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You are expected to sit your in-person exams in Nottingham. However, if you believe you may require a written exam to be invigilated in-person overseas for the exam period, please check that your school grants permission. 

If permission is granted, please proceed with your application. 

The overseas application form for the January 2025 exam period will be open between 21 October - 10 November 2024.

Overseas application form for January 2025 exam period

Please review the information on this webpage carefully, to understand the fees and considerations required before submitting your application. 

 

Information for students  

Can I take my exams in another country?       

              

Arrangements for exams to be taken overseas are only made for students who: 

  • Is on a course which allows exams to be taken overseas or; 

  • Are normally resident overseas and have external resits; 

  • Have been given permission by the Global Opportunities Team under mobility arrangements; 

  • Must be overseas during the exam period as a requirement of their course; or 

  • Have other exceptional circumstances approved on an individual case basis. 

  • Where the candidate is not an overseas resident, arrangements will not be made unless the circumstances and reasons have been discussed with the Global Opportunities Team, Student Services or the school/department. 

Please note that overseas exam arrangements will not be made for students who are on holiday or temporarily overseas during the published examination periods.  

Exams must take place simultaneously with the corresponding exam in Nottingham.

Dates for this academic year are published on the exam webpages. 

You can find the exam dates for future years on the key dates webpage. 

 

How much does it cost to take exams overseas?   

                 

There are potentially 3 fees that you will be asked to pay: 

  1. University resit fee - undergraduate £80.00/postgraduate £130.00 (if you are taking first sits only, this charge does not apply) 

  1. Overseas admin fee - £150.00 per exam period, no matter how many individual exams are taken in that session (this charge applies to re-sits and first sits) 

  1. Local charges and/or costs – these are made directly to the administering overseas institution making the local exam arrangements. Please note UNNC and UNM may also have local charges.  

Once the arrangements have been made by Exams Ops and the invoice is showing, you will be required to pay the full amount even if you do not continue with the overseas reassessment exam. 
 
Fees will be raised after each exam period: 

  • Autumn semester exams - fees will be raised in February 

  • Spring semester exams - fees will be raised in July 

  • August reassessment exams - fees will be raised in October to enable progressing students to register 

  • Any local charges must be paid directly to your chosen institution.
 
 

Do I have to apply for every exam period?                                   

Yes, you must apply online, and have your application accepted for each exam period that you want to sit overseas. 

Completing an application form only entitles you to apply for the next scheduled exam period.

Do not wait until you receive official notification via the Blue Castle or an official letter from the university before applying to sit overseas. 

As soon as your school informs you of your results you must start making the arrangements.

 

Can I take all of my modules at my chosen overseas institution/British council?                          

No, unfortunately there are some exams that you will not be permitted to take overseas. 

Refer to the list of approved overseas institutions below. If there are exceptional circumstances affecting a student, these may be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

If you cannot progress to the next stage of your degree or complete your award without being reassessed, you will be informed via the assessment channel. 

You will receive a letter from Student Services detailing the requirements, the form of reassessment, and the costs involved. 

List of approved overseas institutions

 
 

What happens after I have submitted my application?                                             

The Exams Ops team will contact your school/department to confirm that you have sought permission to take your exams overseas. If you do not have permission, please be aware that your application may be refused. 

You will then receive an email notification confirming whether your application has been approved/refused. If approved, the Exams Ops team will liaise with your school/department and your chosen overseas institution to make the arrangements for your exam(s). 

 

When will my timetable be published?                                                                  

The UK date and time of your exams will be published on the exam timetable personal exam timetable. This will be mid-December for Autumn semester exams, mid-April for Spring semester exams and beginning of August for the August reassessment exams.

Your individual timetable will then be amended to reflect the overseas dates and times of your exams after the UK dates/times are published, the Exam Ops team will send you a copy of your overseas exams by email.

 
 

What should I do next?                                                                                                                                                       

Before the start of the exam period, check your personal exam timetable via SharePoint to ensure that your chosen institution is showing as the location for your exams. Please also ensure that this time correlates with the communications that you have received from your overseas institution. 

Please note the following: 

  • You should not use the MyNottingham/MyCal apps to check your timetable. These applications may sync with the time zones set up on your devices, which may result in exam start times appearing incorrectly on your device. The Exams Ops will not be responsible for students reporting to their overseas exams at the incorrect time due to issues with set up of time zone/sync on your device. If you are unsure of your exam times, contact the Exams Office 

  • It is your responsibility, before your first exam, to contact your chosen institution to confirm all final arrangements and pay any local costs 

  • It is your responsibility to take your University ID card with you to your exams.

 

 

Will I take my exams in my chosen country at the same time as those taken in the UK?                                   

All exams should be taken simultaneously with those in Nottingham. 

Where this is not possible, due to public holidays or closing times of your chosen institution, the Exams Ops will liaise with your school. 

Please note that it may not be possible to arrange an alternative local time and date. If you do not have this permission from your school/department, you will be required to return to Nottingham to sit your exams.

