Changing Your Program Mid-Degree in Europe: What Transfers and What Doesn't

Internal Transfer vs Starting Over

Switching programs within the same university usually runs through an internal transfer process, separate from general admissions. This route is faster and cheaper than withdrawing and reapplying as a new student, and it often lets you keep credits that overlap with your new program. Ask your current faculty's student office whether an internal transfer process exists before you consider withdrawing entirely.

What Usually Transfers

Universities compare the content and learning outcomes of the courses you already passed against the requirements of your new program, not just the ECTS numbers. A course covering similar material to a required course in your new program usually counts directly. A course with no equivalent in the new program usually becomes an elective credit or does not count at all, depending on how much flexibility your new program allows.

Switching to an Unrelated Field

Moving between related fields, mechanical to electrical engineering for example, usually preserves more credits than moving between unrelated fields, engineering to law for example. An unrelated switch often means starting close to the first year of the new program even though you already completed years of study elsewhere, since the foundational courses do not overlap. Ask the receiving program directly how many of your credits map onto their first-year requirements before you commit to the switch.

Timing Around an Exchange or Placement

If you plan an Erasmus+ exchange or a work placement as part of your current program, check how a transfer affects that plan before you submit your request. A new program sometimes has different exchange partners, a different required semester for mobility, or no mobility window at all in its structure, so confirm this with your exchange coordinator alongside the academic transfer conversation.

What Usually Does Not Transfer

• Foundational courses specific to your old major that have no equivalent in the new one.

• Credits earned below the grade threshold your new program requires for recognition.

• Practical components, such as labs or clinical placements, tied to accreditation rules specific to the old program.

• Credits older than the age limit some programs set on prior coursework.

Entry Requirements Still Apply

Competitive programs, medicine and psychology especially, usually apply the same entry requirements to internal transfer students as to new applicants. A strong performance in your current program helps your case, but it rarely overrides a program's numerus clausus or admission test requirement. Ask the new program's admissions office directly whether transfer students go through the standard selection process.

Funding and Scholarships When You Switch

A scholarship or grant tied to your original program does not automatically carry over to a new one. Contact your funding body before you submit a transfer request, since some schemes require you to reapply for funding under the new program, and others end funding tied to a specific field of study entirely.

Deadlines and Timing

Internal transfer requests usually need submission before course registration opens for the next semester, often weeks before the semester itself starts.

Missing this window typically means waiting an extra semester or year before you switch. Check both your current faculty's deadline and the receiving program's deadline, since they do not always match.

How to Apply for an Internal Transfer

• Meet the receiving program's academic advisor to discuss how your credits map onto their curriculum.

• Request an official transcript and course descriptions for every course you passed, translated if your new program requires documents in a different language.

• Submit the internal transfer application through your faculty's student office, not general university admissions.

• Ask in writing which credits count and which do not before you accept a transfer offer.

• Check whether your funding, scholarship, or visa status needs updating to reflect the new program.

If the New Program Rejects Your Transfer

A transfer application sometimes gets rejected the same way an external application does, especially for competitive programs with limited places. Ask for the specific reason in writing, since a rejection based on a missing prerequisite differs from one based on a full quota, and each points to a different next step, taking a bridging course versus reapplying next year.

Talking to Both Departments

Involve your current department and your target department early, not just the target one. Your current department confirms which credits and grades sit on your official record, while your target department confirms which of those credits count toward their curriculum. Getting both answers before you apply avoids a gap where each department assumes the other handled a step.

If Your University Does Not Allow Internal Transfer

Some universities require you to withdraw and reapply as an external applicant even for a program change within the same institution. In that case, treat it like any new application, meeting deadlines and entry requirements, while asking your current faculty to issue a transcript that documents every credit and grade for your new application.