International Office

Erasmus+ Student Mobility for Studies (SMS)

Application for an Erasmus Exchange Place

Information for Outgoing Students during the Academic Year 2025/26

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Application Deadlines
Last Minute15. May 2025for stays during the summer semester 2026
(not possible for students of human medicine)
Early Bird15. October 2025for stays in the academic year 2026/27
(not possible for students of human medicine)
Regular15. January 2026for stays in the academic year 2026/27
Last Minute15. May 2026for stays during the summer semester 2027
(not possible for students of human medicine)
Early Bird15. October 2026for stays during the academic year 2027/28
(not possible for students of human medicine)
Regular15. January 2027for stays in the academic year 2027/28
   
   
An academic year begins with the winter semester and runs up to and including the following summer semester. It is not identical to the calendar year (January - December)!
 

Online Application Procedure

The application procedure is handled via our application portal "Mobility-Online". The application portal is usually opened 6 weeks before the application deadline.

Entering your application data in Mobility-Online takes very little time if you have prepared your application well.  You will find an overview of the documents to be submitted at the bottom of the page.  We also publish the links to the application portal there.

And these are the important points that you should think about in advance:

Preparation of an Application

You can specify several "universities of choice" in your application:

  • Students of human medicine: up to two "universities of choice" (Erasmus partner universities and partner universities outside Europe
  • Students of all other subjects: up to three "universities of choice" (Erasmus partner universities and Swiss partner universities)
  • Use our search portal to find out which partner universities we have an exchange agreement with in your field of study. Please also consider our Swiss partner universities in the subjects of mathematics, economics and business chemistry. (Information on the Swiss-European Mobility Program SEMP).
  • If you are planning to start your stay in the summer semester, please bear in mind that the summer semester in most other countries begins in January/February. Find out about the lecture and examination periods on the websites of your chosen universities.
  • Students who qualified for the Erasmus program but did not receive a place at a university of their choice in the selection procedure are automatically put forward for a succession procedure, provided they have indicated the maximum possible number of universities of their choice.
  • Students who have been offered a place and applicants who have indicated fewer than the maximum possible number of preferred universities are not eligible for the succession procedure.

Language skills and language certificates:

  • Do not focus exclusively on English-speaking countries or universities with courses taught in English. Be open to other languages and plan to take another language course in the host country before your stay abroad. Students who are selected for an Erasmus place have the opportunity to take courses free of charge, offered through the Online Language Support (OLS).
  • Students of human medicine must submit proof of language proficiency with their application, possibly for several languages if they are applying for universities in different countries. Make an appointment with the Language Center in good time to take a language test and obtain a DAAD language certificate. Other language certificates are not accepted for reasons of comparability.
  • Students of all other subjects do not have to submit a language certificate with their application, but they should of course have sufficient or at least expandable knowledge of the language of instruction at the host university. Rule of thumb: English at least level B2, other languages at least level B1 (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Take a self-assessment test.

Financing:

  • Get an idea of the expected costs, e.g. based on the experiences of previous students.
  • Although all students who have been selected to participate in the Erasmus+ program receive a scholarship according to the same criteria, the amount of this scholarship and the duration for which it can be granted is not decided until June/July for the following year.
  • Although you are exempt from tuition fees at the host university, you will still have to pay the full semester fee at Ulm University (including administration fee and student union fee), even if you take a leave of absence.
  • Plan realistically: set the costs rather high and count on small grants. Think about whether the semester abroad can be financed under these conditions. Or whether a stay abroad at another university / city / country could be more cost-effective. If you have to cancel your stay at short notice because you can't afford it, the disappointment will be all the greater (and it will be a disadvantage for future applications).

Advising in the faculties:

  • If you have any questions about choosing a suitable host university, the courses on offer and course selection at the host universities as well as planning your studies at Ulm University with regard to a stay abroad, you should contact the subject coordinators in the faculties. In some subjects there are even study abroad advisors. You can find contact information on the Erasmus+ Coordinators page.
  • For questions regarding the recognition of academic achievements, please contact the respective chairpersons of the examination boards (exceptions: Physics: Prof. Dr. Susana Huelga| Computer Science: Prof. Dr. Toran | PBT and Biochemistry: Lena John | Medicine: Dr. Claudia Grab-Kroll/Katharina Häufele).

