Changing university

What should I do if I am thinking of changing university?

Firstly, it is important to keep in touch with your current course, even if think you don’t want to do it anymore. Your attendance can affect your student finance, references and qualifications, all of which could be important for your next steps.

If you are serious about changing university, then it is a good idea to approach a student adviser or a member of staff you feel comfortable talking to, for example your personal tutor or course leader. We also have a chaplaincy and a wellbeing service, so you never have to feel like you’re facing the issue on your own.

If you are an international student with a student visa, you should consider the effect that changing your university will have on your visa. For example, will your new course finish after your current visa expires? If so, will you be able to successfully apply to the UK Home Office for permission to stay in the UK for longer?

For help with these questions among others, you should contact the international student advisers at internationaladvice@brighton.ac.uk or by completing a visa enquiry form.

How do I find out about other courses?

If you want to find out more about the courses available at other universities, start with the UCAS website. It includes information both on how to choose a university and how to choose a course, and acts as a database of all the options available to you. 

You can also book a one-to-one appointment with our Careers Service, in which we can advise you how to choose a course that will help you to achieve your goals.

How do I change universities?

To transfer to another institution, you need to make an application for the course or courses that you are interested in. If that application is accepted, there are two main points of contact to help you make the transition: your current course leader and your new course leader.

After you have consulted your course leader at Brighton, they will contact the school office and you will be provided with an official leaving date. This date is important because it can affect the tuition fees you owe and your entitlement to future funding.

At some point, you will also need to manage the issues of student finance and finding new accommodation. Our student advisers can help you with this. If you are an international student, please contact an international student adviser as soon as possible to discuss your situation because any change to your study will affect your visa.

How will changing universities affect my student finance?

The effect of transferring on student finance varies according to individual circumstances. It depends on your present course, your stage of study and the course you have chosen to transfer to.

If you transfer to another course at another university within the same academic year, Student Finance England (SFE) can usually carry forward your financial support without any ramifications, but you must keep them up to date with any changes.

If you transfer to another course and start again at the beginning of a new academic year, the situation is more complicated. SFE offer their services for the length of your course plus one additional year, and count a single day of study as a year of support. So if you start again, you will have used up one year of that support and cannot claim money back for the year that you didn’t finish.

For example, in the case of a three-year course, you could complete one year of study and still be entitled to three further years of support. However, if you transfer during your second year and begin another course from the beginning (totalling five years of study), you will have to self-fund part of it.

If you started your course in 2011 or before and are applying to study at another university it is important to ensure that you are recorded as 'transferring'. Provided you aren’t also changing your mode of study this will ensure that you aren’t charged the 2012 fees at your new university.