Find out what happens when you return from studying abroad, including details about marks and degree classifications.
Your experience
After your placement abroad, the Sussex Abroad team will convert your marks, but we also want to hear from you about your experiences. We often organise debriefing meetings and workshops to help you articulate what you have learned from your year or semester abroad.
Advice for future students
To help us advise each group of students, we ask those returning to fill in a student-to-student report. This will include advice for future students, such as modules studied, accommodation, cost of living and socialising.
We also make sure outgoing students are put in touch with returning students (where permission has been given), allowing them to share valuable insights.
Reverse culture shock
Upon your return, you may experience what's called 'reverse culture shock'.
Typical symptoms are:
- initial euphoria (possibly followed by disappointment and ‘flatness’)
- criticism of the way things are done back home
- feeling restless, sadness, frustration, isolation
- feeling like a stranger at home
- a longing to go back abroad.
This is common and feelings can differ from one person to another. This process will be similar to the culture shock you may have experienced when you first went abroad, only in reverse.
It can take some time to re-adjust to home. The coping skills and strategies that helped you to adjust to your host culture will be just as useful when coming home.
Tips for adjusting to coming home
- You may find it helpful to create a travel goal, either for work or holiday.
- Try something new, including international societies and clubs on campus.
- Keep in contact with friends made abroad.
- Talk to friends family about your feelings.
- Look out for seminars run in October/November by Careers and Employability Centre (CEC) for returning students, to learn about how to maximise their study abroad experience.
- Share your experience of study abroad in fun ways, like taking part in international food evenings on campus.
- Make friends with an incoming exchange or international student, and help them settle in at Sussex. The Student Union runs a Buddy Scheme, matching Sussex students with incoming international and study abroad students.
Study abroad marks
At the end of studying abroad you will be given a transcript from the host university. It will record all the modules that you have taken and the marks that you achieved.
Marks for an integrated study abroad year will be converted using our approved conversion scales [PDF 141KB].
The conversion scale will check if you have achieved an overall mean mark of 40%. If you have achieved a mean mark of at least 40 and have passed the equivalent of at least 90 credits, this will allow your degree title to include ‘with a study abroad year’.
Marks for a voluntary study abroad year will not be converted, but you must pass the equivalent of at least 90 credits in order for your degree title to include ‘with a study abroad year’.
Marks for a semester abroad will not be converted, but you must pass the equivalent of at least 45 credits in order to pass the semester abroad module and progress to your final year.
All study abroad marks are considered at a Module Assessment Board and published on Sussex Direct afterwards.
- semester abroad - the Board meets in April (for marks in semester 1) and September (for marks in semester 2)
- voluntary or integrated year abroad - the board meets at the end of October.
The mark or pass/fail outcome you receive for a study abroad year will appear on your Sussex transcript, including where the study abroad year is failed (unless you withdraw from the study abroad year before the end of week 3 in semester 1).
Degree classification
The marks achieved for:
- a voluntary study abroad year won’t count towards your degree classification
- an integrated year abroad will go towards your degree classification (contributing to 20% of your grand mean)
- a semester abroad won't count towards your degree classification.
Find out more about degree classifications.
What happens if I fail
If you fail to achieve at least 90 credits (and a mean of at least 40% for integrated study abroad) overall during your study abroad year, you must ask your host university about resit opportunities for the modules you have failed. If you do not pass these resits your course title will not include the suffix ‘with a study abroad year’.
You do not need to pass all 120 credits to pass the study abroad year. However, failed modules will appear on your study abroad transcript and, for an integrated study abroad year, the fail or 0 grade will bring your overall mean down and may result in you failing the study abroad year.
You cannot use the Sussex exceptional circumstances procedure to make a claim in relation to assessments on your study abroad year. You should instead contact your host institution to see if a resit can be set. You should contact the Sussex Abroad team if you find that your circumstances are ongoing to see if there are other ways that you can be supported on your study abroad year.
Failing a study abroad semester
You will need to repeat the semester at Sussex (the following academic year) if you do not pass the equivalent of 45 credits. You must pass the repeat semester to progress to the next stage of your course.
Failing a semester abroad may require you to temporarily withdraw from your studies for the semester which you have passed.
Conversion of study abroad marks (integrated study abroad only)
University Education Committee approves the conversion scales [PDF 141KB].
The approved conversion scales for study abroad marks are based on the following:
- where a 0-100 continuous scale aligned with the UK is used, the marks are directly imported without conversion
- where a 0-100 continuous scale not aligned with the UK and/or a categorical scale is used, the marks are normally converted based on a 5 or 12 point scale, mapped to the fail and distinction boundaries adopted by the sector.
The following principles apply to study abroad marks to ensure transparency and equity:
- the University publishes conversion scales to students in advance of a period of study abroad;
- students are advised that the practice of converting marks across the UK Higher Education sector varies between institutions;
- a single conversion scale has been agreed for each partner country/institution, regardless of discipline;
- non-linear conversion has been reduced, where possible;
- School Progression and Award Boards (PAB) may refer cases via the Individual Inequitable Outcome (IIO) regulation where conversion of the study abroad mark introduces inflation/deflation which has a significant impact on an individual student.
The scales will be reviewed every three years.