Conclusion:

  • Make a preliminary decision about which universities you want to apply for and think about what a stay abroad at these universities would mean for you personally, both for your studies and your future career goals.
  • Think about your arguments in detail. After all, your reasons for your mobility abroad and your choice of universities are the most important part of your application - and practically the only part you can influence. Your grades have already been determined.
  • Prepare two essays in a Word document so that you can later copy and paste them into the online application (max. 2,000 characters each).
    • Key question for your motivation for the stay abroad: "Why do I want to leave here" (justification for country/university in the second part)
    • Key question for your motivation for the choice of host university: "Why do I want to go there" (for each individual university of choice)

Contact

Mobility-Online Login

In order to apply for any of our programmes, you have to make an initial registration to receive a login. Please note that there are different pipelines (links) for different programmes:

Medicine (Erasmus+ and worldwide): Application link
Erasmus+ and Swiss European Mobility Programme (SEMP) (all subjects except medicine): Application Link

You can view your application and the current processing status at any time in our application portal (login required).

In case of technical problems, please contact our Mobility Online Team by e-mail.

If you have any questions regarding the content of your application, please contact our Study Abroad Team by e-mail.

Application Documents

(for Erasmus+ SMS during the Academic Year 2024/25)

Link to the Online Application Portal

Required Attachments (files/upload - no paper documents need to be submitted):

  • Passport photo
  • Current transcript of records - printout from the university portal: "Alle erbrachten Studien- und Prüfungsleistungen" in German (mandatory for all applicants, even if you are only in your first Master's semester, for example, and no courses/examinations are listed in it yet)
    • Students who have just started a Bachelor's degree program at Ulm University and have not yet completed any coursework must also submit their Abitur certificate (high school graduation diploma).
    • Students who have just transferred to Ulm University from another university must also submit the most recent transcript of grades from the previous university.
    • Students in teacher training programs should submit all transcripts (teaching subjects + educational sciences) in one PDF, not just for the subject for which they are applying for an Erasmus place.
  • In addition, one of the above certificates must be submitted in each case:
    • Certificate of average grade (mandatory for students in Bachelor's degree programs; teacher training students please submit all subjects in one PDF)
    • Copy of the intermediate examination certificate (students in teacher training programs/state examination, if already taken)
    • Copy of the Bachelor's certificate (students in Master's degree programs): The certificate submitted must show the final grade in figures (at least one decimal place). The grade (very good, good, satisfactory, etc.) is not sufficient.
      Bachelor's graduates from other universities: In order to be able to fairly assess and compare the academic achievements to date, we also require a certificate from the degree program or examination office of the previous university stating the overall average grade of the graduating cohort(s) achieved in the Bachelor's degree program in question (over the last 1-3 years). Alternatively, a transcript of records (showing the distribution of grades of the graduating cohorts) can be submitted, from which the average can be calculated. If necessary, we work with the individual ECTS grade. The transcript of records and/or ECTS grade can often be found in the Diploma Supplement. If the previous university is unable or unwilling to issue such a certificate, please upload the correspondence as a PDF to Mobility-Online.

 

  • If applicable: Confirmation of supervision of a Master's thesis / academic paper (students who wish to write a Master's thesis during their stay at an Erasmus+ partner university and already have a provisional confirmation of supervision can also submit this confirmation; they will be given priority in the allocation of places).
  • If applicable: Certificate of Advising (only mandatory for students in the international English-language Master's degree programs Communications Technology, Advanced Materials, Finance, Energy Science and Technology)
  • If applicable, proof of voluntary, international commitment (optional/ bonus points, e.g. for work as a S.T.E.P.S. tutor or buddy, or active participation in the ERASMUS Ulm + Friends group. Comparable activities are considered analogously. Please note: bonus points are only awarded if such activities are both voluntary and in favor of an international / intercultural target group. Volunteering per se or other international experiences do not count!)

Language certificates:

Students who are not enrolled in the Human Medicine degree program do not have to submit language certificates when applying for a place in the Erasmus+ program (SMS) and/or the Swiss-European Mobility Program (SEMP)! Nevertheless, you should have sufficient or at least advanced language skills in the language of instruction at the host university. In the case of a nomination, some partner universities require language certificates from applicants (but only very rarely a TOEFL).

Do not submit any documents that are not explicitly required!
 

  • No language certificates, internship certificates, job references, CVs, letters of recommendation or similar. They do not play a role in the ranking and will not be taken into account

Die Austauschplätze werden auf der Basis eines Rankings vergeben. Für das Ranking werden im Wesentlichen drei Kriterien mit Punkten benotet:

