Eras­mus+ stud­ies in Eu­rope

You can apply for an Erasmus+ exchange place if

• you are enrolled in full-time studies or as a visiting student at HU;
• you have successfully completed at least two university semesters at the beginning of the planned stay;
• your faculty or department has a cooperation agreement with the partner university;
• you have not yet used up your maximum Erasmus allocation: A maximum of 12 months can be funded per study cycle (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral degree). For students aiming to take a state examination – for example in Law or for teaching training – there is an allocation of up to 24 months; you have sufficient proficiency in the language sufficient proficiency in the language¹ in which you will study abroad: Usually, this is B2/C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages;
• you meet the expectations stipulated by your department such as motivation, commitment and good grades.

For a personal consultation on the exchange possibilities in your area of study, on the selection and the preparation for the stay, it is best to contact the Erasmus coordinators of your faculty or department directly.

The Erasmus+ funding is intended to help you cover additional costs related to the stay abroad. The level of funding depends on the country you are going to. The allowances are set by the European Commission based on the average cost of living in the country:

Country group 1 = 600 euros per month

Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden

Country group 2 = 540 euros per month

Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Cyprus

Country group 3 = 540 euros per month

Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary

The total amount is calculated according to these rates for the study stay. Depending on the available funds, a maximum funding period is usually set, which may not correspond to your actual length of stay. If your actual stay is shorter than the approved period, funding will be calculated on a daily basis. For example, a funding period of 4 months can be set for one semester – if you stay longer, you will receive funding for 4 monthly installments. If your stay is less than four months, you will receive funding calculated on a daily basis according to your actual, verified dates of stay.

Your host university will certify the duration of the semester for you, including orientation programmes or, for example, language courses. If your actual stay is shorter than the approved period, funding is calculated on a daily basis. Days of the stay that are not study-related, such as an earlier arrival to look for accommodation, are not funded.

If you are already receiving a different grant that cannot be combined with Erasmus+, you will not receive any funding, but you can nevertheless participate in the programme. If you get your study place in a procedure for allocating remaining places, you might not receive any funding. In any event, the stay will be credited to your Erasmus allocation, i.e. the maximum time in the programme.

Please note that the Erasmus+ funding is not normally sufficient for covering the entire costs. Furthermore, the payment of the first funding instalment can take several weeks.

You should anticipate considerable additional costs abroad. Depending on the country and place of study, these can be 800 to 1,200 euros per month. You should therefore plan your stay in good time and calculate the expected costs realistically.

Parallel funding for similar costs from funds of other EU programmes or DAAD is excluded. We recommend that you find out about the possibility of BAföG for studies abroad or an education loan.²

You can also receive BAföG for studies abroad even if you are not entitled to BAföG in Germany. It is definitely worth applying if you

• have already studied for at least one year in Germany;
• are, as part of a university collaboration of Humboldt-Universität, going abroad for at least twelve weeks, or to another international university for at least six months or one semester;
• will earn academic credits abroad that can be at least partly transferable to your degree at Humboldt-Universität;
• have sufficient proficiency in the national language or language of instruction.

BAföG for studies abroad and additional funding (see "Additional funding" section below): The Erasmus+ social top-ups for students with disabilities, students with chronic medical conditions and for students with children do not affect the BAföG calculation. This is different for Erasmus+ social top-ups for first-time academics and working students: These top-ups are taken into account when BAföG for studies abroad is calculated.

There also are country-specific scholarship and support programmes which may be available to you.

The Erasmus+ programme provides additional funding for specific student groups, so-called social top-ups. In some cases, the actual additional costs incurred can also be borne within certain limits. Furthermore, you can apply for special funding for the use of environmentally friendly means of transport.

Social top-ups can be paid at a rate of €250 per month in addition to the regular Erasmus+ funding. The application is available to the groups of students listed below, and only one top-up can be applied for per person. In general, green travel is available to all applicants. We will send you the application forms together with your Grant Agreement in good time. You can read more below about the individual types of additional funding.

Social top-up: Students with disabilities

You can apply for this top-up if you either have a degree of disability of 20 or higher, or if you expect additional expenses for your stay abroad because of a chronic medical condition.

Social top-up: Students with children

If you are taking your child or children abroad for the entire period of your stay, you can apply for this social top-up.

Social top-up: First-generation academics

If your parents do not have an academic degree, you can apply for this social top-up.

