Erasmus+ SMS and SEMP
Jodrell Bank Observatory at the University of Manchester. Photo: M. Becker. All EU countries, Turkey and the EEA countries take part in the Erasmus+ program. The Swiss-European Mobility Program (SEMP) offers exchange students similar opportunities in Switzerland.
Benefits of these exchange programs are the exemption from tuition fees at the host institution, academic advice for the preparation of your study plan, the preliminary examination of the credit transfer possibilities, usually the supervision by the host university as well as other additional services. The semester abroad will be automatically recorded in your final degree documents (Diploma Suppplement).
The Erasmus Office of the TUM Global & Alumni office is responsible for the processing of the Erasmus+ grant. The SEMP grant is provided by the participating Swiss universities.
Erasmus+ and SEMP partner universities of TUM Physics Department
Database of experince reports (all partner universities of TUM)
Duration and time
The stay abroad can last from 1 to 2 semesters, with a minimum of 3 months for studies and 2 months for internships. Each student can be funded by the Erasmus+ program for up to 12 months per study cycle (Bachelor, Master and doctoral studies), either for studies and/or internships abroad.
In our physics department only applications starting on the fifth semester can be considered. Due to the different semester dates in our partner universities und their overlap with our examination periods, it is normally recommended to go abroad during our winter semester. A thorough planning together with individual advice in our department can expand your possibilities.
Erasmus+ grant
As an Erasmus+ students you can receive a mobility grant of varying amounts depending on the country and the duration of your stay. This grant can be combined with Auslands-BaföG.
Besides the regular Erasmus+ grant, there is a special needs grant for students wishing to go abroad with their child(ren) and for students with physical / mental disability or chronic disease (degree of disability 30 or higher). For further details please check the website of TUM Global & Alumni Office.
Selection criteria
The selection process is carried out by our department based on the following criteria:
- Personal motivation, knowledge of the destination and academic plan
- Preliminary study plan at the host institution and its integration in your studies at TUM (course plan)
- Grades (only of passed examinations), especially at particularly popular destinations and selective partners
- Language proficiency in the teaching language, knowledge of the local language is a plus -- planning on time increases your chances, do not miss the teaching offerings of TUM Language Center!
- Extracurricular activities and social engagement
The application documents are assessed in terms of content and form. Interviews may take place in some cases.
For Bachelor students, it is required that the GOP has been passed at the time of nomination.
Application process
Application documents
Application documents are to be uploaded in the online portal of TUM Global & Alumni Office (moveon) and sent as one merged PDF (incl. application form) to international@ph.tum.de:
- TUM application form
- Fill out TUM online application form. Use only your TUM e-mail address which contains given name and last name (john.doe@tum.de) and do not register with your TUM id e-mail (e.g. ga99xyz). Register only once with one single e-mail address. You can only fill in one Erasmus application.
- Letter of motivation
- Letter of motivation in English with explanations to each of the desired host institutions (you can choose up to eight). It can be max. 2 pages long and should consider the following: why have you chosen the universities and the order, why the courses (especially important for Master students), why the country, why the language (if not English), why are you eligible for an exchange etc.
- Study plan
- Preliminary study plan at the selected host institutions (incl. course code, course title and ECTS) –– of course you can change some of your course selection later on
- Academic record
- Academic records of previous semesters, e.g. TUMonline grade report or transcript from other universities
- Language certificate
- Language certificate(s) for relevant teaching language(s), e.g. free DAAD certificate, individual grade report of a passed TUM language course, enrollment in a international TUM Master programm (fully-taught in English). Internationally recognized language certificates are accepted even if their official validity has expired.
If you have not reached yet the required language skills, please work out and submit together with your current certificate an individual language learning plan. - Curriculum Vitae
- CV incl. hobbys, languages, internships, social engagement etc.
Application documents are assessed in terms of content and form. Please only submit complete applications, you will not be able to submit further documents later on.
Do a good deed - Rooms ready for incomings
To support international exchange students in finding accommodation for one or two semesters, TUM Global & Alumni Office's Welcome Office has launched an accommodation forum. Regular TUM students who are going abroad for one or two semesters can offer their rooms or apartments for sublet or exchange without any organizational effort. Further details are available on the website of TUM Global & Alumni Office.
Application deadline
The yearly application deadline is in January for study abroad stays in the following academic year. The application deadline to study abroad with Erasmus+ and SEMP during the academic year 2023/24 is January 12, 2023 (at 12 noon). Later on you can apply for the remaining places, as long as the application deadline of the corresponding partner university has not passed.
Selection process
- The application deadline to study abroad with Erasmus+ and SEMP during the academic year 2023/24 is January 12, 2023 (at 12 noon) – for both winter and summer semester. Please consider that interviews may take place in some cases. Later on you can apply for the remaining places, as long as the application deadlines of the partner universities have not passed
- By the end of February you will receive a study abroad offer or rejection via moveon to the e-mail used for your application. Please consider that serial e-mails are often sorted as spam! You need to accept or reject this offer. If you accept it, you will be nominated for the corresponding partner university
- After nomination to the partner university by our department, you will probably be informed about required application documents by the host institution. However, not all partners send this information after the nomination, so please make sure to also check the required documents and deadlines yourself. You are responsible to apply on time.
- Information about the Erasmus+ grant will be sent by TUM Global & Alumni Office, as they are responsible for this process