Before departure
You've been promised an Erasmus place? Congratulations! Now some formalities have to be fulfilled before your semester abroad can begin.
All information about the necessary steps and documents for a stay abroad with Erasmus+ can also be found in the Erasmus manual for outgoing students.
1. Acceptance of the Erasmus place
After the acceptance you must first accept your place within the period specified in the acceptance, otherwise your claim to this place lapses.
2. Registration at the host university
You will then be nominated by the Erasmus office at your future host university. You will receive instructions from the Erasmus office by email or post on how to officially apply to the host university.
Important: Please note that the deadlines stated in the confirmation of the nomination must be adhered to and that the IfG has no influence on these deadlines! Nor can we view your application at the host university.
You often have to submit your application documents again when you register at the host university. If you have any questions, please contact the relevant person at your host university – usually the person who sent you the email with the instructions. If you are unsure who your contact person is, you can look up the page of your host university under Partner Universities.
After you have successfully registered, you can usually choose your courses for your semester at the host university. If you have any questions about crediting etc., please contact the Erasmus coordinator of the IfG, Dr. Benjamin Conrad.
3. Grant Agreement
The Grant Agreement is the contract for the grant you receive during your Erasmus stay. Your Erasmus stay cannot begin without such a contract! Here you can find an example.
You will be asked to submit the necessary data in an Excel spreadsheet to the Erasmus office by email sometime in the spring. You will then have to sign the grant agreement in person once it has been drawn up. You will receive detailed information by email in good time. The general deadline for submitting grant agreements to the Erasmus office of the IfG is 23rd June.
4. Learning Agreement
The second important contract is the Learning Agreement. If you go to Switzerland, there is an extra document.
The template for the Learning Agreement will be sent to you by email. You have to enter your details and those of your future host university and note the courses you would like to attend. You can find the university calendars on the page of your host university under Partner Universities.
Important: You must pass at least 21 ECTS successfully per semester, so you should enrol for 30 ECTS per semester.
Then you must obtain the signature of the HU Erasmus coordinator, who signs on behalf of the host university and sign it yourself. Once pages 1 to 3 have been completed and signed, the LA is complete and can be sent by email or post to the Erasmus office. The deadline is 23rd June.
During your stay, the remaining pages of this contract must also be completed and signed again. More information can be found on the following pages: After Arrival and End of Stay.
5. Language test provided by Online Linguistic Support (OLS)
Almost all outgoings must take an Online Linguistic Support (OLS) language test before leaving the country. The link will be sent as soon as the grant agreement has been created. After the link has been sent, you have 2 weeks to complete the test.
Important: the emails with the links may be sent to your spam folder. Therefore, please check your email regularly so that you can register with OLS on time and take the test. In order to get your support paid out, it is urgently necessary that you take this test!
This test must be taken in the language specified as the main language of instruction in the grant agreement. So far, tests have been offered in the following languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. No test is required for languages that are not yet available. Native speakers and outgoings to Switzerland are excluded from the test.
What else needs to be organised before departure?
Leave semester
Even during your Erasmus stay, you have to confirm your attendance. However, a stay abroad is also a reason for a leave of absence.
Please contact the Student Service Centre for advice on whether a leave of absence is worthwhile for you and find out more on the website of the matriculation office.
Health insurance coverage
The Erasmus programme does not offer insurance coverage.
Every student must check for himself whether he is sufficiently insured abroad by the German health insurance (international health, liability, accident, and repatriation insurance) and, if necessary, take out an additional international health insurance policy.
Such additional insurance is offered by the DAAD, for example.
Preparatory language course
During the semester, the Language Centre offers courses in various languages, which can be used for preparation.
In addition, there are a number of intensive courses during the semester break, which can also be used as preparation.
Since winter semester 2019-20, Erasmus has also been supporting language courses that prepare students for their studies before their stay. These courses must take place at the host university or at a language school in the host country directly before the start of studies. The funding is calculated to the exact day according to the monthly rate of the country group. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Cornelia Marx (cornelia.marx@hu-berlin.de) at the International Office.
Accommodation at the host university
Most universities offer accommodation for Erasmus students. You can find out whether and what types of student dormitories are offered under Partner Universities. In most cases, you will have to indicate in your registration at the host university whether you would like to have a place in a dormitory.
If no places are available, you will have to look for accommodation privately. It is therefore advisable to make use of the offers of the host university.
Arrival
Please try and plan your arrival as ecologically sustainable as you can. Plan a trip without airplane if the travel time to your partner university is less than 12 hours.
The term "Green Erasmus" defines the opportunity to receive 50 EUR plus an additional financial promotion of up to 4 days if you decide to travel sustanaibly. Green travelling includes travelling by train, bus, ship or other alternatives to airplanes. Your own car does not count. For further information, contact the Erasmus office before your departure.