Erasmus+ International Mobility Program (IM) (formerly known as ICM)/ Erasmus Worldwide extends beyond Europe, allowing for mobility from and to other parts of the world. Program Countries are those countries participating fully in the Erasmus program. Türkiye is one of the 33 Program Countries. Partner Countries cover the rest of the world outside the European Union. List of partner and program countries can be found here.
Koç University has successfully received funding to support students studying abroad in partner countries since 2016.
Students and staff from our partner universities have the opportunity to fund their exchanges at Koç University considering that they fulfil the requirements explained in the following sections.
The main goals of this program are:
In the framework of the Erasmus Program, all mobility activities are conditional upon the signature of an inter-institutional agreement between the sending and the receiving universities before the start of the mobility.
Mobility is conducted according to the minimum and maximum duration of time determined by the European Commission. The physical mobility period can last from 2 months (or one academic term) to 12 months, or from 5 to 30 days for short-term doctoral mobility.
Koç University prefers to host partner university students for a semester. If you have doctoral students who are interested in short-term exchanges, we kindly request you to contact our office through email (incoming@ku.edu.tr) before nominating the student as a candidate.
Extension of exchange semester could only happen if the following conditions are met:
(IMPORTANT: Rule for participating in the program as a “Zero-grant participant” is different from the extension rule as a zero-grant participant. It is possible to participate in the Erasmus IM program as a zero-grant student, but the student accepts not to receive a grant for the exchange duration in the beginning of the process; right after the selection procedure by home university. Students should note that they are still required to submit all of the program documents to Koc University OIP even though they participate in the program as a “zero-grant” student.)
Mobility should be completed without any interruption. For study mobility semester breaks and official holidays are not counted as interruption.
*Force Majeure is an unforeseeable exceptional situation or event beyond the participant’s control and not attributable to error or negligence on their part and prevents participant from fulfilment of liability under the Agreement.
If your home university is a partner in Erasmus+ Worldwide Program with Koc University, Exchange Programs Office of your home institution can contact us through partner@ku.edu.tr for the most up-to-date quota information.
Koç University Colleges and Graduate Schools have their own web pages. Students may find the details regarding programs offered by Colleges/Graduate School via the pages below:
Selection criteria that would result in additional grant or deduction from the grant should be stated in the call for applications (the points below are suggested by KU, home university can implement a different pointing system):
Partner universities are required to submit the“Appointment Letter and Selection Committee Report for Students and Staff” to KU OIP once every selection period is finalised at home university
Who is Eligible to Apply?
Selection
Suggested Evaluation criteria for Students (undergraduate and graduate degree):
Suggested Evaluation criteria for PhD students:
Important Notes & Suggestions to Partner Universities
◦ In addition to academic achievement and language score, if the applicant has benefited from another Lifelong Learning Program or Erasmus mobility scheme while pursuing the same level of academic degree, 10 points will be subtracted for each and every activity utilised (regardless of whether internship or education) when calculating academic achievement and language score averages.
◦ Disabled students receive extra 5 points if substitutive documents are provided.
◦ Students who want to participate in mobility programs in their birth country receive -5 points.
Nomination & Application
Partner HEIs should send the Appointment Letter and Selection Committee Report for Students and Staff to the Office of International Programs at Koç University. Partner university should also nominate their selected students via KU OIP’s online nomination & application system via https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr Partner universities will receive the login credentials to log into the system by KU OIP before the start of the Nomination & Application period.
Once the students are nominated by the home university, the students will receive an automatic notification from KU OIP to complete their application via the online application system: https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr/
In case some grants are not exhausted after the first round of application, a second round of application will be announced to partner university students by the International Office of the Partner University.
Application Documents
The following documents should be submitted by the partner university student to KU via https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr
Document Type | Mandatory/ If applicable |
Complete and Most Up-to-Date Transcript of Records Received by the Home University | Mandatory |
A valid English Language Proficiency Certificate (taken within the last two years and minimum B2 level) | Mandatory |
Identification Card Copy or Passport’s ID Page Copy | Mandatory |
Home University Confirmation of Application | Mandatory |
Special Needs Statement & Proving documents | If applicable |
Learning agreement for Study (only Before Mobility part): Students have to fill in all the parts on the Learning Agreement electronically.
A hand-written Learning Agreement is not accepted by the Erasmus+ Committee.
Parties have to sign (full signature, not just typing the name) the document before submitting it to our Office.
Student: Yourself as the student on mobility
Responsible Person at the Sending Institution: Your mobility coordinator at your home university.
Academic Coordinator at the Receiving Institution: Your KU Exchange coordinator – please find the list of KU exchange coordinators here.
We will get the signature of the Responsible Person at the Receiving Institution (Assoc. Prof. Bülent Kılıç) once you have submitted the LA During to us; therefore, please note that you don’t need to send him an e-mail for the signature.
As per the Erasmus program rules, filled-by-hand documents are not acceptable. You can get wet, digital, or electronic signatures for the documents; all are applicable and acceptable.
To see how to fill out a learning agreement, please check here.
Scope of Online Language Support
Support will be provided through the European Commission’s Institutional learning management platform called “EU Academy” for students who will benefit from student mobility activities in higher education with Third Countries Not Associated with the Programme. The system will gradually provide language learning services in all 29 official languages of EU Member States and countries associated with the Erasmus+ and ESC programs.
Mandatory Exams
All KA171 students whose mobility lasts 14 days or longer must take the language assessment test to determine their language level as a prerequisite (except in duly justified cases) before their mobility begins. This obligation is included in the Grant Agreements.
Participation in Online Language Exams and Courses
After the students’ e-mail addresses are entered into the system, students will have the right to access the EU Academy page via the web page link sent to their e-mail address. It is ensured by higher education institutions that students can participate in the compulsory language exam before mobility.
Since the Online Language Support (OLS)/ EU Academy is a Erasmus+ IM Program requirement, it must be completed before the mobility in addition to language proficiency certificate/document provided for application.
If the participant does not complete the Online Language Support (OLS)/ EU Academy, 5% of the grant for the total mobility period will be withheld.
Learning Agreement During Mobility: If there are any changes in your Before Mobility courses, please fill in the form and get the required signatures. Please note that Table A2 is for the KU courses and Table B2 is for the equivalent courses in your home university and in the event of any course changes, both tables need to be filled in. If you haven’t made any changes on your before mobility courses, please notify us through incoming@ku.edu.tr. The LA During is not required to be filled in if there have not been any changes.
Please do not edit the format of the document (at all) by adding or deleting any tables!
Please make sure to indicate the course codes at Table A2 and B2 as well as the Credit amount.
Parties have to sign (full signature, not just typing the name) the document before submitting it to our Office.
Student: Yourself as the student on mobility.
Responsible Person at the Sending Institution: Your mobility coordinator at your home university.
Academic Coordinator at the Receiving Institution: Your KU Exchange coordinator – please find the list of KU exchange coordinators here.
We will get the signature of the Responsible Person at the Receiving Institution (Assoc. Prof. Bülent Kılıç) once you have submitted the LA During to us; therefore, please note that you don’t need to send him an e-mail for the signature.
As per the Erasmus program rules, filled-by-hand documents are not acceptable. You can get wet, digital or electronic signatures for the documents; all are applicable and acceptable.
How To Fill Out Learning Agreement
Learning Agreement After the Mobility: Once your mobility is over, please indicate the final version of your courses on the Learning Agreement – After Mobility part. The courses on Table C need to match with the courses on your KU transcript. In Table D, please, indicate the equivalent courses in your home university. Please do not edit the format of the document by adding or deleting any tables! Please make sure to indicate the course codes at Table C and D as well as the Credit amount and the grades of your taken courses. Parties have to sign (full signature, not just typing the name) the document before submitting it to our Office.
Student: Yourself as the student on mobility.
Responsible Person at the Sending Institution: Your mobility coordinator at your home university.
Academic Coordinator at the Receiving Institution: Your KU Exchange coordinator – please find the list of KU exchange coordinators here.
We will get the signature of the Responsible Person at the Receiving Institution (Assoc. Prof. Bülent Kılıç) once you have submitted the LA During to us; therefore, please note that you don’t need to send him an e-mail for the signature.
As per the Erasmus program rules, filled-by-hand documents are not acceptable. You can get wet, digital or electronic signatures for the documents; all are acceptable.
Home University Transcript: This document needs to be issued by your home university in English upon the transfer of all your courses and grades at KU to your home university. Please note that the document has to indicate all of courses you took at KU.
Erasmus+Participation Online Final Report (EU Survey): At the end of your mobility, European Commission’s Mobility Tool will send you a link for the evaluation survey. Please make sure you check your junk/spam e-mails as well and submit the report in a short time.
Any other obligation inherent to the Erasmus Program and the internal regulations of the sending and receiving institutions.
If the participant does not complete the online final report after mobility, 5% of the grant based on total duration of mobility shall be deducted.
If you are participating in the program for one semester you are obliged to take 30 ECTS credits (15 KU credits).
Erasmus+ Worldwide Study program provides monthly stipend as well as travel grant to selected participants. Students coming from partner universities receive 800€ per month.
Selected participants also receive travel grant. The calculation is done based on the distance between Koç University and the host city. Calculation is done by Distance Calculator (https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_en )
Grant Amounts by 2022 Project Year and afterwards
Travel Distance | Standard Travel Grant Amount | Green Travel Grant Amount |
10 – 99 km | 23 Euro | – |
100 – 499 km | 180 Euro | 210 Euro |
500 – 1999 km | 275 Euro | 320 Euro |
2000 – 2999 km | 360 Euro | 410 Euro |
3000 – 3999 km | 530 Euro | 610 Euro |
4000 – 7999 km | 820 Euro | – |
8000 km or more | 1500 Euro | – |
Short-term Mobility Grant for PhD Students (daily)
5 days- up to day 14 | Daily grant amount: 70 € |
14-30 days | Daily grant amount: 50 € |
Important: These unit costs represent the linear distance between the city where the university of origin and the city where the host university are located. This is calculated automatically by a website indicated by the European Commission and cannot be subject to any change. The financial support allocated to the “travel distance” is the maximum allowed by the Erasmus Program and is intended to contribute to the round trip back between the home and host institutions. In the event that the assigned value is insufficient to pay for the desired trip, the scholarship holder must find other sources of funding. An initial payment will represent 70% of the estimated total amount of the grant. The initial grant is paid in EUR to the students’ name in Yapi Kredi bank at Koç University campus and the student is able to withdraw the amount with his/her passport during the week of arrival. The remaining 30% is paid at the end of the mobility, once the student submits all the required documents to OIP at KU and fills in the online evaluation (EU Survey) sent by the Erasmus Mobility Tool.
Green Travel Support for Students
For students, who prefer green travel may receive individual support grants for up to 4 days in addition to the grant amount specified in the table above.
Important Note: If the student plans to travel and receive Green Travel Support the student has to inform the Incoming Team as soon as possible.
With the new Erasmus+ Program students are encouraged to use low-emissions means of transport for the main part of the travel, such as bus, train or car-pooling.
Students who will use these means of transport will receive a single contribution of 50 EUR as a top-up amount to the individual support and up to 4 days of extra grant to cover travel days for a return trip, if relevant.
At the end of the mobility, students are obliged to present documents (bus ticket, train ticket etc.) proving that the green travel has taken place.
Zero-grant students are not eligible for green travel grant.
Additional Grant Support for Incoming Students with Disabilities
Higher education institutions may provide grant support to the National Agency in order to cover the supplementary costs for the students with disabilities on the condition that disability is documented.
The following amounts of Additional Grant Support can be provided to students with disabilities, upon their request and on the condition that they document their situation:
Mobility Type | Additional Grant Amount |
2-12 months student mobility | Monthly € 250 |
5-14 days short term student mobility* | In addition to total grant: € 100 |
15-30 days short term student mobility* | In addition to total grant: € 150 |
Deductions and/or repayment may apply to students who do not fulfil their responsibilities and/or are unsuccessful. Grant deduction and/or repayment may take place in case of the following:
Students are able to participate in Erasmus Worldwide Study program without receiving a grant. However, it should be noted that the students have to go through the same application & selection procedures and also submit the required documents (before-during-after mobility) to OIP.
Pre-Arrival Webinars
In order to provide you with more information and more support prior to your arrival to Koc University, we also organize pre-arrival webinars.
Those webinars include the following topics:
The webinars are based on the Incoming Exchange Student Guide. Therefore, you may have a look at the guide for further information.
Erasmus+ Worldwide Learning Agreement for Studies: