Student Exchange Program

This program is for international students who wish to study at ÉTS (courses only) for one semester (four months), as part of a student exchange program agreement (bilateral or BCI).

This program has a limited number of spaces. Contact your university’s international relations department to find out how many spots are available.

You may take courses for a total of 12 to 15 credits during your ÉTS exchange semester (1 ÉTS credit = 2 ECTS credits). Upon completion, you will receive a detailed transcript. The course credits you earn are transferable to your current program and will be recognized by your home institution, in accordance with your learning agreement, in view of obtaining your foreign degree. ÉTS does not issue a diploma for this program.

This program is for international students who wish to study at ÉTS (courses only) for two or three semesters (eight or twelve months, respectively), under a student exchange agreement (bilateral or BCI). This program has a limited number of spaces. Contact your university’s international relations department to find out how many spots are available.

You may take courses for a total of 12 to 15 credits per semester (1 ÉTS credit = 2 ECTS credits). At the end of the program, you will receive a detailed transcript. The course credits you earn are transferable to your current program and will be recognized by your home institution, in accordance with your learning agreement, in view of obtaining your foreign degree. Students who complete a minimum of 30 credits of courses at ÉTS may obtain an engineering certificate attesting to their successful completion of the program.

This program is for international students who want to take courses and do laboratory research (internship) for two or three semesters (eight or twelve months, respectively), under a student exchange agreement (bilateral or BCI). This program has a limited number of spaces. Contact your university’s international relations department to find out how many spots are available.

The certificate program consists of one semester of studies (four months) of 15 course credits (1 ÉTS credit = 2 ECTS credits), approximately five courses, followed by one or two semesters that include at least one three-credit course and one research activity of 12 or more credits. Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a certificate from ÉTS along with a detailed transcript. The course credits that you earn are transferable to your current program and will be recognized by your home institution, in accordance with your learning agreement, in view of obtaining your foreign degree.

As a first step, you must submit your application to your home institution’s international relations department and check the conditions as well as the applicable deadlines with them.

Your home institution will need to confirm your participation in the exchange program for a given program and semester. Regardless of the dates of your stay, your home institution will need to confirm your participation in the exchange program at ÉTS by March 15 for the next fall semester, or by June 15 for the next winter semester. After these dates, ÉTS may make an exception and accept late applications, subject to available space.

Did you receive an email from ÉTS confirming your designation? Now is the time to set up your file and submit your application by applying online for the exchange program. Do not start this process before you receive these instructions.

Deadlines

The deadline for submitting an application is April 1 for the fall semester and September 1 for the winter semester. Applications submitted or completed after the deadline will be processed without a guarantee of admission (subject to available places) and without a guarantee of registration for the desired period.

Submitting your application

You must use the same email address where you received the email to create your account when submitting your application on the Omnivox Portal.

In the “Program selection” section, you must select the program you chose among the undergraduate programs (ÉTS undergraduate engineering). You must also select the track in which you were accepted. Please note that any application for another program, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree, is automatically rejected and could jeopardize your studies at ÉTS.

Processing times

Admission decisions are typically made within three to four weeks. You will be able to view your application status by logging into the portal with your credentials. Complete applications are processed continuously, on a first-come, first-served basis. Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your application. The sooner you apply, the quicker you will receive an answer, benefit from registration priority for courses, and start the administrative process with peace of mind.

Required documents

All attachments must be scanned and uploaded to the online admission portal. No paper documents or documents sent by email are required (unless specifically requested by the ÉTS Registrar’s Office). Original documents or authentication by your home institution may be required.

The attachments are:

• Your university transcripts for ongoing studies only (engineering degree and integrated preparatory classes if you took them at the same institution).
• Your birth certificate.
• Your Course Selection Form, which is the list of courses you would like to take at ÉTS to validate your exchange, approved and signed by the authorized representative of your home institution.
• If you are submitting an application as part of the Bureau de la Coopération Interuniversitaire (BCI) Quebec Student Exchange Program, you must also include your application form. The best way to do this is to combine this document and your course selection form into a single PDF file and upload it to the “Course Selection Form” subsection in Section 10 – Required Document.

When you apply for the exchange program, you will need to include the ÉTS Course Selection Form (PDF) that includes the list of courses you wish to register for during your stay. Please read the instructions carefully as you will need to provide an official list of courses for the fall semester, but you can use the course list for the next five semesters for winter or summer.

The Course Selection Form, approved by your home institution with the name, title, and signature of an authorized individual, will constitute your selection of courses at ÉTS. This document must be included with your application to allow you to register at ÉTS.

Your home institution may also ask you for a learning agreement. This document is not mandatory in your application for admission.

You can choose courses in different ÉTS departments, while taking into account the following:

• You must register for a minimum of 12 credits (full-time registration) and a maximum of 16 credits per semester.
  
• Most of the courses you select must be from your host engineering department at ÉTS (at least half of the credits).
  
• Avoid choosing courses with codes not in engineering fields or those related to complementary studies, languages, or general studies.
  
• You must select courses numbered 100 to 700, which are engineering courses: the first digit indicates the level of the course in the student’s learning path.
  
• 800-level courses are advanced courses (master’s or Ph.D.) and are only available to final-year engineering students (M2) at the time of the exchange, subject to approval by ÉTS following a review of their grades. You can choose up to two courses in this level (6 credits).
  
• Keep in mind that the workload required for 800-level courses is greater and that a total of 9 credits of these courses corresponds to a full-time semester (compared to 12 credits if you take undergraduate engineering courses). You should therefore balance your course load with undergraduate engineering courses.
  
