Studying abroad with Erasmus+

Most degree programs have established partner programs with international universities. The Erasmus+ coordinators in your faculty or department will gladly provide you with further details. The online application deadline for the Erasmus+ program is 31 January of every year (exception: Erasmus+ programs in mathematics have different application deadlines).

Who offers Erasmus+ advising in my faculty or institute? See our list of Erasmus+ coordinators in the faculties

Current application round 2020/2021

The online application portal is available until 31 January 2020. If you need further information on the application process, please speak to the Erasmus+ coordinator in your faculty.

Erasmus in the United Kingdom after Brexit

Due to the ongoing negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union, students wanting to apply for a semester abroad during the 2020/2021 academic year cannot be guaranteed financial support.

As the negotiations currently stand, studying abroad as part of the Erasmus program is eligible for funding, as long as the stay begins before 31 January 2020.

In the event of Brexit, applications for the 2020/2021 academic year may be subject to the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: An ‘orderly’ Brexit: In this case, there will probably be a deal between the EU and the United Kingdom which will include the Erasmus program and the funding it entails.

Scenario 2: There is a ‘no-deal Brexit’ from the EU: Under this scenario, there is no guarantee that funding will be available for students. However, if post-Brexit agreements have been signed with the individual university in the UK, students will not have to pay local tuition fees.

Everything you need to know about applying for Erasmus+

The application round for an Erasmus+ period abroad begins every year on 1 December and ends on 31 January. Your faculty or department may have a waiting list. Speak to your Erasmus+ coordinator there if you have missed the deadline.

The guidelines on how to apply successfully for an Erasmus+ period abroad are explained in the online application for an Erasmus+ period.

As soon as you have successfully submitted your application, you can retrieve your status online at any time by logging on with your STiNE user name. Thus, even when you are abroad, you will be able to stay informed about which documents need to be uploaded when, for example, in order to receive your first and second grant installments.

What are the prerequisites for an Erasmus+ mobility?

You must be enrolled in a degree program at the University (no exchange students).
You must have completed at least 1 year of undergraduate study before starting an exchange program.
You must be proficient in the language of instruction.

Which documents do I need to upload online?

First, please complete the online application form and send it off electronically. Then you must complete your personal data in the database. Finally, please upload the following application documents (PDFs only) to the database:

letter of motivation
Europass CV template or regular CV
Preliminary Learning Agreement (PDF)
proof of language skill level in the language of instruction, e.g., DAAD Language Certificate (PDF)
proof of enrollment

Make sure to save your uploaded documents for your own records.

Who selects the applicants and what are the selection criteria?

The program coordinators in the faculties or institutes of the University select applicants according to the following criteria (prioritized by the selection committee):

academic record
semesters of study completed
proficiency in course and local language
motivation

Please note the following exceptions in the selection procedures for the Faculties 1 (Law) and 3 (Medicine):
Law: Since many students have not yet received their grades by the time they apply, the letter of motivation constitutes the main selection criterion for allocating a place at the desired university.
Medicine: Political and social commitment as well as part-time work parallel to studies are also taken into consideration.

What hardship funding is available for students with children or special needs?

Students or parents planning to go abroad with their child/children can apply for an additional €200 monthly grant (regardless of the number of children).
Students who can prove a degree of disability of at least 30 can apply for special funding. Contact our Erasmus Team for advice when preparing your application.

If your application is successful, any such special funding will be addressed in the Grant Agreement. After receiving the Grant Agreement, submit an application for special funding. Contact the Erasmus Team in the Department of International Affairs in such cases.

Documents, deadlines, and formal requirements while abroad

To-dos before your Erasmus+ period

After being nominated by the faculty or institute, you must enroll at your host university and apply for a room in a student dormitory, if applicable.

Submitting the Grant Agreement for Studies
Print the Grant Agreement for Studies with your personal data from the database. Sign the original and submit it within 14 days of printing to the Erasmus+ coordinator in your faculty or institute. After the document is signed by the Erasmus+ institutional coordinator, the Department of International Affairs will upload the Grant Agreement to your records in the Mobility Online portal.

Your Universität Hamburg enrollment certificate covering the period of your stay abroad must be uploaded to the database.

The Learning Agreements for Studies Part I: Before the mobility must be signed by all 3 parties and uploaded in full to the database before you begin your period abroad. Please follow the guidelines Learning Agreement for Studies (PDF) when completing the Learning Agreement for Studies.

Before leaving to study abroad, Erasmus students are required to take an OLS language assessment test in the language of instruction at their Erasmus+ host university. For this purpose, you will be sent a link before the beginning of your Erasmus+ period. Please note: the language test will be conducted after you have been nominated and is not an application criterion. Native speakers are exempt from the online language test. For more information see Erasmus+ Online Language Support (OLS).

