Erasmus+ student exchange for studies: for participants

The host (receiving) university makes the final decision about whether or not to admit you. The process goes as follows:

1. The University of Tartu nominates you for participation in the Erasmus+ program and notifies the host university of your nomination;
2. After the nomination has been processed host university provides you the information on application process (NB! Not all universities do that! In this case make sure you follow the instructions available on their website);
3. You must fill out application forms and submit any documents required by the host university. These materials must be submitted to the host university itself, not to the University of Tartu. 

Take a careful look at the host university's webpage to find out when the document submission deadline is for exchange studies. This information is found in the section for incoming exchange students. Generally, the deadlines range from the end of March until June. Students who wish to study abroad during the spring semester must generally submit their documents during the autumn semester (September to January, approximately).

In case there is not enough information available and host university does provide the instructions after you have been nominated, make sure you contact the host university directly to get specific information about what documents must be submitted and in what form.
If credentials are needed in order to process an on-line application via the tool of the host university, host university usually sends the details after the nomination has been processed.
The most commonly requested application documents are: 

1. An application form (be sure to check whether the application must be signed/confirmed by your Erasmus Departmental Coordinator); 
2. A transcript of records from the University of Tartu (request the official Transcript from your institute)
3. Proof of proficiency in the language of study.
4. A confirmation of your nomination by UT - write an email to liina.kaarst@ut.ee and let us know what kind of document the host university is requesting; 
5. A learning agreement that lists all the courses you plan to take at the host university. Make sure you devote plenty of time to this step. For more detailed instructions, see this page.  Starting from 2022/23 the learning agreement must be processed on-line (Online Learning Agreement, OLA).

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NB! On your learning agreement, you will need to indicate your current field of study. Each field of study has its own code (e.g., 0421 for law, 0312 for political science and civics, etc.). See this for a complete list of the codes. The institutional Erasmus code of University of Tartu is EE TARTU02.
You will often be asked for the signature of a representative of the university as well as your own signature. You are responsible for sending the documents to the host university in the manner that they require.

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Admissions decision

After the host university reviews all of your documents and forms, they will send a notification about their admissions decision. If you are admitted, you will most likely receive an official letter of acceptance. The host university may take 1-1.5 months to make a decision. Please do not dispose of the acceptance letter. 

NB! If you decide for any reason not to take part in the Erasmus+ program after you have already been nominated, notify the University of Tartu immediately by sending a digitally-signed text document explaining your decision to liina.kaarst@ut.ee. You must also notify the host university and your department's Erasmus coordinator.

Please keep in mind that while you are studying abroad, your studies at the University of Tartu are still in progress and any courses you take abroad are counted toward your curriculum at UT. The general rules for all aspects of studying abroad (the number of credits to be taken, etc.) are established at the university-wide level.

Read the most relevant information about the University's study abroad regulations  

Learning Agreement

Before the beginning of your studies abroad, you must conclude a learning agreement in which the University of Tartu and the receiving university will confirm the suitability of the courses that you have chosen to take while abroad. This signed three-party agreement must be formalized at the latest before the beginning of your studies abroad. However, many universities ask for the signed learning agreement already during the application process. On the basis of the three-party learning agreement (signed by you, the host university, and your academic unit's contact person for learning agreements), your status in the SIS will be changed to reflect the fact that you are studying abroad. 

Be sure you understand the process for coordinating your course selection with your department and with the host university, and remember that your learning agreement must be accompanied by a study plan and a decision from the University of Tartu's VÕTA (RPL - Recognition of Prior Learning) Committee. The learning agreement can be signed only after the study plan has been approved. Find more information about the Learning Agreement

Starting from 2022/23 the learning agreement must be processed on-line (Online Learning Agreement, OLA).

Before heading abroad, find out whether you will be able to get a spot in a student dormitory or if you will have to make your own housing arrangements. Reserving a spot in a dormitory usually requires sending in an application before a certain deadline and/or paying a deposit/application fee. Even if the university you are going to does not provide student housing, they may be able to offer you tips on how to find a place to live on your own. While you may use your Erasmus scholarship to pay for housing, it is not directly paid for by the programme, so be sure you have a good idea of your monthly costs. Do not hesitate to ask the receiving university for information or assistance. 

Studying abroad may require you to apply for the right of residence in your destination country. This information will be provided by the receiving university and depends on your citizenship. The website of the foreign ministry/foreign office/department of foreign affairs of your home country may provide country-specific advice (how to stay safe, who to contact in an emergency, etc). For information provided by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, see REISI TARGALT (in Estonian). 

