Summary
Here you can find eligibility requirements for the Erasmus+ grant, possible destinations, tips and more information for traineeships abroad.
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Wageningen University offers Erasmus+ grants to BSc and MSc WU students who are going to do an internship or thesis abroad - in short, a traineeship.
The activities need to take place in one of the Erasmus+ programme countries (EU countries plus North Macedonia, Serbia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Türkiye). Additionally, Wageningen University offers a non-EU Erasmus+ grant to WU students who are going to do an internship or thesis abroad in one of the following countries:
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
To apply for the Erasmus+ grant, you need to fulfil the following requirements:
Requirements
- You have to be registered as a student at Wageningen University during your internship or thesis abroad.
- The internship or thesis should be acknowledged as an official part of your WU bachelor's or master's study programme. For PhD students, please find more information on your study abroad options here.
- There has to be a receiving institution abroad.
- The internship or thesis needs to be confirmed by signing an internship or thesis agreement with your WU supervisor and the receiving institution.
- Your home and exchange addresses need to be in two different countries to qualify as an exchange.
- Your stay abroad will have a minimum duration of 2 months (60 days) and a maximum duration of 12 months (360 days). Travel days do not count towards the minimum duration.
- You can apply for the Erasmus+ grant multiple times within one study cycle (BSc or MSc, for study exchange and for your internship/thesis abroad), up to a maximum duration of 12 months (360 days).
- You will work full-time (35-40 hours per week) on your internship/thesis.
- During your internship or thesis, you will live in the country where the internship or thesis research takes place.
- Internships or thesis research at EU institutions and other bodies related to the EU mentioned on the following website are excluded from the grant: European Union website.
- You will not use the grant for expenses covered by another EU scholarship, nor apply for additional EU scholarships during your stay abroad.
- The allocation of grants is subject to the availability of funds. If necessary, funds will be allocated first to students who have not received an Erasmus+ grant in the past, and on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Students who receive financial support from the receiving organisation might receive a lower grant or have a lower priority in receiving a grant. The grant applications will be individually assessed.
Note that there are no Erasmus+ grants available for activities that are not part of a WU BSc or MSc programme, such as internships after graduation and voluntary internships.
Additional conditions for non-EU countries
- Your destination country cannot be your home country (first or second nationality applies).
- You can apply for a non-EU grant only once per study cycle. It is possible, however, to receive both EU and non-EU grants during each study cycle.
- Fewer opportunities top-ups are not available for non-EU countries.
Deadline
- You can apply for an Erasmus+ grant for your internship or thesis abroad anytime, but BEFORE the start of your internship or thesis abroad.
- Preferably, we would like you to submit your grant application, including all required documents, at least one month before the start of your internship or thesis abroad.
- Important: You are not eligible to receive the grant if you submit your Erasmus+ grant application (don't confuse the grant application with the stay abroad request!) once you have already started your traineeship abroad.
Extension
- Enjoying your stay abroad? You can apply for an extension of the Erasmus+ grant for your current traineeship, but only if we receive this request one month before the original end date. For more information, check the instructions here.
Nationality
- All nationalities
Level of study
- Bachelor
- Master
Tips
Below you can find tips concerning your safety and health while abroad, financial matters (including the Erasmus+ grant, insurance, DUO, Movetia & WilWeg), the housing platform, and more.
Safety and health
Of course, we hope that your traineeship period will be without any problems regarding your safety. And most likely this will be the case. However, it is smart to acquaint yourself with the host country before your departure. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands gives travel advice per country. This website is in Dutch, Ministries of other countries will have similar information on their websites.
Further advise:
- Stay informed about the situation in the country and read all the advice in advance: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/reisadviezen
- Download the travel app on your mobile phone: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/reisadviezen/vraag-en-antwoord/app-bz-reisadvies
- Registration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is recommended: https://www.kompas.buzaservices.nl/registration/
- Stay in touch. Inform family, friends of any travel plans, and any changes of your address, itinerary or phone number.
- Keep your host and home university coordinators informed about your well-being in case of calamities.
- The usual health preparations regarding prophylaxes and vaccinations if you go to a tropical country. Please contact the Vaccination Centre for advice: http://www.vaccinatiecentrum.nl/index.php/en/
How to find an internship or thesis abroad
Unfortunately, we cannot help you with arranging an internship or thesis. You could contact the following persons or organisations for more information about internships abroad:
- Website of Ben: ERASMUSINTERN |
- Ideas for internship/thesis - examples where WU students have gone in the past
- Euroleague
- The internship coordinator of your study field (check the website of the chair groups for contact information)
- Website of the WUR for Thesis and Internship Projects
- Your study advisor
- AIESEC offers internships (and volunteer opportunities) abroad to students
Financial matters
Erasmus+ grant
The Erasmus+ programme provides students with an Erasmus+ grant; see the requirements for traineeship above. For advice, please contact one of the exchange coordinators or the Erasmus+ administrators. If you do a language course before your exchange, which is relevant for your exchange, there are possibilities to get a grant for this as well.
Insurance
There are possibilities to get a free travel/luggage insurance - for more information, go to the SSC student desk. Check if this insurance is sufficient for your preferences.
Moreover, check if your health insurance covers you when you are on the exchange.
DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)
You can get compensation for your 'reisproduct OV-chipkaart' while you are abroad for study purposes. For more information and tips, see the DUO website. You can request the required DUO document by sending an email to outgoing.exchange@wur.nl with the dates that you would like to receive the OV reimbursement. The OV reimbursement document will be signed and sent back to you, so you can submit it to My DUO.
Alternative funding
- You can check the grant finder on www.wilweg.nl for other possibilities.
- For Switzerland, check their Movetia programme.
- For MIL, MID and MDR students, travel funding might be available.
Housing platform
- Are you going to study abroad for a semester for your internship and looking for a subtenant? Then make sure to join the Housing Platform from ESN and WUR. This platform aims to connect incoming and outgoing students who are going to study abroad for a semester. Please send an email to integration@esn-wageningen.nl and they will share the link to the Housing Platform.
Good to know: outgoing WUR students can apply for a rent guarantee!
If you have any questions or comments about the Housing Platform, please do not hesitate to reach out to integration@esn-wageningen.nl.