 
 

Can I apply to take my exams overseas if I have alternative exam arrangements?                   

Yes, provided that you have been assessed by Disability Support Services and you have adjustments to your exams such as additional time or a separate room. However, it is your responsibility to check whether your overseas institution is able to facilitate your requirements. 

Please also contact the Exams Office as early as possible, particularly if you require a support worker, the use of a PC to type your exams or any other special equipment.  

Whilst every effort will be made to ensure that reasonable exam adjustments will be accommodated overseas, they cannot be guaranteed.

 

 

What if I need to cancel my overseas application?                                                           

You can cancel an application by emailing the Exams Office. 

Please note, if you do not inform the Exams Office by the deadline (Tuesday 30th July 2024), you will be required to pay the full overseas examination fee of £150. You may also be charged local fees by your chosen institution. 

Please note that a cancellation at the University of Nottingham doesn't mean a cancellation at your chosen institution so you must ensure that you tell them in case you are charged a local fee. 

 
 

I am an incoming exchange student - can I take my exams overseas?                                                                                                          

No, incoming exchange students studying in Nottingham are expected to sit the normal assessment relating to the courses to which they are signed up for. 

Only in exceptional circumstances may exchange students apply to the school/department to arrange an alternative form of assessment. Where this is not possible, the student must return to Nottingham to complete the assessment. 

Only where the start date of the home university semester is before the end of the Nottingham exam period may a student apply to take their exams overseas. 

Schools should not advise students that they may sit overseas at this stage – for incoming students this is only possible if the student has been given permission to sit overseas as part of an exchange agreement with their home institution. 

 

I am an international UK-based student and I want to take my exams in my home country. Can I do this and how?            

There are several steps to this process, and you will need to complete all of them. 

Step 1: check that you have permission 

You must have permission for every module/course you wish to take. Below is a spreadsheet with pre-approved modules/courses. If your course/module is not on the list, you must contact the administering school/department office for approval. If any of your exams cannot be taken overseas, or you have not received the correct permissions, your application could be refused, and you would have to take your exams in Nottingham.  

Spreadsheet for exams that can or cannot be taken overseas. 

Step 2: contact overseas institution 

Contact an approved overseas institution to ask if they are able to facilitate your exam(s). It is your responsibility to do this. If they need to contact the university please ask them to email the Exams Office. 

The Exams Office will only make contact with the overseas institutions after the application deadline has passed. 

If there is not an approved institution within a reasonable distance to you, please contact the Exams Ops as soon as possible. You may have to be prepared to travel at your own expense. 
 
Please note that some overseas institutions still have Covid-19 measures/restrictions in place. It is your responsibility to check what these are and comply with them.   

Step 3: apply online 

Applications for the August reassessment period will open in July.

 
 

I am a UK-based student spending time in UNM/UNNC. Can I take my assessments in the UK?                            

UK-based students spending time on a year abroad in UNM or UNNC who wish to take their assessments in the UK, must contact the Exams Office in UNM or UNNC to make the necessary arrangements. These arrangements are not made by the UK Exams Ops. 

Students participating in a University of Nottingham Inter-Campus exchange who must sit an examination for a module at a location different from where it was originally sat/scheduled must apply to sit “overseas” through the course’s original campus. 

For example, a UNUK-based student who has returned to the UK and needs to re-sit an exam for a course they were enrolled on at UNNC/UNM during an exchange must apply to sit “overseas” through UNNC/UNM – even though the UK may not be considered “overseas” to this student. Please note there are strict deadlines in place. 

UNNC Overseas examinations - apply to sit a UNNC exam at a different location. Please contact UNNC for application deadlines.  

UNM Overseas examinations - apply to sit a UNM exam at a different location. Please contact UNNC for application deadlines

 
 

 

Information for overseas institutions and British councils

Dates and timings 

University of Nottingham exam periods are January, May/June and August. You can find key dates on the exam timetable and key dates webpage. 

Full details of the dates and times for individual student exams will be sent to you by email after the exam timetable is published. The exam papers, stationery and any further instructions will be uploaded to a secure folder, which you will be granted access to approximately 1-2 weeks before the start of the exam session. Please confirm that you can access the secure site and are in receipt of exam papers. 

It is very important that the exam(s) take place simultaneously with the corresponding exam in Nottingham. We are not able to amend the exam dates or times. 

Fees 

Students should make initial contact with their chosen venue, and it is the student's responsibility to liaise with the overseas institution in relation to any local fees. The students should meet all local costs. Therefore, you will need to contact the student with details of your charges. 

Day of exam 

Students should show their student ID card (or photo ID) upon arrival at each examination they are due to take at your institution. 

Invigilation guidance will be provided with the exam materials, which will include information about conduct in exams but please note the following: 

  • Candidates are not permitted to keep question papers 

  • Candidates are not allowed to take any papers, books or loose notes into the examination room unless otherwise stated on the rubric. They are also only allowed the amount of time specified on the paper (unless advised in writing by the Exams Office) 

 

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