  • Studienleistungen: hierbei zählt allerdings nicht die absolute Note. Auf die meisten Austauschplätze können sich Studierende verschiedener Studiengänge bewerben. Allerdings kann die Notengebung in diesen Studiengängen z.T. sehr unterschiedlich ausfallen. Bei manchen ist eine 2 eine gute Note, bei anderen schon eine eher schlechte Note. Daher vergleichen wir die individuelle Durchschnittsnote mit der Durchschnittsnote der jeweiligen Kohorte im gleichen Fachsemester desselben Studiengangs. Bei Studierenden im Master wird die Bachelornote zugrunde gelegt. Daher müssen Studierende, die Ihren Bachelor an einer anderen Uni erworben haben, auch eine entsprechende Vergleichsnote, oder wenigstens die ECTS-Note einreichen. Damit wird im Ranking abgebildet ist, wieviel jemand besser oder schlechter als der Durchschnitt ist, also über- oder unterdurchschnittliche Leistungen erbracht hat.
  • Begründung, warum ein Studienabschnitt im Ausland angestrebt wird: hier können max. 0.6 Punkte erreicht werden.
  • Begründung, warum man an eine bestimmte Uni gehen möchte: hier können max. 0.6 Punkte erreicht werden (je Wunschuni)
  • Bonuspunkte für ehrenamtliches interkulturelles Engagement: hier können max. 0.3 Punkte erzielt werden.

Die Punkte werden addiert. Die Verteilung der Plätze beginnt bei den Bewerber*innen mit der höchsten Punktzahl. Ein*e Bewerber*in kann bis zu dreimal im Ranking gelistet sein, je nachdem, wie viele Wunschunis angegeben wurden.

 

Exchange places are awarded on the basis of a ranking. Three main criteria are awarded points for the ranking:

  • Academic achievements: however, the absolute grade does not count here. For most exchange places, students from different degree programs can apply. However, the grades awarded in these degree programs can sometimes vary greatly. For some, a "2" is a good grade, for others a rather poor grade. We therefore compare the individual average grade with the average grade of the respective cohort in the same semester of the same degree program. For Master's students, the Bachelor's grade is taken as a basis. Students who obtained their Bachelor's degree at another university must therefore also submit a corresponding comparative grade, or at least the ECTS grade. This will show how much better or worse someone is than the average in the ranking, i.e. whether their performance is above or below average.
  • Reasons why a study period abroad is desired: a maximum of 0.6 points can be achieved here.
  • Reason why you want to go to a particular university: a maximum of 0.6 points can be achieved here (per each university of choice)
  • Bonus points for voluntary intercultural commitment: a maximum of 0.3 points can be achieved here.

The points are added together. The distribution of places begins with the applicants with the highest number of points. An applicant can be listed up to three times in the ranking, depending on how many universities of choice were specified.

Link to the Online Application Portal

Required Attachments (Have to be Submitted in Electronic Form, Merged into a Single PDF-file by eMail to med.fachberatung@uni-ulm.de to the Dean of Studies' Office of the Medical Faculty during the Application Period)

All Applicants:

  • Application Form (will be generated during the online application process)
  • Curriculum Vitae (in German)
  • Curriculum Vitae (in the teaching/working language(s) of the host universities) | if applicable: two versions / languages
  • Certificate of the First Part of the Medical Examination (with data sheet)
  • DAAD-Language Certificate from the Language Center of Ulm University (other types of language certificates are not accepted)
    Minimum B1 (clinical phase) – Minimum B2 (practical year phase) | if applying for two universities with different teaching / working language, two language certificates have to be submitted in the respective languages
  • Current Certificate of Enrollment (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung)

Applicants for Clinical Phase (additionally):

Applicants for Final Year Phase (additionally):

Please address your questions concerning the application and selection procedure to Ms. Katharina Häufele in the Dean of Studies' Office of the Medical Faculty.

Do not apply lightly:

If you are offered a place at a partner university you have specified (even in the succession procedure), but then do not accept the place, do not start the mobility or drop out, you must expect to be given lower priority when you re-apply for a place in the Erasmus+ program or our other exchange programs. Only if the rejection, withdrawal or termination is "for important reasons" will this have no consequences for future applications. Important reasons are

  • Serious illness (yourself, your parents, siblings, own children): to be proven by a medical certificate.
  • Death in the family (parents, siblings, own children): to be proven e.g. by means of a death notice.
  • Failure to pass an examination (if the course/examination can only be made up for in the semester in which the mobility is to take place): to be evidenced by a letter from the head of degree program or academic advisor.
  • Force majeure (e.g. natural disasters or political unrest in the host country, pandemics).
The Mobility-Online Application Portal

Instructions for using Mobility-Online.

Please note that the application procedures for students of human medicine on the one hand and students of other subjects on the other are very different. This is why there are also different application links for the respective target groups.

Did I get a place?

This is of course a very important question for all applicants. Nevertheless, it can take around 6-8 weeks before we can inform you of the result of the selection process. This is because missing documents often have to be requested, and the applications have to be checked, evaluated and ranked. The selection result must be agreed with the deparatmental coordinators and approved by them. This is very time-consuming. Of course, other processes in the International Office continue to run in parallel. We ask for your understanding. You will make our work easier if you refrain from contacting us.