My stay abroad

Application, nomination & contacting your host university

Application
December/January: Online application period (via Mobility Online) for the following academic year

Nomination
You will be able to see whether you have been selected for Erasmus+ approximately 2-3 months after the application deadline in Mobility Online. If you have been selected by BOKU, BOKU-International Relations will nominate you for an Erasmus+ student exchange at the partner university to which you have been assigned, i.e. at your host university.
Here you'll find detailed information about the next steps after the nomination.

First contact with your host university
Ideally, your host university will contact you and provide you with further information about their application procedure. In addition to the application at BOKU, you also have to apply at the host university to which you have been assigned. They will help you find accommodation and give you further information about living and studying in your host country.

Usually, BOKU's partner universities accept nominated students. It is very rare that nominated students are rejected but it can happen. Upon successful completion of your application, you will get a letter of acceptance from your host university (official document which states that you are accepted for an exchange stay).

Insurance

A study stay abroad via Erasmus+ does not automatically include insurance cover. Thus, please make sure you are covered by international insurance throughout your time abroad (health, accident and liability insurance; in addition, it is recommended to get supplementary insurance for the duration of the stay abroad). For more information, please contact ÖH and your social security carrier (e.g. to see if you have/are eligible for the European Health Insurance Card), see below.

Accident and liability insurance

Accident and liability insurance is generally provided by paying the ÖH administrative fee. This insurance coverage is also available for accidents or damages that occur during your studies (at the host institution and on your way to and from, it doesn't cover sparetime activities) when completing semesters abroad or internships abroad in Europe. Different regulations apply to liability and accident insurance in the individual countries. The participant therefore runs the risk of not being covered by standard systems, for example if he/she is not considered an employee or is not formally enrolled in his/her host organization.

Information on policy numbers, insurance sums as well as damage reports can be found on the ÖH BOKU website.

A confirmation of insurance can be requested at ÖH. Send an e-mail (subject: confirmation) with your confirmation of BOKU enrollment to studierendenversicherung(at)oeh.ac.at and the following data: first and last name, current residential address, matriculation number, name of the educational institution you are studying at.

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

With the European Health Insurance Card/"European Krankenversicherungskarte" (see on the back of your e-card) you are covered by health insurance in all EU/EEA countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Northern Macedonia, Switzerland, Serbia. For Serbia, please note that you must present the EHIC to the social insurance institution applicable to your place of residence and exchange it for a valid entitlement certificate. The EHIC provides basic cover; however, this cover may not be sufficient for all situations, e.g. repatriation or special medical intervention. In this case, supplementary private health insurance may be required. Check the validity of your e-card before your stay abroad and make sure that all fields on the back of the e-card are filled in completely. If you do not have a valid health insurance card, apply for the "Certificate as a provisional replacement for the EHIC" ("Bescheinigung als provisorischer Ersatz für die EKVK") from your health insurance provider well in advance before your trip abroad.

In Turkey, the European Health Insurance Card is not valid. Therefore, please inform yourself at the customer service of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund whether the possibility for health insurance exists due to bilateral agreements.

In addition to the information provided, please inform yourself about suitable and sufficient international insurance coverage before your stay abroad and contact your host institution in advance if special insurance is recommended for your stay there.

Further information on the topic of insurance can also be obtained from the ÖH BOKU, from your social insurance or from your host institution.

Note: In addition to the above-mentioned insurances, we recommend an additional private insurance, an insurance against loss or theft of documents, tickets and luggage.

Applying for the Erasmus+ Scholarship & Grant Agreement To-Dos

The grant agreement for your Erasmus+ scholarship will be signed between the student and BOKU-IR. This is available shortly before departure (about 2 weeks before), provided that the required documents for departure are complete. In addition to the regular Erasmus+ funding rates, top-ups can also be applied for. Top-ups for disadvantaged groups (students with child(ren) & students with disabilities/chronic illness) require certain proof (see database query) and amount to (aliquot) 250€ per month. This must be indicated in the database and the automatic transfer into the Grant Agreement must be checked. The Green Travel to-up for low-emission travel (bus, train, carpool, bicycle,...) to the host university and back home must also be applied for at the beginning. If in the end e.g. the plane was taken, this subsidy of 50€ will be deducted from the second installment. If the documents for departure specified in the next point (Learning Agreement & Paper of Recognition) are not available in time, the issuance of the Grant Agreement and the payment of the scholarship to the student will be delayed accordingly.

Further documents, search for courses & to-do's

Before your departure you need to file two documents: Äquivalenzliste (Paper for Recognition) and (Online) Learning Agreement (done via Mobility Online) and guarantee recognition of your courses taken abroad at BOKU, more details can be found here. The course recognition is done according to similar content, more suggestions regarding recognizable courses might be found in our experience reports of former exchange students.

Insider tip: The Erasmus+ project ESCAPAdE (Erasmus Curricula in Applied Plant Sciences) offers a database for master students in the area of applied plant sciences at the eight participating universities (all Erasmus+ partners of BOKU).

OLS - Online Language Support via EU Academy
Erasmus+ students can complete an online language assessment in the main language of instruction at their host university (exception: native speakers) before their stay abroad. You will get an email with the link to this assessment. In addition, there is also the possibility to attend a free online language course.

At the partner university

Once you have arrived at your host university, you can make some course changes, if necessary and create a new/updated Learning Agreement via Mobility Online.

If you terminate your stay abroad prematurely (e.g. due to poor health) you will most likely have to pay back all of your Erasmus money. It is extremely important that you contact OeAD BEFORE terminating your stay and ask them about your options.

Before you return to BOKU you need to print in Mobility Online the confirmation of stay and have it signed and stamped by your host university. Also, you need to fill out the EU Online Survey (link will be sent by email). 

Upon your return to BOKU

As soon as you are back at BOKU, please send a copy of your confirmation of stay to Study Services (studienservices(at)boku.ac.at) within the enrollment deadline and upload a scan to Mobility Online. At BOKU, the Transcript of Records and the final Paper of Recognition will be used for the recognition of courses.

Only after all required documents for the completion (confirmation of stay, transcript of records, Paper of Recognition, experience report, Green Travel proof if applicable) have been uploaded correctly in Mobility Online, the scholarship will be settled and the payment of the 2nd installment (day-by-day settlement) will be initiated.

For further information, please have a look at the FAQs!

Don't forget about your stay at home when finalising your degree using the UHStat2 Form.

Complaint procedure

Objections regarding the evaluation process of scholarships: For objections, please send an email with detailed explanation to erasmus(at)boku.ac.at. The Erasmus+ Outgoing Coordinators will deal with the objection as soon as possible and replicate it with an individual evaluation and – if applicable – alternative solutions. Please note that BOKU-International Relations can only deal with complaints concerning procedures in BOKU-IR’s area of responsibility.

_{*The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.}