Taking Examinations Abroad

If you live outside the UK or are studying abroad as part of your programme it may be possible for you to sit your on campus examinations and/or resits overseas.

You do not need to apply to sit overseas if your assessments are online.  For more information on online assessments please see the Preparing for your Assessments webpages.

If you are unsure about the format of your assessment please contact your teaching school.  For School contact details see the School Contacts webpage.

Exchange/Study Abroad students studying at the University of Leeds

If you are on an exchange programme and there is a clash between the University of Leeds on-campus examination period and your home institution’s teaching patterns, contact your University of Leeds parent school as soon as possible. You do not need to apply to sit overseas if your assessments are online.  For school contact details see the School Contacts webpage.

If you are studying modules that are assessed by a formal on-campus examination in January and the start date of semester 2 at your home university clashes with the University of Leeds January assessment period, you are usually allowed to take your University of Leeds January on-campus examinations at your home university. However, occasionally the format of an assessment dictates that it must be taken in Leeds. 

To apply, you must do the following: 

  • Obtain approval from your home university, providing an official letter from them confirming there’s a clash between the University of Leeds examination timetable and their teaching timetable. 
  • Complete the Overseas Online Application Form.

You may be charged a fee by your home university for their services. You will need to contact them for further information. 

Taking semester 1 or 2 examinations abroad

You may be eligible to take your on-campus examinations or external resits abroad if any of the following apply: 

  1. Your permanent home address is outside the UK AND you are registered as an external student.
  2. You are University of Leeds student working or studying abroad as part of your programme. 
  3. You are an exchange/study abroad student at the University of Leeds who has already returned home to complete your studies.
  4. You are a semester 1 exchange student and the University of Leeds assessment period in January clashes with your home institution’s teaching patterns.

If you live outside the UK, the location that you apply to take your exam at must be in your home country. If you are working or studying abroad as part of your programme, the location that you apply to take your exam at must be in the country where you are working or studying. 

The assessment must be suitable to be taken outside the University and a suitable exam environment must be available (e.g. British Council or your home/study abroad university). You do not need to apply to sit overseas if your assessments are online. 

How to apply for semester 1 or 2 examinations abroad

If you are resitting as an external student, you must apply for your resits before applying to take your semester 1 or 2 resit exams abroad.  You can apply to resit on the Results and Resit Application page via Minerva when final results are released.  For more information on dates of release see the Results webpage. 

To apply to take semester 1 or 2 exams abroad, you must complete the Overseas Online Application Form.  Applications are only necessary for written on-campus examinations and the exam must be suitable to be taken away from Leeds (check with the teaching school of the module if you are not sure – for School contact details see the School Contacts webpage).

Deadlines to apply for semester 1 or 2 examinations abroad

Each assessment period has a separate deadline for students wishing to apply to take their exams abroad. The Assessment and Progress Team will endeavour to make all necessary arrangements for applications received by the deadline. If an application is received after the deadline, there is no guarantee that the arrangements can be made. If arrangements cannot be put in place, you will be sent an email to inform you that you must return to the University of Leeds to take your examinations. 

The deadlines to apply to take examinations abroad in Semester 1 and Semester 2 in 2025 are: 

  • Semester 1 examination period - 27th November 2024. 
  • Semester 2 examination period - 14th March 2025. 

Taking August resit examinations abroad

You may be eligible to take your on-campus resit (or approved further first attempt) examinations abroad if any of the following apply: 

  1. Your permanent home address is outside the UK.
  2. You are a University of Leeds student working or studying abroad as part of your programme. 
  3. You are an exchange/study abroad student at the University of Leeds who has already returned home. 
  4. You are a semester 1 exchange student and the University of Leeds examination/assessment period in January clashes with your home institution’s teaching patterns. 

If you live outside the UK, the location that you apply to take your exam in must be in your home country. If you are working or studying abroad as part of your programme, the location that you apply to take your exam in, must be in the country where you are working or studying. 

The assessment must be suitable to be taken outside the University and a suitable exam environment must be available (e.g. British Council or your home/study abroad university). You do not need to apply to sit overseas if your assessments are online. 

How to apply for August resit examinations abroad

You must apply for your resits before applying to take August resit exams abroad.  You can apply to resit on the Results and Resit Application page via Minerva when final results are released.  For more information on dates of release see the Results webpage. 

To apply to take August resit exams abroad, you must complete the Overseas Online Application Form.  Applications are only necessary for written on-campus examinations and the exam must be suitable to be taken away from Leeds (check with the teaching school of the module if you are not sure – for School contact details see the School Contacts webpage).  If your reassessment is coursework only or an online assessment, you are only required to indicate your intention to resit via Minerva.

Deadline to apply for August resit examinations abroad

The deadline to apply for August 2025 resits abroad is 16th July 2025.

The Overseas Online Application Form will be closed from this date and no further requests will be accepted. 

Fees

You may be charged a fee by the hosting institution (e.g. British Council or university) for their services. You will need to contact them directly for further information on what the charges will be and how to pay.

From session 2023/2024 the University of Leeds no longer charges resit fees.  More information on this recent change can be found on the Resit FAQs webpage.  Please contact the Student Information Service if you have any queries regarding resit fees. The Helpline is available Monday to Friday 9-5 pm on +44 (0)113 343 7000 (from outside of the UK) and 0800 915 0402 (from inside the UK). You won't be charged for your call. You can also email using the address studentinfo@leeds.ac.uk or speak to someone in person at one of the five Student Information Points on campus.  Information on how to find the drop-in points can be found on the Student Information Service webpage.

Fees prior to 2023/2024

Students are required to pay any resit or assessment fees charged prior to the 2023/2024 session.  Therefore, any fees for resits or assessments taken abroad in 2023 are valid, as these resits will have taken place in the 2022/2023 session.

If you have an outstanding resit fee to pay you should do so as soon as possible.  Please see the How to Pay webpage. If you have any queries about payment methods or late fees, see the Finance Contact Details webpage for who to contact.

Assessment Timetables

Individual timetables for the main University assessment periods will be published via Minerva and will include all your timetabled assessments. If your application to take examinations abroad has been successful, please ignore the on-campus exams on this timetable. A separate individual timetable will be emailed to you as soon as possible after the "Exam timetable with venues" has been published. This will include information about the arrangements that have been put in place for you.

To find out when the "Exam timetable with venues" will be available for each assessment period, see the Assessment Periods and Timetable Publication Dates webpage.