Exchange Year 2025-2026
The OBW Student Exchange program is open to both Bachelor and Master students at all 9 Baden-Württemberg universities. It offers qualified and eligible students the opportunity to study at one of the participating universities in Ontario.
While the standard, recommended period of study for Baden-Württemberg students in Ontario is two terms (8 months, September-April), a small number of students can be nominated to participate in the program for one term only. Such nominations are subject to numerical constraints and are at the discretion of each Baden-Württemberg university. If you are interested in studying in Ontario for just one term, please enquire with your home university’s international office whether your application to be nominated on such terms can be considered.
Students in the program should have the objective of integrating as fully as possible — academically and socially — into Canadian student life. This of course involves some challenges, and the role of the OBW office and of the offices at the universities in Ontario with which we work is to provide the preparation and support that students will need to help them transition into life as a student in Canada. This includes:
- expert advising on academic and non-academic matters throughout the period before departure and while on exchange; and
- regular liaison between the between the OBW office and the home university’s and host university’s international offices.
OBW’s role in the Exchange Program is to help with your preparation and to assist you in your efforts to make your time overseas successful, productive, and enjoyable. It is definitely not to attempt to run your life while you are on exchange. While participation in the program requires a degree of self-reliance on the part of students, it is very important to us that all students know that we and our partner universities’ international offices in Ontario are there and willing to support our exchange students when advice or help is needed.
Exchange students:
- are exempted from paying tuition fees at their host university (it is, however, normal for host universities to charge all students certain incidental administrative and activities fees – the amounts vary from university to university);
- are responsible for their expenses in Canada, including travel, room and board, health and accident insurance, non-tuition fees as assessed by their host university, and other living expenses;
- are required to satisfy the requirements for health and accident insurance as determined by their host university (at most Ontario universities this means the purchase of the Universities Health Insurance Plan;
- are responsible for all aspects — academic, legal, medical, etc. — of their participation in the program; and
- are responsible for arranging any transfer of academic credits to their home university.
Application
Students must apply to their home university to be nominated, following that institution’s selection process and criteria, to the OBW program. Each Baden-Württemberg university sets its own deadline for the receipt of applications and manages its own selection process, so please check with the exchange/international office of your home university for details.
Please use the following OBW application materials in addition to any forms required by your home university: