Exchange / Incoming Students

Exchange / Incoming Students

What you should know about exchange students at La Cambre.

  • You can apply for an Erasmus exchange programme if you are studying at a European university that has a bilateral exchange agreement with La Cambre or you can apply to study at La Cambre if you are an international student studying at one of our non-European partner institutions.

  • You will be registered at La Cambre for up to two semesters but you will, however, remain registered at your home institution. As an exchange student, you will not be charged for tuition.

  • You must have completed at least one year of university and have a good academic record.

  • Most of practice studios are English friendly. However, the main teaching language is French. A sufficient knowledge of French or English is therefore expected. French language courses for international students are available and free during their stay at La Cambre.

  • At the end of their studies at La Cambre, exchange students receive a certificate as well as a transcript of grades and credits corresponding to each teaching unit. The average workload for one semester at La Cambre is 30 ECTS (60 ECTS for a whole academic year). However, the incoming student’s Learning Agreement should include at least 20 ECTS.

  • Application deadlines:

    • For Semester 1 (15th September – 31th January ): 20 April
    • For Semester 2 (01st February – 30th June ): 20 october

The Application Process

1- Confirm that your institution is a La Cambre partner

You need to apply for a place through your institution. Your home institution must have an exchange agreement with La Cambre. We only accept applications submitted by our partner institutions. La Cambre will not consider any direct application by students. Please contact the International Office at your home institution to obtain more information.

2- Students must be selected by their home institution

You must be officially nominated by your home institution. La Cambre requires its partners to send their nominations in time for their students to be able to submit their application form in time.

3- Apply to La Cambre

Once you have been selected by your home institution, your institution will contact us and we will send you information on the application process.

To complete this application, you will need several documents:

  • Application form (to be downloaded here, then signed by your academic tutor and the International Office at your home university)
  • Electronic portfolio (PDF only, A4 format)
  • Personal statement
  • Photocopy of ID card or passport
  • ID photograph

4- Final decision

Admission to La Cambre is validated by the relevant department’s academic staff after examination of the application and depending on places available. A letter of admission will be sent by email to the student and his/her exchange coordinator within 5 to 6 weeks after the application deadline.

There is no automatic admission of nominated students. Professors will review applications, and students will be admitted mainly depending on the quality of their portfolio. Studio space may be in limited supply. Student applications may be declined for this reason.

Prepare Your Stay

Accommodation

La Cambre (a former abbey) does not have a campus, so all incoming students are themselves responsible for finding private accommodation during their stay in Brussels.

Most students usually find their accommodation on Facebook. The Facebook student group ‘Etudiants cambriens’ is very active, and most apartments are found via that site. As La Cambre students, you can obviously join that group and make inquiries. There are different Facebook groups which advertise places to stay, among them ‘Bxl à louer’, ‘Bouche à oreilles’, ‘Bxl studios à louer’, etc. Besides Facebook, the most common rental websites are www.immoweb.be and www.housinganywhere.com. Brussels has created her own plateform for students www.ple.mykot.be/en

There are usually plenty of offers. Browsing on these sites will give you an idea of the cost of rent. A room in a shared apartment will start at around €350/month. Landlords have a right to ask for a two-month security deposit.

Brussels consists of 19 different boroughs called ‘communes’. The Abbey of La Cambre is located in Ixelles, in the southern part of the city. Ixelles being a very nice borough, it might be a bit expensive. Besides Ixelles, you could look for a place in Saint-Gilles (also quite nice and a bit cheaper), Uccle, Etterbeek, Boitsfort or Brussels city centre. The city is quite small. Apart from the northern part of town (which is quite far away), you could live anywhere, really. It depends on transport. You can get close to La Cambre by bus (lines 71, 60, 38, 59) and by tramways (81, 94, 93, 7). More information on www.stib.be.

Finances

Work out a realistic budget and plan how much you will need for your stay in Brussels.

You will not have to pay any registration fees at La Cambre but you will need to cover all other costs, including travel, subsistence and accommodation. Make sure you can cover your expenses.

All grants and scholarships are managed by your home institution. Please contact the International Office at your home institution to check whether you can obtain an Erasmus grant or another source of funding.

Passport and visa

Students must ensure that their travel documents, including passport and visa, comply with immigration requirements in Belgium.

If you hold a passport from outside the European Union, you should check with the Belgian Embassy in your country for student visa requirements. More information on the website of the Immigration Office.

You can find the addresses of all Belgian Embassies and Consulates abroad on the website of Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs.

Insurance

You must have health insurance during your stay in Belgium. By enrolling as an exchange student, you will be insured by La Cambre for ‘physical accidents’ and ‘civil liability’ during school activities.

All students are required to be covered by a health-insurance policy from a private insurer or a national insurance scheme for any activity that is not related to their course or the school. It is highly recommended that students take out their own insurance for the period they are abroad.