''England Calling' - a semester abroad at the University of Surrey

As part of their studies, Bachelor students may choose to do a semester abroad at one of our partner universities worldwide. BBA in Tourism and Hospitality Management student Anna Scherfler felt the pull of 'olde' England and picked one of the United Kingdom's premiere universities for her student exchange.  

''The University of Surrey is located in the lovely, historic town of Guildford, which is half an hour away from London by train. The reason I chose this University for my exchange semester was that firstly, the UK is an English-speaking country and having a British accent would be lovely; secondly, I got to talk to Surrey students when attending Modul´s study abroad fair and they seemed to love their University and its lectures; and thirdly, I was able to apply for Erasmus+, since the UK is part of the European Union.


It can be said that Surrey is very different from Modul. First of all, it is far bigger, although its student service centre still gives you the same feeling of care as the one at Modul. Secondly, their courses are structured differently. Attendance is not mandatory in the lectures and the grades are based on the results of two tasks. A task could either be group work, an assignment, or an exam including essay questions.

Like Modul University, the University of Surrey strongly encourages students to become a member of a club. In Surrey there are many more clubs to choose from, since it is simply a bigger University. Moreover, close to the Campus there is a huge sports park offering a big range of opportunities for those who like to get active, and a student membership for a semester can be purchased at a reduced price. Most accommodations are allocated within the campus although some are further off; up to 5km. Buses are going there; however, they are not very reliable and often do not turn up at the bus stops at all!

Fortunately, I didn't experience a culture shock at all. It was pretty easy to adjust, due to the fact that I already knew some Surrey students and there were also many other exchange students. I didn't have to try hard speaking English, since my courses at Modul are in English as well.

While studying at Surrey, I got to present Modul at Surrey´s ‘’Study and Work Abroad Fair’’, which was a nice experience for me, since that was the way I got to know about my exchange faculty a year ago.

I would recommend my fellow students to do an exchange semester, because it will help you to experience something new and therefore expand your horizons. It will help you to see the world from a different angle and, anyhow, travelling in a different country is lots of fun!''