Exchange - Placement students
Placement students
Placement students
This page contains information for prospective placement students to NTNU, and NTNU staff who wish to be supervisors for placement students.
Normally, students coming to NTNU for exchange must be nominated by their home institution for exchange to NTNU. However, in some cases, NTNU accepts students coming to NTNU from another university in order to do placement, internship, project or thesis work, rather than just take courses. We call this kind of students placement students.
Below, you can read more about who is eligible for placement to NTNU, what obligations it entails - for both students and supervisors, a description of the formal process of confirming a placement exchange, who is responsible for the different stages in the registration process, as well as expected timeline and other practicalities.
General information (students and supervisors)
General information (students and supervisors)
Placements students are bachelor’s or master’s degree students who participate in a project, internship, thesis, or practical/clinical rotation at NTNU. The period of these students' stay at NTNU can, but does not need to, adhere to NTNU's semester structure (January-June and August-December).
For a student to be apply for placement to NTNU, there are a few requirements:
1. The student must have found, and received confirmation from, a supervisor for their academic activities at NTNU. This supervisor must be an academic employee at NTNU (professor or similar).
2. The scope of the students' placement (activities and goals of the stay at NTNU) must be clearly understood by both parties (student and supervisor).
3. The placement (student's stay at NTNU) should count towards, or act as a part of, the student's degree at their home institution.
Please note that students who are not citizens of the EU/EEA/EFTA, and who will not be taking credits at NTNU, will generally be unable obtain a visa to enter Norway as a placement student, even with given an admission/acceptance letter from NTNU.
Norwegian immigration authorities generally requires incoming students to take a minimum of 30 ECTS/credits per semester in Norway to be eligible for a student visa.
The student may still be able to come to Norway for shorter stays if an entry visa is not required. Please see www.udi.no for more information.
Below is a description of the three categories of placement students, and how the application procedure and deadlines work for each of them. Please read the following to determine which category you (or the student you intend to supervise) fits in.
Category | Description and application procedure |
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Category A | Placement students who are nominated by their home institution through the ordinary (exchange) nomination process, and are coming to NTNU within the usual semesters. (Spring: January-June or Autumn: July-December). These students must follow the Exchange application procedure, as well as the same deadlines. In other words, they apply in, and follow the same deadlines as, a student applying to come on regular exchange to NTNU. Application procedures can be found here. |
Category B |
Placement students from a partner university, who wish to come to NTNU outside of the normal semesters, under a program or an agreement coordinated directly through an NTNU faculty or department. Students in category B must follow the Placement application procedure (see below). Cases are processed on a continuous basis through the year, so there is no static deadline. However, requests for registration of the student to NTNU must be submitted no later than 30 days before the planned arrival of the student. |
Category C |
Placement students from an non-partner institution (an institution without an agreement with NTNU). Students from institutions that have no agreement with NTNU are also eligible for placement.
However, note that due to Norwegian immigration regulations, students who are not citizens of the EU/EEA/EFTA and will not be taking credits at NTNU are generally unable to obtain a visa to enter Norway as placement students, even with an admission/acceptance letter from NTNU.
Both students and prospective supervisors should consider this before initiating an agreement of supervision/placement. Students in category C must follow the Placement application procedure (see below). |
For supervisors at NTNU
For supervisors at NTNU
In addition to academic supervision, the supervisor must also assume the responsibilities listed below, and submit a registration request for the student to the NTNU Unit for International Relations
This procedure applies to students belonging to categories B and C.
The supervisor, or designated academic contact, must submit a registration request for the student(s) through NTNU's Registration Request Form (click here).
The following information is necessary:
- Student name and email address
- Name and country of the student's home institution
- Student's level of studies (Bachelor's/Master's)
- Type of work the student will do (Project/thesis/internship/courses)
- Scholarship programme/funding (if applicable)
- Start and end dates for the student's academic work at NTNU
- Whether the student will have more supervisors, and whether these are at NTNU or the home institution
- If any credits will be awarded by NTNU for the student's work
- Name of administrative staff at the NTNU department responsible for student affairs (administrative contact/"studieveileder" - to whom a copy of the request is sent)
Students will then receive an email with a form to submit the necessary information and upload a copy of their identification.
