 2, 3 (or sometimes 4, 5, 6) which should be considered intro, intermediate, upper level.

• A full course load for an academic year is 120 credits for the year, 60 credits for the semester (which transfers as 32/16 MHC credits)

• Assessment is usually by a combination of coursework and examination, the exact ratio depending on the subject you take, and your period of study. You can view the method of assessment for particular modules via the university's module catalogue.

• Grading in the UK is different than in the US. See the chart below for the conversion between UK and US grades. A grade of C- or better is required for transfer toward your Mount Holyoke degree. UK grades from 0-39% are considered failing.