More information on practical matters can be found here.

The Online Linguistic Support (OLS) language assessment is meant to support Erasmus+ participants' language studies. The OLS exam allows you to gauge your level of proficiency in the language of instruction of your host university abroad; you can also take online language courses to improve your skills. Here are the terms of the OLS test: 

• The test is available for the following languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Finnish, French, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, and Swedish; other languages may be added to this list in the future; 
• You must complete the test for the language in which you will be studying while abroad; 
• The test must generally be taken both before and after your studies abroad, unless you receive a result of B2 on the first test; 
• You are obligated to complete an online language course if you receive a result lower than B2 on the first test; 
• You may do an online language course even if you score B2 or higher, or you can study another language (for example, the local language); 
• You will have access to the language courses over the entire duration of your studies abroad;
• If you are assigned a language course, you must complete it. 

You will receive access to the OLS test after you begin the process of signing your Erasmus+ grant agreement.

The scholarship is meant to help you cover the expenses you will incur while abroad but will not necessarily cover all of them, so be prepared to cover a certain portion of the costs yourself. Erasmus+ program does not grant participants with the scholarship in case of distance learning without moving to the host country. In order to grant blended mobility (virtual mobility at distance combined with physical mobility period) the period where participant is present at the host country must be at least 3 consecutive months (only the period of pshysical mobility will be granted). In case of virtual (web-based) mobility carried out on spot it is upmost important to make sure the receiving university supports student's choice to move to the campus and is ready to confirm the presence as part of the exchange reports.

The European Commission's grant amounts for the autumn semester of the academic 2021/22 for UT students studying abroad are the following:

Higher Erasmus+ grant for students with disadvantaged background
You are entitled to apply for an additional 200 euros per month if you fulfill one of the following conditions:

• You received the needs-based study allowance or needs-based special allowance during the semester prior to study abroad or
• You will be receiving any of the above allowances during the study abroad semester.

Your application must be accompanied by:

• the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research's written and digitally signed decision to allot you a needs-based study allowance or
• a copy of UT’s order to allot you a need-based special allowance.  

These documents must be submitted to the Erasmus Student Exchange Coordinator when signing the Erasmus grant agreement or by the deadline specified by the Coordinator.

Erasmus+ additional grant for the students with special needs
Students with physical, mental or health-related special needs may apply for a grant in addition to the regular Erasmus+ study mobility grant. In anticipation of your Erasmus+ mobility, you must indicate your needs and foreseen extra costs associated with your physical, mental or health-related special needs in order to apply for the Erasmus+ special needs support grant. Areas that could be eligible for support linked to your Erasmus+ mobility, according to individual needs, include but are not limited to: adapted accommodation, travel assistance, medical care, medical support equipment, modified learning materials, an accompanying person, etc. If any of these conditions apply to you, please contact the Erasmus Student Exchange Coordinator and explain your condition and possible associated costs.

Estonian government co-financing (until 2021 autumn semester)
Erasmus+ participants who are students of Estonian universities receive co-financing from the Estonian government. In determining the amount of each government stipend, the University of Tartu takes into account the total amount of money allotted to the university and the number of students studying abroad during the period of financing. If there is money left over, the university may increase the stipend, with the stipulation that the final amount of support may not exceed the maximum of 200 euros/month. In allotting the leftover money, the cost of living in the student’s destination country and length of the student’s studies abroad may be taken into consideration. To allot this stipend, we sign a contract similar to the Erasmus+ grant agreement; it does not have to be applied for separately. The size of this stipend is ~200 euros one-time payment for autumn semester 2021/22. In spring semester 2022 Erasmus+ studying abroad students (UK study abroad, funded by 2020 project) will not be entitled to the payment of an additional Estonian government co-financing. 

More information regarding grant terms and rates starting from spring semester 2022 available here:

Erasmus grant info

The start and end dates of your studies abroad must be indicated in your learning agreement and Erasmus+ grant agreement prior to your departure. The start date of your mobility period is considered to be the first day that you need to be present at the receiving institution to attend courses. The end date of the period abroad is the last day on which you need to be present at the receiving institution. Keep in mind that the duration of your mobility must be no shorter than 3 months and must enable you to complete the courses specified in your learning agreement. All changes to the length of your mobility must be reflected in your learning agreement and your grant agreement.

