Study abroad - Outgoing

We are glad that you are considering a semester at a foreign university! At LMU Munich School of Management you will find the best conditions for a successful stay abroad.

From the initial idea to an integrated semester abroad

Great that you are considering a semester at a foreign university! At LMU Munich School of Management you will find the best conditions to successfully realize a stay abroad: Numerous partner universities, support in planning and realization as well as internationally compatible examination regulations that allow the integration of a semester abroad by way of credit transfer.

In addition to the straightforward organization, an exchange stay at one of our partner universities has the particular advantage that no tuition fees are charged and further financial support is available.

Ideally, a stay abroad should take place in the 5th semester of the Bachelor's degree or in the 3rd semester of the Master's degree. The lead time is between 6 and 12 months.

Five steps to a successful semester abroad

It is very important that you are clear about the different options for organizing a semester abroad, because different contacts/application formalities/deadlines may apply depending on how the semester abroad is organized.

Basically, there are three different ways to organize a study abroad:

  • You are applying for one of the approximately 260 exchange places of LMU Munich School of Management. We have European partner universities (this is usually automatically backed by "Erasmus") and non-European partner universities (this is automatically backed by a type of contract called "LMU Exchange"). Your contact is the IRC (our International Office at faculty level). Relevant for the application to our partner universities is only the information on the SOM websites. The application is done directly at the IRC, regardless of whether the target universities are European or non-European. For information on how and when to apply, please refer to the application instructions in step 3.
  • You make use of LMU's contacts and apply for one of the inter-faculty exchange places at LMU's partner universities. Some of these are also open to SOM students. The contact for an application for those places is the central International Office at university level and only the information provided by the International Office of LMU is relevant.
  • If you have another target university in mind, you can organize your stay abroad yourself, independently of cooperations. In this case, you will have to find out for yourself whether your desired university accepts guest students, if there are tuition fees and which documents may be necessary for the application, etc. Initial clues can be found, for example, by researching on the Internet, visiting the information desk of LMU's International Office, or contacting the cultural institutes of the respective countries. Please make sure that your target university is recognized in Germany (Anabin).You can then apply directly to the university of your choice. The IRC will be happy to assist you with the academic integration.
You are welcome to make use of the different possibilities in parallel and apply e.g. to both SOM and LMU to increase your chances of obtaining an exchange place. However, if there are faculty-specific exchange places at a university, there are no additional cross-faculty places available to you at that university.

Even if there is a cooperation with a university, this unfortunately does not automatically mean that we also have exchange places available every year. How many exchange places on Bachelor and/or Master level are available in an academic year (WS + SoSe) can be found in the current lists of exchange places in Europe (PDF, 281 KB) bzw. zu den non european exchange places (PDF, 159 KB). The information wil be updated towards the end of a calendar year for the upcoming academic year and also includes information on the languages of instruction.

Further information, e.g. on the academic calendar and courses offered, can be found on the websites of the partner universities linked here.

Applications for the SOM exchange places are possible once a year; the application deadline is always towards the beginning/middle of January. The application then relates to a stay that begins the following fall at the earliest.

First and foremost, all Bachelor students of LMU Munich School of Management in their 3rd semester who have already acquired at least 45 ECTS (GOP included) in the first two semesters as well as Master students in their 1st smester can apply. Unfortunately, other applications can only be considered on a secondary basis. Academic integrity is a prerequisite.

Your application may refer to a maximum of four of the partner universities of the Faculty of Business Administration, independent of whether they are European or non-European partners. Please indicate which partner university has which priority for you.

What do I need for my application?

  • Current transcript
  • Curriculum vitae in the language of instruction of the target university
  • Short statement of reasons for the application in the language of instruction of the target university (letter of motivation). You are welcome to focus on your first priority.
  • Language certificate(s) for the language(s) of instruction of your target university(ies); for French, Italian and Spanish min. Level B1, for English min. Level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

    For the language(s) of instruction of your target universities as well as any special requirements, please refer to the listings of exchange places:
    European cooperations (PDF, 281 KB) / Non european cooperations (PDF, 159 KB)
    If you are applying to a university whith two or more languages of instruction, proof of one of the languages will suffice if you wish to study in one language only.

    Please refer to theapplication information sheet (PDF, 521 KB) for details of which language certificates are acceptable.