To-dos during your period abroad

On the first day of class, please go to the Erasmus+ office/coordinator at your host university and have them sign your Confirmation of Stay Form (Part I), then upload it to the database. Upon uploading the Confirmation of Stay, your first grant installment will be disbursed (70 percent of the total funding amount). If you have registered for a language course suggested by the host university, its initial day can be counted as the first day of class of your period abroad and should be entered on the Confirmation of Stay. If you are taking an external preparatory language course in the host country immediately before the beginning of regular classes at the host institution, the initial day of the language course can also be counted as the first day of class of your period abroad.

If you make any changes or additions to your course of studies, please include them in the Learning Agreement for Studies Part II: During the Mobility. You can submit course changes up to 5 weeks after the start of your Erasmus+ period. This document must be signed by all 3 parties and uploaded to the database.

Please ensure that you have the last academic day at your host university confirmed (i.e., the last day of class, the last exam, due date of final term paper, etc.) on the Confirmation of Stay Form (Part II), then upload it to the database.

To-dos after your period abroad

Fill in the online EU survey on your computer. We will send you the link to the survey immediately after your return. If your coursework has not yet been recognized when you fill in the online EU survey, you will receive another online survey (about recognition of credits) to fill in 45 days later.

Upload the completed Confirmation of Stay to the database.

Upload your transcript of records from your host university to the database as soon as you receive it.

If not all of your ECTS credits from your period abroad are automatically included in your transcript of records, please complete the Learning Agreement for Studies Part III: After the Mobility and make sure to have it signed at your host university.

Subsequent to their stay abroad, all Erasmus students are required to participate in a second online language assessment test. You will be sent an email with the request to take this test.

As soon as you have submitted all required documents, taken the second online language assessment test, and filled in the online EU survey, your second grant installment will be disbursed.

Forms to upload or submit if your Erasmus+ application is successful

Applicants must use the forms provided by the Department of International Affairs. Some of our partner universities may not use the latest versions with the newest information from the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Auslandsdienst, DAAD).

Please note that you are required to submit the original Grant Agreement to the Erasmus coordinator responsible for your faculty before embarking on your period abroad.

For disbursement of the first funding rate, please upload the Confirmation of Stay to the database.

Upon your return you must upload the Confirmation of Stay (Part II) to the database.

If you want to extend your Erasmus+ stay abroad, upload a request for extension together with the Learning Agreement Part II to the database no later than 1 month before the end of your original grant period. Your request will be reviewed by the Department of International Affairs.

Erasmus+ 2019/20

Erasmus+ 2018/19

Funding amount

The DAAD approves Erasmus+ funding at the end of May. It is at this point that the grant amount for students for the next academic year is determined. The monthly funding amount depends on the duration of your stay abroad and the host country; countries are divided into 3 categories according to the cost of living. Subject to the approval by the National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation at the DAAD, the grant amount is calculated on the basis of the exact number of days spent at the host institution multiplied by the corresponding country category. For further information, please see the document entitled Universität Hamburg Erasmus+ Förderbedingungen, Anhang IV. If there are insufficient funds available, students on waiting lists and those for whom recognition of their coursework is not necessary will be considered for a place only once all other applications have been dealt with. The following special terms apply:

Months counting 31 days are calculated on a basis of 30 days.
A mobility grant is only available for a stay abroad of at least 3 months (with the exception of trimesters). If you abandon your stay abroad or cut it short, you must repay any funding you have already received. In such a situation, receipt of your grant is only possible if you can present a medical certificate and is subject to approval by the DAAD.
Multiple participations in the Erasmus+ program with a maximum duration of 12 months is possible. If you already spent an Erasmus+ period abroad, you may apply again to Erasmus+.

Switzerland currently does not participate in the Erasmus+ program, but funds German exchange students from its own budget (approx. 440 CHF). Your Erasmus+ coordinator can provide more information, or contact the Swiss university you would like to study at directly.

Erasmus+ mobility grant 2018/19

Since the 2018/19 funding year, the following changes in funding procedures have taken place in accordance with DAAD requirements:

Monthly rates for each of the country groups will be standardized across all universities in Germany.
The constitution of the country groups has changed from previous years:

Country Group 1: €420 per month (€14 per day)
Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

Country Group 2: €360 per month (€12 per day)
Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Cypress

Country Group 3: €300 per month (€10 per day)
Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary

In all country groups, funding is approved for:

a maximum of 5 months for 1 semester
a maximum of 10 months for 2 semesters
a maximum of 3 months for 1 trimester
a maximum of 6 months for 2 trimesters
a maximum of 9 months for 3 trimesters

Accordingly, the length of your stay abroad and the length of time for which you receive funding may differ. The Department of International Affairs, Erasmus Team is responsible for the distribution of available funds. The mobility grant is disbursed in 2 installments of 70% and 30% respectively.

Erasmus+ mobility grant 2019/20

Since the funding year 2019/20, the following change in funding procedures will take place in accordance with DAAD requirements:

Monthly rates for each of the country groups will be standardized across all universities in Germany.

Country Group 1: €450 per month (€15 per day)
Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

Country Group 2: €390 per month (€13 per day)
Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Cypress

Country Group 3: €330 per month (€11 per day)
Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary