Details

• Canada
• BaWiSo-23
• Undergraduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

As a first step, I can recommend to look for a region where you would like to have your semester abroad. Look for cities/universities where you could imagine doing your exchange, based on that region. To make an accurate ranking of all the universities according to our liking, I can recommend to read as many reports as possible from other students about these places. Of course, you should do some additional research online, when you are not really familiar with the places or in the best case, you reach out to student who did their exchange there directly. Lastly, housing prices and cost of living should be considered in advance.

2. Accommodation

In the first place I applied for the student housing, which is financially and regarding proximity the best option. However, you should be aware that you get your flatmate assigned randomly there. I applied for the student housing only a few days after the application window started and around three months in advance of my exchange but I ended up on the waiting list however. Because I wanted to avoid uncertainty I started to look for a private accommodation as well together with another WU student I met during the preparation for the exchange and since we got along very well we decided to move together in case we do not find a place on campus. After a month on the waiting list, we booked an Airbnb close to the University. The area and most parts of the city are safe overall.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus was much bigger than the WU campus because the University of Calgary is a general university with many different faculties, from Biology to Education. The atmosphere at the university was very pleasant. People are very friendly and open minded and most instructors want the best for you and really help you to pass every class. However, I had a negative experience with one instructor which I could have avoided if I would have read the instructor ratings beforehand, so that is a tip. Differences are that there is only little mandatory attendance but obviously it helps to be there. We had presentations and assignments during the class as we do at home and depending on the class also tests, but these always have been web based. The biggest difference is probably that classes take place over the whole semester and there are midterm and final exams.

5. Every day life in the host country

The public transport was sufficient, however it was nowhere near the public transport you know from Vienna or other European cities, since Calgary is designed for cars. There was one train line and busses. I had been lucky that I lived close to a bus station where the bus went directly to the university so the ride and walk to the bus only took me 10 minutes in total. Though, the busses drove only every 30-40 minutes and the arrival times were sometimes quite unreliable. The safety situation in Calgary was very good. I never felt unsafe in the city, not even when we went out in downtown at night. If you look out at the university and get in contact with other exchange students you will hear of plenty of events so there is always something to do and for sports activities the university is great. There is a gym on campus and an outdoor centre where you can rent skies, hiking equipment, mountain bikes and much more. There are also many courts for basketball, pickle ball, football (normal and American) and also university leagues where you can sign up, also as an exchange student. I was participating in an outdoor soccer team where we played against other teams from the university every week in a small league format. So for sports activities the University is key.

6. Testimonial

I had a great time during my exchange and no regrets. Even though it made me a little bit nervous in the beginning to know that I need to meet new people at the welcome days, it only helped me to get out of my comfort zone. I met very nice people immediately and we made so many new experiences I would never have made without the exchange. I got new impressions of other peoples lives and I have seen many new places. In the end of my exchange I would even have liked to stay a little bit longer.