What Erasmus+ Actually Covers
Erasmus+ is the EU's umbrella programme for cross-border learning, bundling funding that used to run under separate schemes for higher education, vocational training, school education, adult education, youth work and sport. The 2021–2027 phase roughly doubled the previous budget to about €26.2 billion, with priorities the European Commission names as social inclusion, the green and digital transitions, and young people's participation in democratic life. In higher education, it funds mobility between institutions holding an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, plus larger university cooperation projects that individual students cannot apply for directly. [1]
Who Can Take Part
Eligibility is tied to enrolment, not passport: you qualify if you are registered at short-cycle, bachelor's, master's or doctoral level at an institution in an Erasmus+ Programme Country holding the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, and your planned stay fits your degree. Non-EU nationals already studying at a participating university can therefore take part on the same basis as EU citizens. Recent graduates remain eligible for a traineeship abroad, though the exact conditions and application window are set by their last home institution rather than by a single EU-wide rule. [2] [3]
Study Exchanges, Traineeships and Joint Degrees
Long-term study mobility runs two to twelve months per study cycle, and students on long single-cycle degrees such as medicine can sometimes combine periods up to 24 months under the current Programme Guide. Traineeships, open to enrolled students and recent graduates alike, also run two to twelve months and can take place at almost any organisation worldwide except EU institutions themselves, and can be combined with a separate study period. Short-term “blended” mobility instead pairs a 5-to-30-day stay abroad with an online component. Separately, Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's degrees are joint one-to-two-year programmes (60, 90 or 120 ECTS) run by at least three universities in three countries, with full scholarships for top applicants. [2] [3] [4]
What the Grant Covers, and Tuition Fees
The grant is explicitly described by the European Commission as “a contribution to your travel and daily living costs,” not full cost coverage; monthly rates differ by destination and are set annually by national and institutional agencies, so check your own university's rate table rather than a figure found online. One guarantee applies everywhere: the host institution must waive tuition, registration, examination and library or laboratory-access fees for the exchange period, though small costs such as student-union membership or insurance can still apply. Each Programme Country runs its own National Agency; in Germany that is the National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation at DAAD. Students with a disability or comparable extra cost can apply, via their home institution, for an inclusion top-up covering real additional expenses. [2] [5] [6] [7]
How to Apply: There Is No Central Form
There is no single European application portal for students. You apply through your home university's international or Erasmus+ office, which selects participants through a process the European Commission requires to be fair and transparent, then nominates you to a partner institution under an existing inter-institutional agreement. Before departure, you, your department and the host institution jointly sign a Learning Agreement, often completed as an Online Learning Agreement, listing the courses or tasks you will complete and the credits they carry, so recognition is agreed in advance rather than negotiated afterwards. Deadlines, required documents and selection criteria are set by each university individually, so your own international office is always the definitive source. [8] [9] [2]
Getting Your Credits Recognised
Because the Learning Agreement fixes in advance which courses count toward your degree, your home university must recognise credits earned abroad through ECTS or an equivalent system, without extra requirements, as long as you complete what was agreed. The host institution issues a Transcript of Records confirming what you actually completed. Any change to the original plan, such as swapping a course after arrival, should be documented as a formal amendment rather than agreed informally, so recognition still holds if your results differ from the plan. [2] [9]
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most frequent problem is timing: home-university deadlines usually fall months before the EU-level picture suggests, and missing them cannot be fixed by contacting Brussels. A second is treating the grant as full funding rather than a contribution, leaving a savings or part-time-work gap unplanned. A third is changing courses after arrival without formally amending the Learning Agreement, which can put credit recognition at risk. A fourth is assuming the grant automatically includes health insurance or handles residence registration; both stay the student's own responsibility and depend on nationality and length of stay. Some students also never ask about inclusion or hardship top-ups simply because they did not know the option existed. [2] [5] [10]
Do I Have to Be an EU Citizen to Do Erasmus+?
No. Eligibility depends on being enrolled at a participating institution in a Programme Country, not on your nationality, so non-EU students already studying there can take part on the same footing. Only the destination's own entry and residence rules for your specific nationality are handled separately from the Erasmus+ grant itself. [2] [3]
How Much Money Will I Actually Receive?
There is no single EU-wide amount. Monthly rates differ by destination country group and are set annually in the Programme Guide and by the national and institutional agencies administering the funds, so the reliable figure is the current rate table published by your own university or National Agency, not a number quoted online. [2] [11]
Can I Combine the Grant with Other Funding or a Job?
Generally yes, since the grant is described as a contribution rather than full funding. Whether a specific national scholarship, loan or part-time-work income can be combined with it depends on that other scheme's own rules, so check with the body administering the other funding as well as your international office. [2]
What Happens If I Fail Courses While Abroad?
Recognition follows what was actually achieved against the signed Learning Agreement, so failed or missing credits are generally not recognised and may need to be retaken. Consult your home department early, since resit options, deadlines and any effect on your standard study duration are set by your home university's own examination regulations, not by Erasmus+ itself. [9] [2]
Can I Do Erasmus+ Outside Europe?
Yes, though the possibilities differ by mobility type: a traineeship can take place at almost any organisation worldwide, except EU institutions themselves, while study exchanges under the main higher-education action run between Programme and Partner Country institutions defined in the current Programme Guide. Confirm your intended destination's status with your international office before assuming it qualifies. [3] [11]
Sources
- What Is Erasmus+? (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ Opportunities for Individuals: Students (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ Opportunities for Individuals: Studying Abroad (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ Opportunities for Individuals: Traineeships Abroad for Students (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ Opportunities for Individuals: Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+: How to Take Part (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ Resources and Tools: Mobility and Learning Agreements (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+: Support for Students and Staff with Physical, Mental or Health-Related Conditions (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ National Agencies (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- Erasmus+ Programme Guide (European Commission) · accessed on ↩
- National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation (DAAD, Germany) · accessed on ↩
- Your Europe: Studying Abroad in the EU (European Union) · accessed on ↩