Your application should include the following documents:

Application form (online)

You will find the link to the application form on this page. Please make sure that you fill out the application form completely and correctly. You may indicate up to three universities of choice, but may enter fewer.

Letter of motivation (English, 1 to max. 3 pages)

This is central to your application. Your letter should:

• make clear why you want to go abroad.
• show that you have researched your chosen universities, explain why you want to go there in particular, and that you have researched the courses offered. As an attachment to the letter of motivation, you can give an overview of courses that you are interested in and that you think could be recognized for your studies. You can find out more about the recognition of courses taken abroad here.
• We are always happy to hear about students willing to support our Erasmus program. This may include, for example, offering to write a short report on your experience at the end of your stay.

CV in table format, in English

Extracurricular activities (please include proof, such as certificates)

This includes, for example, involvement in associations or student committees. You can also indicate intercultural commitment, such as participation in the department's buddy program or the offers of the International Office.

Language certificates (e.g., DAAD lan­guage certificate)

For the application, we also take into account evidence such as language subjects in the Abitur certificate. Attendance of courses up to the Abitur corresponds roughly to B2, and attendance of advanced courses to C1. This applies to any comparable university entrance qualifications.

However, in most cases this will not be sufficient for the application to the host university and you should try to find another proof. This includes, for example, the DAAD language certificate, which students of the TU Dortmund can take free of charge (more information can be found here). Please note that the test can only be taken once within 6 months. You can wait to take the DAAD test until after you have been awarded a place, but should you take it before then, make sure that you are oriented towards the university of your choice with the highest requirements.

Relevant certificates (e.g., high school diploma, current BOSS statement)

This is about courses passed, not courses taken. If you are applying in your first semester, this may also mean that your Boss statement does not yet show any courses. Please attach the excerpt anyway.

Current enrollment certificate

We have two to four places per academic year (i.e. for the winter and summer semesters) at most of our partner universities. In most cases, significantly more students apply than we have places at the respective universities. Especially the universities in Portugal, Spain and Northern Europe are very popular. In these cases we decide based on the applications.

In order for your application to be considered at all, it is important that you submit the documents completely and on time.

The following criteria will then be used for further evaluation:

• Letter of motivation - has the candidate thoroughly researched their universities of choice? Is it clear how the stay abroad fits into their studies?
• Extracurricular activites, especially intercultural ones
• Relevant language skills. Usually this concerns English language skills, but knowledge of the local language can also be of advantage.
• Academic achievements
• Study phase
• How well the application documents have been prepared

The language skills required by the host university can be found at the respective entries here. You will need to provide proof of these when applying to the host university. This is usually possible with a DAAD language certificate. When applying for the Erasmus place, you must credibly prove an appropriate language level, e.g. by your Abitur.

In addition, basic knowledge of the national language is useful. You do not have to provide proof ot this for the application. However, it will help you to orientate yourself in your host country. How important this is differs depending on the destination. For example, knowledge of English is usually required by the host universities. In countries where many people speak English well, such as the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries, you will generally be ably to get by on English alone. In countries where English proficiency is less strong, it is a good idea to acquire at least a basic level of proficiency (A1 - A2) in the local language through language courses before your stay.

After the application deadline, we will distribute the available places among the applications received. If there are still free places after that, we will announce these via our website. Usually,  free places are offered in February. You will then have another four weeks or so to apply for the available places.

The application deadline for the Erasmus Mobility Grant is 31.03 of each year. Therefore, we cannot consider any application after 15.03. for the respective academic year.

The allocation of places is usually announced two to four weeks after the application period ends. You will then be contacted by us and receive an offer of a place, which you have to accept or reject within 14 days. This decision is then binding.

If you have not been offered a place at your university of choice, but have been offered another place, you can ask by e-mail to be put on the waiting list for your university of choice. You still have to accept or cancel the offered place within 14 days. If the place at your university of choice becomes available, for example because someone else has cancelled, we will write to you again. This will be in the week following the 14-day period. If you have accepted the place offered to you, we will allow you to change.