Unit choices and learning agreement
Credits/ECTS
All transcripts produced will show European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits.
The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) was established to provide recognition for academic study undertaken at another higher education institution. ECTS provides a way of measuring and comparing studies and transferring credits gained from one institution to another.
Your home institution should guarantee full academic recognition for the studies you have undertaken abroad. The period spent abroad replaces a comparable period of study at your home institution.
Learning agreement
Your learning agreement shows the units that you are studying at Southampton Solent University and is your contract with us. You need to complete a learning agreement in order to have curriculum entered against your student record and therefore get academic recognition for your studies.
Please note that we cannot guarantee that you will be able to study your first choice of units as they may not be available or may be over- or under-subscribed. In addition, there may be limited places on units which use specialist equipment or facilities.
You will be able to finalise your learning agreement after you have arrived at Southampton Solent University with the academic member of staff responsible for looking after Study Abroad students in your subject area.
Download the learning agreement|
Choosing units
As a study abroad student, you will have the opportunity to integrate fully with student life at Southampton Solent University. This means that you will attend the same lectures and seminars and be assessed on the same base as other students.
When you arrive at Southampton Solent University, you will meet with your academic tutor who will help you to design your own programme of study (subject to course unit availability and timetabling) and to select units that are appropriate to your studies that meet requirements at your home university.
All study abroad students are expected to complete a normal academic workload of 60 CATS/30 ECTS/15 US Credits (1 Period) or 120 CATS/60 ECTS/30 US Credits (full year of study). Please remember that you may only choose units from within the study area of your Degree programme and that some units may have prerequisites.
The majority of units at Southampton Solent University are taught over the course of the year and not on a period basis. The Faculty of the Creative Industries and Society (FCIS) offers a portfolio of units on a semesterised basis. Please note it is not possible to gain credit for completing one half of a year-long unit.
The process for choosing units varies depending upon which faculty you wish to apply to:
Faculty of the Creative Industries and Society (FCIS) |(semesterized courses available)
Faculty of Business, Sport & Enterprise (Full Year Applicants Only)| (full-year applicants only)
Maritime and Technology Faculty| (MarTec) |(full-year applicants onlly)
Changing units
If you change any of the units listed on your finalised learning agreement you will need to get these approved by your academic co-ordinator and your home university.
If you change your units or decide to stop studying a unit, you MUST inform your lecturer, your Faculty Exchange Co-ordinator and the Academic Partnerships Office. Failure to advise us of any changes will mean that your student record is not updated and will then delay your results and transcript at the end of the year.
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