Social top-up: Working students

If you have been employed and subject to social security contributions for at least six months prior to your study abroad period, and you are unable to continue this employment during your exchange semester, you can apply for this social top-up. Please note: This option is only available to you if your monthly income is 450 to 850 euros.

Green travel

If both your outbound and inbound travel for your studies abroad do not include a plane, ship or car, you can apply for special funding for green travel. The amount of the grant is based on the distance to the place of study.³

Real costs funding

If you expect higher additional expenses abroad related to your disability or chronic medical condition, you can submit a real costs application to support your stay. In this way, additional expenses such as for assistance, mobility training or accessible accommodation can be borne, provided that it can be proven that these are not covered by another social agency. Real costs funding is possible up to a maximum of 15,000 euros per semester.

Students travelling with their children can also make a real costs application for the additional expenses incurred abroad. The support goes towards travel, accommodation, day care and other requirements of the child or children.

Humboldt-Universität must submit the application to the National Agency for Erasmus+ at least two months before your outbound travel. If the real costs funding is applicable to you, please contact the coordination office at your faculty or department at an early stage (ideally, when you first apply for an Erasmus place).

Erasmus+ does not provide any insurance cover. Please make sure you have sufficient insurance for your stay abroad. In particular, we recommend health insurance, liability insurance, accident insurance and repatriation insurance. There also is the possibility of getting DAAD group insurance.

The Erasmus+ programme also offers you the opportunity of combining a semester stay with an internship. The internship can take place full-time before or after your study term abroad, or part-time during the semester. The duration is not fixed and can be agreed upon on an individual basis.

The internship must always take place under the supervision and responsibility of the host university, which means it must be incorporated into the written agreements of the Learning and the Grant Agreements (more on these documents in the "Preparation for the semester abroad" section below). It is therefore best to ask your host university about your opportunities.

If you wish to complete a full-time internship of at least 60 days independent of a study stay, find out about the possibilities of independent internship funding via Erasmus+.

You apply for an exchange place via your faculty or department. During the application period, which is usually between 1 November and 31 January, you can apply for the following academic year: both for the winter and summer semester, or for the entire year. You can find the current deadline applicable to you on the website of your faculty or department.

The faculties and departments select applicants based on criteria that can be found on their websites. Common criteria include grade point average, semester of study, language skills, and individual motivation. An exchange place is therefore not guaranteed. We recommend that you consult with the Erasmus coordinator at your faculty or department before applying.

Application documents

You can also read about the exact application procedures on the websites of the faculties and departments and discuss them with your Erasmus coordination office.

In general, an Erasmus application should consist, of the following documents:

• enrolment certificate (AGNES printout);
• transcript of records (AGNES printout);
• letter of motivation (please name academic reasons for the studies at the chosen host university);
• curriculum vitae;⁴
• for an application for an exchange at master’s level: bachelor’s certificate and current enrolment certificate;
• language certificate, for example HU B2 language certificate or equivalent language certificates such as Unicert II, TOEFL, or, for stays in France, Abitur certificate with advanced course in French).

If your application is successful, you will receive an offer of a study place from your Erasmus coordination office. If you accept the offer, you will be nominated for the place at the host university.

Once you have received the confirmation of your study place and accepted it, you receive a form by email: the Grant Agreement, or, if you are going to Switzerland, the Mobility Agreement.

In this document, you can check the details of the approval, such as the amount of the mobility grant and the agreed duration of the stay, as well as your rights and obligations as an Erasmus+ beneficiary.

After your nomination, the partner university will contact you either directly or via your Erasmus coordinators and inform you about the application formalities of your host university.

You usually have to either register online at the partner university or submit application documents such as an application form, the Grant Agreement and your transcript of records again.

As soon as you have also been accepted by the partner university, you will be enrolled there. You can obtain more detailed information on this directly from the partner university or from its websites for Erasmus students.

Before you go abroad, you will receive instructions from your Erasmus coordinator on how to draw up the digital Learning Agreement. In the Learning Agreement, you specify which courses you will attend at the partner university, and your faculty or department will state how the courses will be recognised at HU for you. You will find out who exactly is responsible for the predicted recognition from the Erasmus coordination office at your faculty or department.

Before your outbound travel, you draw up a first version of this Learning Agreement and have it signed by your Erasmus coordinators at both universities.

If changes occur after your arrival, you can fill in a second, adapted version. This must then also be signed by the coordinators at both universities.

