Student exchange and study-abroad programs provide students with the opportunity to experience a new country, culture, and customs, and see life from a different perspective. You’ll be able to participate in local activities, make lifelong friends with students from your host country as well as other students from all over the world. You’ll learn about the history, politics, and people, and be able to explore a country other than your own while learning a new language.
You’ll also be able to experience different and interesting methods of teaching and research in a completely new academic environment, which will enhance your degree and benefit your education while widening your connections in your field of study. It will also improve opportunities for employment in a world that is getting smaller and smaller due to technology and travel. Employers value graduates with international knowledge and experience and having spent 3-12 months or more studying abroad will be an asset to your CV.
“Student exchange and study-abroad programs are a unique lifetime experience that comes from challenging yourself to live in a foreign country and study a foreign language,” said Oz Nackar, Director for Student Exchange at Bar-Ilan University’s International School (pictured). “It’s a true chance to learn about yourself, be independent, broaden your horizons, and open international career options,” he said.
Change your perspective. Expand your horizons.
Bar-Ilan University’s incoming and outgoing Student Exchange Program enables students to spend 3-12 months in the host country, whether in Israel, Europe, the UK, the US, India, or China.
“We currently have exchange agreements with dozens of leading academic institutions in Europe, including the University of Strasbourg (France), the University of Pisa (Italy), the University of Zagreb (Croatia), the University of Innsbruck (Austria), and the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg (Germany), to name a few. We also facilitate exchange programs for faculty members to these universities and more,” Nackar said.
Bar-Ilan students who go abroad or international students who come to Israel through the EU’s Erasmus+ program also receive a one-time grant to cover their travel fees and a monthly living stipend to help finance their living costs. Bar-Ilan has partnerships with at least 40 European Union Erasmus-funded universities.
In addition, BIU has exchange and study-abroad agreements with universities in the United States and India, among others.
Madina Telkhozhayeva spent six months at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in Italy.
She is from Almaty, Kazakhstan, but has been a doctoral student in the lab of Prof. Gilbert Daniel Nessim
in the Department of Chemistry since October 2018. Read her story.
“Students coming to Bar-Ilan need to know it’s a great place and that they’ll have a wonderful experience that they’ll cherish forever. The academic level is very high and the academic staff is some of the best in the world. Their research is highly rated and their work makes an impact in Israel and internationally. They are also very warm, friendly, and approachable.
“Socially speaking, Bar-Ilan is in central Israel so when you have free time, it’s easy to get into Tel-Aviv, a city that never sleeps, and it’s less than an hour from the breathtaking city of Jerusalem,” said Nackar.
Criteria and Applications
Candidates from their second year of undergraduate study with good academic standing are invited to apply.
In addition, the Bar-Ilan Student Exchange Program offers placement opportunities for graduate and post-graduate students. We also have exchange programs for faculty members.
Applications are currently being accepted for this year. Outgoing Bar-Ilan students (including current international students) can apply here. Incoming international students registered at other universities and would like to study at Bar-Ilan can apply here.
If you have any questions or need further information regarding Student Exchange, Faculty Exchange, or Study-Abroad Programs, please email [email protected] or call +972-3-738-4721.
Read some of the stories from our outgoing exchange students and faculty members in this article and watch the video below to hear what one of our students had to say about her experience.
