A growing number of international experience pathways are making study abroad more accessible
For U of T Engineering undergraduate Nadia Scharnhorst (Year 4 EngSci), the world is a classroom.
Scharnhorst has spent two summers on different continents: first through a summer research exchange at Stuttgart University in Germany in 2023 and then, in 2025, at the National University of Singapore, via the Enterprise Summer Program in Entrepreneurship.
“Fitting in a full semester abroad during your time at university can feel daunting, especially if you’re involved in campus design teams or major projects, so having short-term options like the summer research experience was a huge plus,” says Scharnhorst.
“My exchange to Singapore fit perfectly alongside my PEY Co-op internship without delaying my graduation, and at the same time, let me experience the culture and build genuine international connections. That’s what made the experience truly special.”
sightseeing trip to Munich while doing research at
the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
(photo by Sahana Prabhu)
Each year, students from across U of T Engineering take advantage of a wide range of available experience pathways to conduct research, explore subjects outside of engineering and travel to parts of the world they have not yet seen.
They can choose from several types of international experiences, including academic exchanges, research internships, short-term programs and specialized global learning opportunities, depending on their interests and goals. Students can also pursue international work opportunities through the Professional Experience Year (PEY) Co-op program, which offers placements outside of Canada.
“Our goal is for every engineering student to have some type of international experience during their time here,” says Chris Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering.
“These exchange opportunities help students broaden their perspectives, develop cross–cultural skills and build their own global networks that can support them throughout their careers, and in an increasingly connected world. We want more U of T Engineering students to have access to, and benefit from, these transformative experiences.”
To encourage more engineering students to spend time abroad, the faculty has developed three new academic exchange pathways, all of which offer opportunities that have not been available at U of T in the past.
Students in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, The Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Division of Engineering Science can now pursue studies in semiconductor engineering at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.
Those in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering can study the future car and intelligent robotics at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, while students in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry can delve more deeply into the circular bioeconomy at Aalto University in Finland.
A key part of developing these pathways has involved identifying pre-approved courses at each host institution that are considered equivalent to core U of T Engineering courses, or that qualify as technical or complementary electives. This helps simplify what can otherwise be a complex and time-consuming credit transfer process for students who want to do an exchange.
The new pathways in place are already impacting application numbers. U of T Engineering saw 75 undergraduate applications for the 2026–2027 exchange cycle, more than seven times the number of undergrad applicants they had the previous year.
While students on exchange continue paying their U of T tuition fees rather than tuition fees to the host institution, they can also apply for awards through U of T’s Centre for International Experience to help offset some of the costs associated with their travel.
Johannes Toppe (Year 4 IndE), who went to the University of New South Wales in Sydney on an academic exchange in his third year, won an international experience award to help fund his time away.
“Exchange can be a lot more affordable than students think, and you can even potentially save money if you study in a country with a cheaper cost of living than Toronto,” says Toppe.
U of T also offers opportunities at different stages of a student’s degree, to make international exchange more accessible to students.
Sebastian Lee (Year 2 MSE) went to the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology after his first year.
“My classmates were looking for local research opportunities, but I wanted to do something unique, so I started looking into exchange,” says Lee.
“I’ll never forget, studying in their great library late into the night. I’d find myself sitting among the stacks, watching the coast as waves crashed back and forth right outside the window. These opportunities are precious and sometimes once in a lifetime, so take them when you can.”
– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on May 26, 2026, by Samantha Younan.