Once the student has completed this step, the registration request will be processed within 2-4 weeks.
It is the supervisor's responsibility to:
- Ensure that the accepted students have adequate academic knowledge/background and language proficiency to participate in this project/thesis/internship.
- Take the role of superintendent for the student's work while at NTNU, and ensure that the student's work is done safely and according to NTNU's HSE regulations.
- Provide/sign the student’s training agreement, if applicable
- Provide the student with the necessary information upon approval
- Contact the Unit for International Relations if the student needs an invitation letter for visa application. Requests can be sent to placement@st.ntnu.no
Follow the procedure outlined below if either of the following are the case:
- The student is in category B or C
- The student is from a partner university whose exchange spots at NTNU are already filled for the semester
- The student is coming outside the ordinary NTNU semester dates (January-June or August-December)
If you have any questions about which process is most appropriate for the prospective exchange student, please contact the Unit of International Relations at placement@st.ntnu.no
For placement students coming to NTNU
For placement students coming to NTNU
Below are the steps that prospective placement students must take to receive admission to NTNU, as well as practical information regarding their stay.
Students must contact the home university (commonly the International Office at the university) to check if there is any existing agreement with NTNU, and the possibility of securing a nomination as an exchange student.
Students must find a supervisor/ an internship opportunity at NTNU themselves.
The list of faculties and their respective academic departments can be found here.
When contacting a potential supervisor, students must inform the supervisor of the following information:
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Name and degree (bachelor's or master’s), field of study, and desired project at NTNU.
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Relevant knowledge and skills (a short CV is recommended)
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Whether or not there is an existing agreement between the home university and NTNU (this is important for the nomination procedure)
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The period in which the student is interested in joining.
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If students are writing a thesis/ joining a project at NTNU, they must specify whether it will be graded at NTNU and the number of credits (ETCs) they expect to receive upon completion.
If you are eligible for the standard nomination process at your home institution (if you belong to category A), you must follow the Ordinary exchange procedure. The remaining steps do not apply to you.
If you belong to category B or C, the supervisor or department at NTNU will submit a request to have you registered as a student at NTNU for the time and work that you have agreed upon. Note that specific dates for start and end of work are required and should be settled with your prospective supervisor.
Once the registration request has been submitted, you will be instructed to register your personal details. Please have a copy of your identity card/ passport ready to upload.
- Responsible person: Your supervisor and an appointed department/faculty administrator
- Attendance certificate: Contact the Office of Admissions and International Relations at exchange@st.ntnu.no if you need the arrival/ departure confirmation for your stay.
- Learning agreement. If you are not registered for any courses during your stay, the Office of Admissions and International Relations cannot sign a Learning Agreement for you. Instead, you must establish a Training agreement with your supervisor.
- Housing:
- If students are coming from a partner university within the normal semester periods, normal procedures apply. See here. for Trondheim, see here for Gjøvik, see here for Ålesund.
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If students are coming from a non-partner university, or outside the normal semester periods, please contact the Office of Admissions and International Relations to inquire about availability.
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Immigration procedures: Please visit UDI to see the visa requirements and application procedures.
Contact info and student housing
Contact NTNU:
- Trondheim: exchange@st.ntnu.no
- Gjøvik: mina.s.foss@ntnu.no
- Ålesund: international@alesund.ntnu.no
Student housing
In the autumn semester (August - December) some students will have to arrange for housing on the private market on their own, but in the spring semester (January – June) most international students are normally offered student housing from Sit.
Unfortunately, we will have limited student housing availability in the autumn semester and we will not be able to guarantee student housing for new students except for non-EU students depending on a housing guarantee for their visa application. This means that students might have to find private housing on their own. More information about this will be given later to accepted students.
For more information, please see: