Erasmus+ SMS and SEMP

The Erasmus+ Program for Student Mobility during Studies (SMS) and the Swiss-European Mobility Program (SEMP) provide financial support for study abroad periods in Europe. These programs are based on bilateral departmental agreements between the institutions.

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.

About the programs

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.

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.

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 Bachelor program in physics, 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 School can expand your possibilities.

Application

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 Maria Eckholt.

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.

TUM application form

Fill out TUM online application form, you can only fill in one Erasmus application. Log into the Online Application Portal using your TUM ID (e.g. ga99xyz), register only once with one single TUM ID. Please make sure to keep your login data in mind, you will need it again later on.

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) – you can make changes later on

Academic records

Academic records of previous semesters (Bachelor and Master), e.g. TUMonline grade report and/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.

DAAD certificate B2 based on a German Abitur?

Details on this appear on the FAQ site of TUM Language Center under the question "I need a DAAD certificate, how do I get one?"

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 2025/26 is January 15, 2025 (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

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.

  • The application deadline to study abroad with Erasmus+ and SEMP during winter and/or summer semester of an academic year, is in January of the previous (academic) year.. 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 School, 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

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.