Exchange at Edinburgh College of Art

Edinburgh College of Art has exchange agreements with partners institutions across the globe.

The programme at a glance

You can apply for exchange at Edinburgh College of Art if you are currently enrolled in your first year (or above) of study at a partner institution which has an ECA exchange agreement with the University of Edinburgh AND your home institution has nominated you to study with us. We cannot accommodate students applying outside existing agreements.

It is possible to apply to study at ECA during Semester 1 or Semester 2, however, the specific semester you can spend here might depend on the exchange agreement we hold with your home university. 

You can check our exchange agreement list to see if we have an exchange link with your university. If we do, the next step is to contact the Study Abroad Adviser or International Office at your home institution to enquire whether exchange will be a possibility for you

What can I study?

If you are coming on ECA exchange, then you will take courses in one of the subject areas listed in our exchange agreement with your home institution. Please note that we cannot guarantee access to studio spaces and courses at application stage.

To apply, you must:

  • be nominated by your home university to study on an exchange agreement
  • have completed a minimum of one full year of studies at your home institution*
  • have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or over on a 4.0 scale OR equivalent (B average) OR ECTS ‘C’ at your home university
  • provide a strong personal statement
  • provide evidence of your English skills if English is not your first language (please see below for further information)
  • provide a portfolio (please see below for ECA portfolio guidance).

* Applicants to the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will be required to provide a transcript at the point of application demonstrating they have completed a minimum of one full year of study at their home institution. Where one full year has not yet been completed, study at a previous institution will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

An academic reference is not required for nominated exchange applicants. The Visiting Student Office reserves the right to request a reference after receiving an application if they require additional supporting information.


You may be required to provide us with evidence of your English language ability if you are not from a majority English speaking country, and:

  1. You will study with us on a Student Route visa or/and;
  2. You wish to take third or fourth year level courses outside the subject area of your exchange nomination.

The qualifications we accept meet both our minimum English language proficiency requirements and the minimum standards for Student route visas.

English language qualifications we accept and their expiration dates (calculated from the start date of the programme you are applying to study):

Must be no more than two years old

  • IELTS (Academic module) – overall 6.5 with 5.5 in each component
  • TOEFL iBT (including Special Home Edition) – 92 or above with 20 in each section (TOEFL 1-6 bands: 4.5 overall with 4.0 in each component)
  • Trinity ISE – ISE II (distinction all components) / ISE III (pass all components)
  • PTE Academic (Pearsons) – overall 62 with 54 in each component
  • Oxford ELLT (Global or Digital) – overall 8 with 6 in each component

Must be no more than three and a half years old

  • Cambridge CAE/CPE – 176 overall (162 component), grade A-C
  • Additional qualifications listed on our central English language requirements website

Visit the English language requirements website

If you wish to take third/fourth year (Level 10) courses in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences you will be required to demonstrate a slightly higher level of English language ability, as these courses require an advanced capability to express ideas and arguments clearly in writing.

Please contact the Visiting Student Office directly for further information about the relevant scores required to request enrolment in Level 10 courses.

Contact the Visiting Student Office via email: CAHSSvisitingstudents@ed.ac.uk

The above English language requirements may not apply if you are studying at an institution approved by the University of Edinburgh where English is the medium of teaching.

Approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries


Nominated ECA exchange students will not pay any tuition fees to the University of Edinburgh. 


Please find our portfolio guidance for Art and Design included below.


Portfolio requirements (176.37 KB / PDF)

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