Freemover

• Not all universities accept freemovers.
• You should be prepared to invest significant time and effort in preparing your stay abroad, as you are responsible for contacting the host university, managing the application process, and obtaining all relevant information and materials without assistance from AU.
• In most cases, you must pay full tuition fees and living costs yourself. In contrast, no tuition fees are paid when going on exchange through AU agreements.
• You are not eligible for an Erasmus+ grant, even if applying to a European university, and at most faculties you will also not be eligible for faculty grant.
• It may be a good idea to check AU’s exchange agreements in MoveON to see if one of those options suits you instead. It is both easier and often cheaper than arranging the stay yourself.

Since you are responsible for the entire application process and communication with the host university, you should start well in advance, ideally at least a year in advance. In some cases, the host university's application deadline may fall before the application deadline for exchange via AU.  You must ensure that you meet the admission requirements (e.g. language requirements) and submit your application on time.

When choosing your host university, you should consider criteria such as geography, academic quality, cost, and which courses can be transferred to your study programme at AU.

Please note that AU cannot assist with matters at the host university; responsibility for communication and follow-up lies with you, the student.

Contact the host university and/or check its website for information on deadlines, application procedures, fees, admission criteria, housing options, and course offerings. Find out how much you need to pay in tuition fees. AU cannot assist with support or contact with the university.

You must ensure that the host university is aware that you are applying as a freemover, not as an exchange student through an AU agreement, or as a full-degree student.

As a freemover, you must apply for pre-approval and final credit transfer of courses. This is because the courses you take abroad must count as part of your study programme at AU.

Read more about pre-approval and credit transfer on your student portal.

When applying as a freemover to a university that AU does not have an exchange agreement with, AU cannot guarantee the academic quality, course level, or relevance of the programmes offered.

Many universities and private agents recruiting students for semester stays are skilled at marketing their programmes. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that the academic content, level, and scope of the courses meet AU’s requirements and that credit transfer is possible after the stay. There may be offers marketed by private agents that cannot be academically approved by AU.

Applying for pre-approval for a freemover stay may therefore involve greater uncertainty compared to exchange stays within AU’s approved exchange agreements, where academic level, credit transfer, and quality are, as far as possible, already assured by AU.

You can submit only one pre-approval application at a time. It is therefore not possible to apply simultaneously for approval for both an AU exchange agreement and a freemover stay.

Through the Danish state scholarship scheme (udlandsstipendiet), students eligible for Danish SU may receive financial support to cover tuition fees abroad when going as freemovers.

Please note that the grant often only covers part of the costs, and as a freemover you may need to pay a significant portion yourself. For example, a freemover stay in the USA may cost around DKK 45,000 per semester in tuition fees, while the scholarship typically amounts to approximately DKK 25,000 per semester. This means that you may need to pay around DKK 20,000 yourself. The scholarship rates vary depending on the programme or subject studied abroad. 

Read more about the grant under the “Udlandsstipendiet” tab in the menu.