• Some courses are not available to exchange students.
  
• Not all courses are offered every semester, so make sure that the courses you select will be offered during your stay. To do so, consult the course schedules and planning, which is published five semesters in advance (undergraduate and graduate). Note that the final detailed schedule is published two to three months before the start of courses; scheduling conflicts may require you to revise your registration after you have been admitted

If you are applying for an exchange program with an internship

• Your Course Selection Form should include a laboratory research activity (internship) of four to eight months in duration, for a minimum of 12 credits (indicate “LAB112” on your CourseSelection Form for a full-time internship of four months).
  
• Your internship will be supervised by an ÉTS professor in connection with the research activities of ÉTS’s research chairs or units.
  
• You may determine a research topic after you have arrived at ÉTS. To help you find a supervisor, see the Find a Supervisor for my Master’s or Doctoral Program section, which lists the professors working in your field. Contact the professor to discuss your goals and aspirations.
  
• If you are interested in a laboratory research internship that is not part of the exchange program, visit Do a Laboratory Research Internship in Québec.

First, you must be selected by your home institution to participate in an exchange program at ÉTS. You will then receive instructions via email on how to formally submit your admission application on our Omnivox Portal. Read these instructions carefully to ensure that your application is compliant. You will need to provide certain documents (e.g., birth certificate, transcripts) and pay the file processing fees. Be sure to submit a complete file, observe the deadlines, and allow three to four weeks for a decision.

First, you must enter the information you have on hand, in particular your dates of stay, in the document(s). Remember to include your permanent code when contacting us.

• For one semester: Go to the Registrar’s Office to have your arrival/attendance or registration confirmation forms signed. You can also send us these documents using the Info-ÉTS form, but it may take a few weeks at the start of the semester before we are able to return the signed forms.
• For two or more semesters: Contact the ÉTS Office of International Relations for enrolment confirmation or to have a learning agreement signed.

Please note that you can also obtain proof of attendance directly in the MonÉTS Portal > Mes documents > Relevé d’inscription – facture. This document will be available approximately one month before the start of each semester with registration.

If you are enrolled in the plan of a country that has an agreement with Québec, including France and Belgium (see full list), you may be eligible for the RAMQ public plan.

Before leaving home, you must obtain, complete, and have signed the proof of insurance or proof of enrolment with your home country’s health plan (form SE-401-Q-106 in France).

Once you arrive in Montréal, you must promptly take steps to finalize your RAMQ enrolment. Visit our Insurance and Health Care for International Students page for more details.

The only official document issued by ÉTS is the letter of admission. You can re-upload this document in your study permit application, as needed.

If you want or need to request an admission deferral, you must first inform your home institution, which will formalize the change with the ÉTS Office of International Relations. No action is required on your part.

As soon as the request has been processed, you will receive notification that a new letter of admission has been issued and is available on your Omnivox Portal and in MonÉTS. Depending on the time of year, it may take a few weeks to process your request.

If you need to permanently cancel your study project, please contact the Office of International Relations at international@etsmtl.ca.

To apply for admission to ÉTS or to confirm or change your course selections, you must complete the ÉTS Course Selection Form. Your home institution may also ask you to complete and have a learning agreement signed. This document is not mandatory for ÉTS and will not be used to process your course selection requests.

Your registration will be handled by the departmental coordinator based on the ÉTS Course Selection Form submitted at the time of your application for admission. You will not have access to ChemiNot to change your registration. The courses will be in your MonÉTS portal a few days after the start of the registration period for returning students. See the dates in the academic calendar.

Your learning agreement must mainly include courses in the department corresponding to your track, namely, half or more of the credits. You must register on a full-time basis, i.e., for a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 credits per semester. Note that some courses are not available to exchange students. See the list of courses.

To change your course selection, you must submit a new Course Selection Form approved by your home institution and your departmental coordinator as soon as possible, and no later than one week after the start of the semester.

Approvals are conditional on places being available in the various courses.

Yes, you have two options.

1. You may continue your studies at the master’s degree level following your second year of an engineering degree (M1) as part of a dual-degree agreement if your home institution hasestablished such an agreement with ÉTS. If your institution does not have a dual-degree agreement, you may be eligible for one of the ÉTS master’s programs after you complete your engineering degree. To apply, you must observe the international student admission deadlines.
2. If you are currently in an exchange program of less than six months, you may also, under certain conditions, extend your stay by one semester at ÉTS, either to take courses or to do a laboratory internship. You must make this decision early in the semester as you need to obtain legal authorizations (CAQ and valid study permit) before the start of the next semester. If your application is approved by your home institution and the Office of International Relations, you will be sent a new admission letter which will enable you to extend or obtain your study authorizations. You must follow the process outlined on our Immigration page.

Yes, it may be possible for you to extend your stay in Canada as a worker. However, ÉTS and its international student advisors are not legally authorized to provide advisory services for work permits that are not study related. The Cooperative Education Department is also unable to support you in your search for a company internship since this is not part of your academic path at ÉTS.

You will need to take steps on your own to find out about the various programs for which you may be eligible. For example, here is a short list (not applicable to all nationalities):

• International Experience Canada (IEC) 
• GO International
• SWAP Working Holidays

No, exchange students are not required to pay tuition fees.

The only fees that may appear on your invoice are those related to Desjardins health and hospital insurance, for those not covered by an agreement with Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec. If applicable, insurance fees are $300 for one semester or $600 for two semesters. Full details are available on our Insurance and Health Care for International Students page.