Erasmus and bilateral exchange

Erasmus+ exchange programme is the opportunity to study part of a study period (one to three semesters) at a selected university in Europe with which ISM has a partnership agreement. Study time abroad cannot exceed half of study time at ISM. You can read more about Erasmus+ programme here.

Erasmus+ programme supporting documents:

• ISM University of Management and Economics was awarded the new Erasmus Charter for Higher Education
• ISM University Erasmus Policy Statement
• ISM University of Management and Economics mobility rules
• Erasmus Student Charter
• Guidelines for Participants with Fewer Opportunities

Students of all student levels can participate in the exchange programmes, depending on availability.

Bachelor’s students can go on an exchange during 3, 4, 5, or 6 semester (Finance – 4, 5, and 6, Entrepreneurship and Innovation – 3, 4, and 5). Master’s students of IMM and FE programmes – 2 and 3.

Students cannot participate in exchange during the last semester of their studies.

What are the opportunities?

Please explore the following lists with partner universities available for each study programme:

• Exchange partner list for each study programme
• Partner map

Eligibility criteria:

• No more than 1 academic failure allowed at the time of application
• Students with a GPA lower than 5 cannot participate in the competition
• Some universities have a 7 or 8 GPA requirement

Students continue to pay regular tuition fee to ISM during their studies abroad. They are not required to pay any tuition fees to their host university.

Exchange application process:

The application for exchange is open twice a year:

• For the autumn semester – in February;
• For the spring semester – in September.

The start of the application period is announced by the International Studies Office (ISO) by email. All students receive application instructions, as well information about available partner universities. During the application period, ISO hosts info sessions for students interested in exchange.

If the student meets the criteria mentioned above, they can submit their application through MyISM. In application, students can list up to 5 universities they are interested in and submit a motivational letter. Students are assigned a university for their exchange based on their competitive score, which consists of overall grade point average and extra points.

If the application is successful, the student will receive only one offer and will have a week to accept or reject the offered place. Students will also receive the scholarship distribution results on the same day.

Competitive score:

The competitive score is made up of the GPA of the entire study period and additional points. First-semester Master’s students who don’t yet have a GPA shall compete with their university admission score.

Additional points are awarded to:

• Students who successfully finished a semester as buddies in ESN’s or ISM SA’s programme (0,5 point)
• Students who successfully finished a term in ISM SA’s President’s team and Board (0,5 point)
• Students who belong to fewer opportunities groups (more information here) (0,5 point)
• Points from different sections can add up, but cannot be used again

A bilateral exchange programme is the opportunity to study part of a study period at a selected university outside Europe. ISM has agreements with universities in Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South Americas – you can explore the possible destinations in our partner map.

Bilateral exchange has the same application process and selection criteria as Erasmus exchange. Students going on a bilateral exchange are also eligible for Erasmus+ scholarship, however, funding limitations may apply.

For their exchange, students have an opportunity to receive an Erasmus+ scholarship (606-700 € per month, depending on the country of destination). The scholarships are distributed to students participating in the exchange selection based on their competitive score and available funding which is allocated by the National Agency for Erasmus.

The amount of the scholarship is calculated according to these factors: 

• the distance to the destination (for fixed travel grant);
• the country of the exchange (606 to 700 per month);
• the length of semester at the host institution.

Important! Only 20% of the Erasmus+ funding can be assigned to bilateral programmes, therefore if a student gets an exchange offer outside of Europe and makes it to the scholarship shortlist, they might only be able to receive a partial scholarship.

The scholarship does not cover all the costs of study or internship abroad.

For students with fewer opportunities

Students with fewer opportunities, disabilities and/or special needs have an opportunity to receive an additional top-up amount to their Erasmus+ scholarship. The groups eligible for scholarship top-up are:

• Students who are described by the State Studies Foundation as eligible receivers of a social scholarship;
• Students receiving the ISM social-incentive scholarship;
• Students with a refugee background;
• Students holding Ukrainian citizenship;
• Students with children (under the age of 12 years).

Students belonging to the above groups are eligible for additional 0.5 points in the exchange competition. Documents proving eligibility must be submitted to the International Studies Office before the end of the application period.

An additional grant can also be awarded to participants with a physical, mental or other disability based
on the real costs. Criteria and further information is listed in ISM’s Guidelines for Participants with Fewer Opportunities.

Important! Only those students who are granted Erasmus+ scholarship are eligible for top-up or additional grant.