Changes to your studies

CHANGE OF COURSE

Whilst studying at university, you may come to the realisation that your course is not the right fit for you. If this is you, please don’t worry! You are not the only person who is feeling this way, and it can be better to look at changing your course if you are not enjoying rather than sticking it out.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CHANGE MY COURSE?

Students can change course whilst at university, however, this is not always automatically possible. It can often depend on what stage of the year it is, space on the course and if you meet the entry requirements.

In the first instance, we would recommend you reach out to your College and Admissions to see if it is possible to change. If the course you are wanting to change to belongs to a different College, you will also need to reach out to that College as well. You can find out which Colleges oversee which courses here.

If the College(s) agree to your change of course, you will need to complete a Change of Programme form on SID. Here is a guide to help you fill it out.

WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO START MY NEW COURSE?

If you decide to change course within the first 2 weeks of term, you will be able to do this straight away as long as there is space on the course and you meet the entry requirements.

If you decide to change course after the first 2 weeks of term, this may not be possible as you will have missed a lot of content for the new course and this could impact you being able to do the work if you are trying to catch up. In this instance, you would have to change at the start of the new academic year.

If the course you are wanting to change to is similar to your current course and you have already done the necessary core modules, you may be able to go straight into second year of the new course.

If the course you are wanting to change is very different to your current course, you will have to start first year of the new course.

WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING COURSE?

If you are going straight into second year of the new course, your financial situation will not change as you will still be studying for the same length of time.

If you are starting first year of the new course, your degree will be a year longer than you originally intended. If you are funded by Student Finance England, you are entitled to funding for the length of your course plus an additional year.

This means that you would use the additional year to cover the first year of your previous course, and still have funding to cover the whole of your new course.

If you have already used your additional year, please get in touch with us so we can look into your specific situation.

DO I NEED TO APPLY THROUGH UCAS?

If you decide to change course after the first 2 weeks of term, your College will not be able to make a decision on your request until early February as the UCAS deadline is 26th January.

We understand that this could be frustrating and stressful having to wait for the outcome. As a backup, you could consider applying via UCAS for the new course that you are wanting to study. You can do this by reregistering with UCAS.

The additional benefit going through UCAS is being able to also apply to other universities for this course.

SHOULD I INTERRUPT MY STUDIES WHILST WAITING TO CHANGE COURSE?

If you are really not enjoying your course, and/or you want to save money, then you could consider interrupting your studies. Interruption means that you would temporarily pause your studies and not have to pay tuition fees.

The amount tuition fee you are liable for depends on when you interrupt.

CHANGE OF UNIVERSITY

If you have realised that studying at Exeter is not right for you, don’t worry – you aren’t stuck here! It is possible to transfer, however, there are different options depending on the university you are wanting to move to.

HOW DO I TRANSFER TO ANOTHER UNIVERSITY?

In order to find out if you can transfer, you would need to contact the university you are interested in. Ask if they accept transfers, and if there is space on the course you want to study there. You will also need to check if you meet the entry requirements. The university will let you know if you need to formally apply through UCAS.

If you have studied enough similar content at Exeter, you may be able to transfer directly in the second or third year of a different course at the university you are interested in. You will need to check with the university to see if this is possible. If it is, you will need to put down second or third year as your point of entry on your UCAS application.

If you are wanting to transfer to a different university after the first few weeks of term, you will probably not be able to move until the beginning of next academic year.

If you are really not enjoying your course/being at Exeter or want to save money, you might want to withdraw your place. For more information about withdrawal, please click here.

If you want to keep your options open, you could interrupt your studies instead. This has the same financial implications as withdrawal but allows you to return to Exeter if you are unable to transfer to another university. For more information about interruption, please click here.

If you would rather stay at university until you transfer, you can continue studying at Exeter until the end of the academic year. This will, however, mean paying for the whole year’s tuition fees.

The decision to leave Exeter and move to another university can feel quite overwhelming, especially if you are not 100% sure what you want to do. If you would like to talk to an advisor about your situation, please feel free to get in touch with us.

CHANGING MODE OF ATTENDANCE

Most students start out on a full-time course and for the majority that is fine. However sometimes it can be helpful to look at changing to part time for the rest of the course or a temporary basis for one year. In the first instance we always recommend that you talk to your college Education Welfare Advisor to look at possibilities.

HOW DO FEES AND STUDENT FINANCE WORK?

Fees are charged pro-rata so for example if you are thinking of splitting the credits of one academic year over 2 years this would be charged at 50% each year. This applies if you self fund and pay fees directly to the University or if you rely on student finance.

The amount tuition fee you are liable for depends on when you interrupt:

  • The first 2 weeks of term is 0%
  • Any later in the first term is 25%
  • The second term is 50%
  • The third term is 100%

The table below shows the exact deadlines for 2021/22:

Even if you decide to interrupt in the first few weeks of term, Student Finance England will still consider this to be a year of entitlement. As mentioned above, this would be covered by the additional year that you are entitled to funding for.

If you have any other questions about changing course which are not covered in this guide, please feel free to email advice@exeterguild.com or submit an enquiry.