Your study programme should generally comprise the following number of study points:

• 25-30 ECTS per semester in full-time studies;
• 20 ECTS each for trimesters in full-time studies;
• percentage-based for part-time studies.

If you do not obtain the ECTS agreed on in the Learning Agreement, you must submit justification in the form of a hardship application, which we must submit to National Agency in the event of enquiries. If you have obtained fewer than 15 points per semester, we reserve the right to reclaim the grant proportionally. If you have not obtained any points at all, you must repay the entire grant.

Please coordinate the Learning Agreement in a timely manner with the responsible staff member for recognition queries. For this purpose, please consult the Erasmus coordination office of your faculty or department.

In preparation of your stay, the EU Academy supports you in acquiring or perfecting your foreign language skills through various language courses and language tests.

Access to the language learning offer and the language communities on the OLS platform is via an EU login, which you use to create an account. When you register on the EU Academy platform for the first time, you are required to give your consent to data protection.

For every semester that you spend abroad, you must re-enrol at HU so you keep your student status. In the re-enrolment for the new semester, you can apply for a leave of absence so that the semester is not counted as a study semester and you possibly do not have to purchase the Berlin Semesterticket.

The Grant Agreement (or the Mobility Agreement) serves as proof of your studies abroad for an application for leave with our Student Services.

Your Erasmus+ grant will be paid in two instalments. For you to receive the first bank transfer as soon as possible after your arrival at the partner university, we need to have received the following documents:

• a scan of the Grant Agreement, which you should already have signed and sent before your departure;
• a scan of your Learning Agreement, which you have filled out and had signed before your outbound travel;
• the Confirmation of Registration, signed by the host university (see Downloads below for the form).

Please email us all the documents that you have not yet submitted at the beginning of your stay abroad as soon as possible.

You will receive the second grant instalment at the end of your stay abroad. For this purpose, please email us the following documents no later than three weeks after your studies end at the partner university:

• the second version of the Learning Agreement, if amendments have been made;
• the Confirmation for Student Stay Abroad, signed by the partner university at the end of your study term (see Downloads below for the form);
• proof of your participation in the online survey, which you will be requested to take by email by the Beneficiary module of the European Commission;
• your transcript of records from the partner university, in which all the courses you have attended, your examination results and study points gained are documented.

Please note: Incomplete or missing documents, or missed deadlines can lead to non-payment of the grant. After 31 October, payments for previous semesters can generally no longer be guaranteed.

Do you wish to study abroad for longer than originally planned? Please check and agree with your Erasmus coordinator and the host university. For this purpose, use the application document provided (see Downloads below for the form).

An extension can be approved if you have not yet used up your allocated Erasmus time (see explanation in the "Requirements" section above) and the host university still has a free place. It is not guaranteed that you can also continue to be funded. This depends on whether there are any funds left for the semester.

If you want or have to shorten your stay, please inform your Erasmus coordination office and the International Office at an early stage. The stay might be shortened, for example, by a condensed examination phase, or as a result of changes in the course catalogue of your host university, as a consequence of which you no longer find enough courses eligible for recognition.

Please note that only the time period actually spent at the host university is eligible for funding. Additionally, if you shorten your stay, you are still required to obtain transferable credits for your degree programme.

To shorten your stay, you must have studied for at least 60 days abroad. Otherwise, you must prove that you are forced to break off your stay by force majeure (such as illness, a natural disaster or strikes). Ending a stay early must always be applied for and approved individually. It is therefore important that you get in touch as soon as possible.

After you return to HU, you can have the study points (ECTS) you earned abroad recognised for your degree programme at your faculty or department.

To do so, enter the credits and the corresponding module from your HU degree programme in the Proof of Recognition (see Downloads below for the form) and have this signed by your examination office. As proof of your credits, please submit the transcript of records issued by the partner university. What matters, ultimately, are the learning outcomes confirmed in the transcript, and not the duration if the courses you have attended. After the examination office has processed your documents, you will be able to see the transferred credits in your AGNES transcript of records.

The burden of proof in the event of non-recognition of credits obtained abroad lies with HU, specifically with the unit responsible for examinations at your faculty or department. This is prescribed by the Lisbon Recognition Convention. If there are any problems regarding the recognition of your study credits, you have a right to appeal.

The International Office must be able to prove the recognition of your credits to the National Agency for Erasmus+. Therefore please forward your signed Proof of Recognition to us by email. Even if you decide not to have any credits recognised, we still require the Proof of Recognition. In this case, simply send it with the comment “no recognition desired”.