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School of Geography

Study abroad with Queen Mary

Studying or travelling abroad during your degree is an enriching and exciting way to broaden your university and life experience 


Whether you decide to spend the summer, a semester or the entire year abroad, doing so will help you develop a global perspective by travelling as far afield as North America, Asia, Australasia, New Zealand and across Europe.

Current Queen Mary students looking to study overseas

Queen Mary has a range of opportunities for you to study abroad, and having an international experience enhances your employability, enriches your studies and broadens your horizons. You can choose to study abroad as part of your degree programme or take part in one of our cultural immersion programmes in the summer with one of our global partners.

To find out more and apply, please see the programme links listed below, or contact the School of Geography's International Study Officer, Dr Giuditta Trinci, in the first instanceFor general enquiries, please contact the Global Opportunities team

'With a Year Abroad' degrees

Did you know? Prospective students can choose to apply for a four-year version of all our degree programmes with a full year abroad. The four-year degrees have the same structure as the three-year versions, but the entire third year is spent abroad at one of our partner universities in Europe, North America, Australia, or Asia (specific partnerships for each programme may vary).

When you return to Queen Mary, you will have a new perspective on life for your final year and will be awarded the 'With a Year Abroad' variant in your degree title, which will help you stand out to employers. Current first- and second-year Queen Mary students can also apply to do a year abroad by doing an in-degree transfer.

Requirements: students must maintain excellent attendance record and achieve 60% average to do a year abroad. If a student fails to achieve a 60% average at the end of year 2, they will be transferred to a three-year degree.


International Exchange Programme

  • Join one of Queen Mary’s partner institutions and study abroad on exchange for either a semester in your second year as part of a three-year degree programme or for the entire academic year in your third year as part of a four-year ‘with a year abroad’ degree programme.
  • Current locations include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Full details can be found here.
  • This exchange counts towards your degree. 
  • You pay your fees to Queen Mary while abroad (with discounts if you spend the entire academic year abroad, varying depending on your fee status) but you do not pay tuition fees at the host university.
Everyone I met was super friendly, kind and open. I joined the excursion club, a surf team, the water polo team, and even an intra-mural soccer team, and I was able to visit places such as Las Vegas, Death Valley, Monterey, San Diego, San Francisco, Yosemite and Big Sur.
— Eleanor Dixon-Brandt, BA Geography (2017) – spent a year at the University of California, Santa Barbara

European Exchange Programme

  • Our European Exchange Programmes allow you to study at one of our partner universities in Europe.
  • Join one of Queen Mary’s partner institutions and study abroad on exchange for either a semester in your second year as part of a three-year degree programme or for the entire academic year in your third year as part of a four-year ‘with a year abroad’ degree programme..
  • Previous locations for geography students have included Roskilde University in Denmark and Stockholm University in Sweden, and Zurich University in Switzerland.
  • Where can I go? Fuller details here.
  • This placement counts towards your degree.
  • You pay your fees to Queen Mary while abroad (with discounts if you spend the entire academic year abroad, varying depending on your fee status) but you do not pay tuition fees at the host university.
The best thing was living with other Erasmus students. I’d highly recommend the study abroad experience to anyone as I think it will challenge you and make you a stronger person as a result!
— Lauren D'Costa, BSc Geography (2017) – spent a semester at Roskilde University, Denmark

Summer and Short Term Programmes

  • Make the most of your summer break and experience a different culture and society overseas.
  • This placement does not count towards your degree but is a valuable cultural experience.
Classes were fun and it was enjoyable being taught in Spanish and English and having the choice to talk to the lecturers in either language. I’ve been trying to practise Spanish since returning and will continue to do so.
— Tanzina Khatun, BA Geography (2017) – spent three weeks at the Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia

Incoming students spending a semester or year at Queen Mary

See the Global Opportunities web pages for further details.

To find out about choosing modules and how studying abroad works for your degree programme, contact the School of Geography's International Study Director, Dr Giuditta Trinci.

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