    If you are applying to target universities in different language areas, then all foreign language documents are required separately for each language.

For all details on the application process at LMU Munich School of Management, please refer to the Application Information Sheet (PDF, 521 KB).

Please do not forget to finally fill in the applicant data sheet (XLS, 38 KB) (incl. your priorities) and send it to the IRC.

After you have accepted the exchange place offered to you, you will receive an invitation to an information meeting at which we will discuss the next steps together (enrollment at the partner university, planning the course selection for the semester abroad, etc.). Your host university, the IRC and the International Office of the LMU will be happy to support you with information on the organization of your stay abroad, but ultimately your own initiative is also and especially required.

The colleagues of LMU's International Office coordinate all processes related to the ERASMUS scholarships, while we at SOM help you with academic questions.

A semester abroad usually implies that you have to find your own, individual path to graduation. Here, too, the IRC, in cooperation with the ISC, will support you in the best possible way. For initial information, please refer to the study abroad recommendations in the Bachelor (PDF, 250 KB)'s program or the study abroad recommendations in the Master (PDF, 250 KB)'s program.

MMT students should seek advice from their academic advisor directly.

Credit transfer is based on so-called Learning Agreements. The preparation of a learning agreement is obligatory for all outgoings. Without a learning agreement, credit transfer cannot be guaranteed.

A Learning Agreement (LA) is a contract completed at the beginning of your stay abroad that specifies which courses you will take abroad and which LMU modules can be substituted by these courses. The LA thus provides the maximum frame for credit transfer.

For details on conluding a LA please refer to the informations on credit transfer.

You have to complete your credit transfer by the end of the semester after your semester abroad at the latest.

It is very important that you are clear about the different options for organizing a semester abroad, because different contacts/application formalities/deadlines may apply depending on how the semester abroad is organized.

Basically, there are three different ways to organize a study abroad:

  • You are applying for one of the approximately 260 exchange places of LMU Munich School of Management. We have European partner universities (this is usually automatically backed by "Erasmus") and non-European partner universities (this is automatically backed by a type of contract called "LMU Exchange"). Your contact is the IRC (our International Office at faculty level). Relevant for the application to our partner universities is only the information on the SOM websites. The application is done directly at the IRC, regardless of whether the target universities are European or non-European. For information on how and when to apply, please refer to the application instructions in step 3.
  • You make use of LMU's contacts and apply for one of the inter-faculty exchange places at LMU's partner universities. Some of these are also open to SOM students. The contact for an application for those places is the central International Office at university level and only the information provided by the International Office of LMU is relevant.
  • If you have another target university in mind, you can organize your stay abroad yourself, independently of cooperations. In this case, you will have to find out for yourself whether your desired university accepts guest students, if there are tuition fees and which documents may be necessary for the application, etc. Initial clues can be found, for example, by researching on the Internet, visiting the information desk of LMU's International Office, or contacting the cultural institutes of the respective countries. Please make sure that your target university is recognized in Germany (Anabin).You can then apply directly to the university of your choice. The IRC will be happy to assist you with the academic integration.
You are welcome to make use of the different possibilities in parallel and apply e.g. to both SOM and LMU to increase your chances of obtaining an exchange place. However, if there are faculty-specific exchange places at a university, there are no additional cross-faculty places available to you at that university.

Answers to other frequently asked questions about the semester abroad and the application process can be found in our FAQ.

Impressions from our partner universities

University of New South Wales - Australian Business School

Prague University of Economics and Business - Main Campus

Universita degli Studi di Torino - Facolta di Economia

Beijing Normal University - Haidian Campus

Hanken University - Campus Vasa

© Johan Hagström

Forida State University - Deviney Hall

© FSU

Warwick University - The Piazza

EWHA Womens University - Campus in Winter

KU Leuven - Library

Mahidol University - Prince Mahidol Hall

Lund University - Atrium

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos - Campus Madrid

Georgia State University - Marching Band

EM Lyon - Campus Ecully

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam - Plaza

Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria - Campus Valparaiso

Sophia University - Main Gate

National University of Ireland, Galway - The Quadrangle

Metropolitan State University Denver - Auraria Campus

Umea University - Main Campus

Universita di Bologna - Campus Forli