Erasmus grants are intended to offset the additional costs of mobility, such as travel costs, foreign language preparation where necessary and a higher cost of living in the host country. Grants are not intended to cover the full costs of study abroad.

Outgoing students

Grants are awarded to students participating in an approved mobility programme under the Institutional Contract of the student's institution. Students must be fully registered on a course of studies leading to a degree or diploma up to and including doctoral level. These students may go abroad to pursue eligible activities at the partner institution in a country participating in the programme.

Multiple Erasmus Periods

During their higher education 'careers' a student may now receive one Erasmus grant for:

- an Erasmus study period

- an Erasmus work placement

- an Erasmus Mundus mobility

The total duration of all grants may not exceed 24 months

Official status

Grants are awarded exclusively to eligible students

First-year students

For study periods, grants are not available to students who have not finished their first year of study. However, students wanting to do a work placement can do so during their first year.

Activities abroad

Grants are awarded exclusively for the following activities abroad:

• full-time undergraduate or postgraduate studies, including thesis preparation (but excluding research activities not specifically forming part of a course of studies), leading to a recognised diploma or degree, at an institution recognised as eligible by the host institution;
• work placements, provided that the placement is recognised as an integral part of the student's programme by his/her home institution and not wholly supported by any other European Community programme.

Grants are not awarded for periods abroad which last less than three months, or less than one full academic trimester/term or more than one year. However, students on short-term/vocational courses can undertake a work placement for just two months.

Staff

Erasmus effectively gives your institution financial assistance for staff professional development, as funding for subsistence and travel is available for all staff. It will be up to your institution how this is paid, but many choose to pay against receipted expenditure. Travel costs may cover travel from the point of departure to the host, but do not include local travel. Subsistence rates are defined by the British Council and vary according to the country visited and the length of time staff go. Staff from enterprises in another participating country can receive funding for a teaching visit to a UK institution.

Operational Handbook

For further information on any of the above, please refer to the Erasmus Mobility Operational Handbook. A copy of the 2012/13 version 1 handbook is available to download here. The annexes are also provided in Word format here.

The 2013/14 Annexes are available here

The data requirements are also now available as a pdf.