1. To modify the study period specified in your learning agreement, you must fill out and sign the learning agreement changes form. On the basis of this form, your study abroad period in the SIS will be changed. Find more information on this page.
2. To modify the study period specified in your grant agreement, send the application to the Erasmus Student Exchange Coordinator at the Study Abroad Centre no later than 1 month before the final date of the study abroad period indicated in your Erasmus grant agreement. If you are shortening your study period from an academic year to one semester, the application must be submitted no later than 1 month before the end of the semester.

If you decide that you would like to prolong your studies abroad, keep the following in mind:

• You may participate in the Erasmus+ program for no more than 12 months at each level of study (including traineeships and Erasmus+ worldwide mobility);
• You may prolong your studies within one academic year but not across separate academic years (i.e., you may not decide during the spring semester to extend your studies to the fall semester);
• The study period must fit within the amount of time agreed upon by the academic department at UT and the foreign university (i.e., a semester or a full academic year); 
• Extending your studies does not necessarily mean that your stipend will also be extended. 

Be sure that you will be able to take on the University of Tartu's minimal course load during the second semester (15 ECTS) and that your studies abroad fit into an academic year at the University of Tartu. 

Application for prolongation

The application must be submitted no later than one month prior to the ending date of your studies abroad specified in your grant agreement. Find out from the host institution if they have their own deadline for the prolongation of studies abroad (if it is earlier, follow this deadline). 

In order to apply, submit the following documents to the Erasmus Departmental Coordinator of your academic unit (through whom you applied for the programme):

• Application for the prolongation of studies abroad;
• Additional study plan (application for recognition of the courses during the spring semester); 
• Written consent of the changes from the host institution (if already available).

Each academic unit makes its own decision on whether or not to permit students to prolong their study period, taking into account the following: the amount of time specified in the inter-university cooperation agreement (incl. in terms of the number of months); the student's motivation and plans; the student's ability to complete his or her curriculum, etc. In the event of a positive decision the Coordinator communicates an application with the consent of the unit to the Erasmus Student Exchange Coordinator at the Study Abroad Centre. The Departmental Coordinator informs the student of a negative decision.

Formalisation of prolongation

1. Complete the procedure for extending your study period and adding additional courses to your learning agreement; for details about the process, see here; 
2. The academic unit at the University of Tartu will formalise the change in SIS; 
3. Submit to the Study Abroad Centre written proof of the foreign university's consent to host you for another semester;
4. The Erasmus coordinator will contact you regarding modification of the grant agreement; 
5. The deadline for reporting to the Erasmus programme will be postponed to the new ending date of your studies abroad. 

The learning agreement is not just a list of courses but an official commitment. If necessary, you have 7 weeks at the beginning of your studies abroad to make changes to your learning agreement. If you are abroad for more than one semester, you may also modify your course selection for the second semester at the beginning of the second semester. After the deadline has passed, you are obliged to attend all of the courses agreed upon in your learning agreement.

Accordingly, upon your return to the University of Tartu, the transcript of the courses you completed while abroad and your learning agreement (with the annexes) must match. More information on making the changes and the forms you must use is available here. 

After finishing your studies abroad, within 1 month you have to email the following documents to the Study Abroad Centre (liina.kaarst@ut.ee):

1. Letter of confirmation of your studies at the partner university: At the end of your studies abroad, ask the partner university to fill out a letter confirming that you studied there; the letter should not be issued more than 5 days before the study abroad period is finished.
2. Transcript of records: an official certificate of your academic results from the partner university (digitally confirmed document or a scanned copy of document signed on paper);
3. Report on your studies: After the conclusion of your studies abroad, you will receive an email from the European Commission's online Mobility Tool asking you to fill in an online questionnaire.

The university shall have 45 calendar days after receiving the last part of your reports to make the balance payment or to issue a recovery order in case a reimbursement is due.

In order to get credit for the subjects taken abroad as part of your own study programme at the University of Tartu, you should submit your transcript of records to the academic unit at UT with which you signed your Learning Agreement and Study Plan. This is also an important requirement of UT's study abroad regulations and the results must be submitted within 8 weeks following the end of your studies abroad (according to the study period indicated in the SIS). Any questions or concerns on this matter should be directed to your academic unit's academic specialists or the RPL (VÕTA) committee.  

• Join the Erasmus Student Network;
• Join the international network Erasmus Generation.