What is Erasmus?
Erasmus+ is an exchange program which allows students to spend a period of 2-12 months at a time at one of your home universities partner universities throughout Europe (and sometimes beyond). As medical students our total time abroad may amount to a maximum of 24 months.
There are 3 types of calls that you can apply for:
- Erasmus+ for studies – the period of time abroad is usually 3-12 months, within Europe.
- Erasmus+ Traineeship – Minimum of 2 months (60 days) or a maximum of 3 months (90 days) abroad, within Europe.
- Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (Erasmus ICM) – Minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 6 months outside of Europe. (It is possible to extend it up to 12 months, however 6 months of it is without a Zero-EU grant)
Why Take Part in Erasmus?
- Going abroad, living in a new country and getting to know a new culture, as well as meeting new people
- Learning or improving language skills
- Experiencing a new healthcare system
- All Erasmus+ students receive a scholarship of 350-800 Euros per month, depending on the ISEE, the country of destination, and the type of call (bando). Note: the payment will only be done to an Italian IBAN.
- All scholarship holders will be able to attend courses at the host university without having to pay fees
- All the activities carried out abroad will be recognized by your home university as established in the Learning Agreement – so your exams will be recognized back in Italy, and you will not need to do the same course twice.
- Every person that participates in Erasmus will receive additional points when they graduate: 1 point if you stay abroad 3-5 months and 2 points if you stay abroad for a minimum 6 months (5 months and 16 days to be exact)
What are the Requirements for Applying to Erasmus?
Each type of call Erasmus+, Erasmus Traineeship, and Erasmus ICM has it’s own set of rules, requirements, and application process. The countries that you can travel to, the level of funding you receive, and the requirements necessary are all dependent on your home University and your specific application. Below we will discover each type of call in detail with it’s possibilities, requirements, and steps. This article was written by Karolina who is a 5th year student in Sapienza, so the steps might change slightly from university to university, however since Erasmus is a Europe wide experience, the procedure will not be too different regardless of what university you are currently attending.
Applying to Erasmus+ for Studies
Erasmus+ offers a huge number of countries, however the final destinations are chosen by your home university and they are the only places you can apply to. My suggestion is to first check the language requirements of your preferred University before applying – some countries require a certain language level.
For example: Many places in Spain, France and Germany require you to know the local language. Other countries like Poland, Norway, and Croatia might just require a certain level of English. The good news for your course (Medicine in English) is the fact that you are automatically given the C1 English language level, since we study in that language.
How do you prove your language level for the requirements?
If you already have a language certificate through a recognised body you may be able to just submit it in the online application, however you might be required to take a language exam. In Sapienza this is conducted by the Centro Linguistico Ateneo (CLA).
In 2021 this test was done completely online, and it was based on just filling in gaps in short pieces of text. You have to sign up in advance through the Erasmus application portal, and the test dates are usually in February or March.
A Summary of the Application Process
After signing up on the portal online (the link is always published in the call), registering and taking the language test or submitting your language certificates, you are also required to submit other documents that are listed in the call.
Very important document that is often missed by applicants is the “Ordinamento”, which is also published with the call online. Remember to check if you have submitted everything or you will be disqualified, also use your institutional email only.
Then after some time there is a ranking that is published, the “graduatoria”. The ranking is heavily based on the number of exams you have taken (if you are on time) and your average. There is an algorithm that calculates it all, and being on time is actually a more important factor than the average from what I have noticed in the previous rankings. Once the graduatoria is published all the candidates must appear in presence (or online) for the assignment of places – they will inform you when and where that will take place. The spots are assigned one by one.
After you are assigned a spot – congratulations! You will now receive a lot of emails with the rules and some details on what to do next. All of the documents will be available on the same portal through which you applied. Basically, your next task will be to establish a Learning Agreement (LA), which is a program of subjects that you will take abroad and what they will correspond to from your home universities curriculum. The LA has to be signed by a RAM, who will be a specific professor in your course.
Note: I suggest checking the websites of different universities from the call before you apply, to see what subjects you are allowed to take, since there might be some restrictions.
After your LA is signed you have to send it to the hosting university abroad and get is signed. You will also have to submit documents to receive financing (you will have to insert your Italian IBAN etc.). Upon arrival you will need to get your Arrival Certificate signed and you will have to send your boarding pass (or other proof of travel) to your home university, since without that you will not receive funding.
Applying to Erasmus+ Traineeship
Erasmus Traineeship allows you to do an internship in a country of your choice within Europe (excluding Switzerland – all the countries are listed in the call). This call is for the entire university and not only for your Faculty. Basically, you are your own boss. You have to find the country, city and place that will accept you. The facility that you will do a traineeship at can be a clinic, hospital, company, really almost anything – there are very few restrictions listed in the call.
Remember that there is a minimum and maximum amount of time that has to be spent abroad. If you find a facility that will accept you, they have to sign a document that also specifies what you will do during that period of time and what language (and at what level) you are required to know – basically they should confirm that you know the language at that level and your knowledge is sufficient enough to do an internship there.
The important thing is that without this agreement signed you will not be even taken into consideration for the call, so make sure to have it signed before the deadline.
Summary of the Process
Once you have obtained, signed and submitted the correct learning agreement found in the portal, the final list of candidates will be published and here the selection usually takes place based on the number of exams taken, your grade average, but also the plan of the traineeship (how beneficial it will be to you). Based on all of that you are given a certain number of points.
However here the difference is that the graduatoria (ranking) is final and it just states who managed to get a spot and who did not. There is no assignment of spots and no meeting like with Erasmus+ for studies.
This is a great opportunity and from what I have seen most people that apply get a spot (given they submit all the documents on time), and it seems less competitive than Erasmus+ for studies.
Applying to Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (Erasmus ICM)
Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (Erasmus ICM) is a call for the entire university and there are usually very few spots (sometimes only 1 spot per country) and more often than not in very few countries. This call is limited only to countries outside of the EU.
The application is kind of similar to the Erasmus Traineeship call, however you must submit a CV in English created in Europass, as well as complete a mandatory interview. There is additionally again a Learning Agreement that has to be signed by the professor in charge of these programmes before submitting the application AND possibly by a tutor at the University abroad if you have managed to find one before the deadline of the call.
What is more is that there are only specific countries and they really vary each year. There are countries that have the normal grant and the Zero-EU grant (ZEUG), which according to my research, is the same amount but the funding is just under a different name.
The limitations of this call are quite noticeable – very few countries, very few spots and specific universities only. In addition, the minimum number of credits that you must obtain abroad is 12.
The advantage of this call is the fact that you are your own boss – you choose if you want to study abroad or maybe do your thesis or part of your TPVES (mandatory number of hours of internship before graduation), however again you may have to contact and see if the university accepts it. The Erasmus+ ICM offers selected outgoing students a scholarship of 700 Euros per month plus travel expenses, which range from 180 to 1500 Euros, depending on the distance.
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