Once you have been allocated a place, and before you go abroad, you will need to:

• complete an online Erasmus+ Grant Application form for University of Galway (via a web link that will be supplied by the University of Galway International Office);
• follow the application procedure for the host university (your academic coordinator will advise);
• complete a Learning Agreement for Studies;
• complete the Erasmus+ grant agreement (this will be emailed to you from the University of Galway International Office).
• complete a Mobility/Risk Assessment and sign a Study Abroad Declaration.

The Erasmus+ grant application form

There is a very strict deadline for completing this form (midnight on 8th November, 2024, for students going abroad in Semester 2 of AY 2024/25). If you miss the deadline, you will not be eligible for an Erasmus+ grant, although you may still study abroad as a zero-grant Erasmus+ student.

You will complete the grant application form via a web link that will be supplied by the University of Galway International Office. The information you provide on this form will be incorporated into our database of students on Erasmus+, as well as into official European Commission records, so it’s very important that you complete it with care and attention.

The form consists of about 30 questions, mostly very straightforward. Before you begin completing it, you should have your bank details to hand, because you will be asked for your sort code and account number. Look for these on your bank statement. The 8-digit number on your debit card is not your account number!

You will be asked to give the start and finish dates of your study visit abroad. Your host university may already have told you these; if not, you should be able to find the 2024/25 academic calendar on its website, and failing that, use last year’s calendar as a guide.

When you submit the online application form, you’ll receive a brief email confirming receipt and outlining the next steps in the process.

Facebook Group for Outgoing Erasmus+ Students

We will set up a Facebook group for University of Galway’s 2024/25 outgoing students. A link will be sent to all the relevant students by email. You aren’t obliged to join the group, but it’s a good idea to do so, as it can be an important source of information and support before and during your study visit.

Online Linguistic Support

This will only be relevant to students of Modern Languages. Please see the Online Linguistic Section  for more details.

Prepare your (Online) Learning Agreement

This is an extremely important document which will require some work. Please see the Academic Planning section for more details. Be sure to update your Learning Agreement in Semester 2 if necessary.

Sort out your insurance

Please see the Insurance section for more details.

Your Grant Agreement and the Study Abroad Declaration

The Grant Agreement for Erasmus+ Studies is your financial contract with University of Galway in relation to your Erasmus+ grant. Please don’t confuse it with the Learning Agreement. The Grant Agreement outlines the terms and conditions for your Erasmus+ grant payments and indicates how much money you may expect to receive. It must be completed and signed by you BEFORE you begin your Erasmus+ study visit or you will not be eligible for an Erasmus+ grant. When you are completing it, you will be required to provide the details of your travel insurance (i.e., company providing the insurance, policy name, and number).

Before signing the grant agreement, please read it carefully, checking in particular to see that all the personal details and bank details shown on it are accurate. You will be required to add your IBAN and BIC numbers.

As part of your Mobility Assessment, you will also be required to sign a Study Abroad Declaration. In doing so, you will confirm that you have considered, understand and accept

1. the academic requirements of your study period abroad,
2. the expectations that University of Galway has of its outgoing students in relation to their conduct while abroad, and
3. the personal challenges of a period of study abroad.

Certificate of Arrival and grant payments

You can download a blank Certificate of Arrival here: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/erasmus-programme/outgoingstudents/latestnews/#tab2.
You should contact the International Office of your host university as soon as possible after you arrive there, and have a staff member complete, sign, and stamp your Cert of Arrival. The “start date” shown on it should be the first date when you will be required to attend the host university, be it for orientation, a language course, or classes. Please email the completed document to outgoingerasmus@universityofgalway.ie as soon as possible so as to ensure that you can receive your Erasmus+ grant without undue delay.

Because our partner universities’ calendars can vary considerably, we know that students will start their studies abroad at different times, so grant payments are made in a number of batches at the start of each semester, at approximately monthly intervals. Each batch contains the names of students whose certificates of arrival have been received over the preceding few weeks. We will announce the cut-off dates via the Facebook group so that students can aim to be included in a particular batch. Once we have sent a batch of payments for processing, it can take up to two weeks for payments to reach students’ accounts.

Changes to the original learning agreement

Don’t forget to amend your Learning Agreement to reflect any changes to your originally chosen courses, or courses you may have added for the second semester. These changes will have to be approved by the home and host university coordinators.

Grant Acknowledgement form

You can download this form here: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/erasmus-programme/outgoingstudents/latestnews/#tab2
You must complete, sign, and return a Grant Acknowledgement Form to outgoingerasmus@universityofgalway.ie after you have received any grant payment. If you forget to return the form for the first instalment, you won’t be eligible to receive the final instalment after you’ve returned from your studies abroad. Please make sure to complete this form in full, to enter the correct grant amount (check your bank statement), and sign the form with your personal signature. Please pay attention to the instructions and note that a handwritten signature is an EU requirement.

Certificate of Attendance

You can download a blank Certificate of Attendance here: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/erasmus-programme/outgoingstudents/latestnews/#tab2.

At the end of your Erasmus+ study visit, you will need to get your Certificate of Attendance completed, signed, and stamped by a representative of your host university (e.g., International Officer or designated contact person in the faculty where you’ve been studying). This document officially confirms the duration of your attendance at the host university. This of course means it should only be issued to you at the very end of your studies. You should request it at the end of your time at the host university, or make arrangements in advance so that it is (a) completed to show the date of your last exam and (b) signed close to that time. The document should appear on just one single page.

The dates on the Cert of Attendance should be the dates between which you were officially required to attend the host university, and they may include an orientation programme or a language course (if applicable) and examinations, but should not include additional days spent searching for accommodation, or leisure days at the beginning or end. On no account should you request your host university to post-date this form; it should be signed and dated at the time when you are leaving.

You must return the Cert of Attendance to the International Office at University of Galway or you will not be eligible for your final grant instalment. Please send it to us via email to outgoingerasmus@universityofgalway.ie, and ideally as a PDF. Any jpeg files or photos must be of good image quality and perfectly legible.

Online Participant Report/SURVEY

Towards the end of your study visit, you should receive an automated email from the European Commission requesting you to complete an online participant report/survey. Please check your junk email regularly, as this message has been known to go into people’s spam folders. Another reason why you may not receive this email at the end of your studies is that you may finish earlier than the date you had originally indicated. In this case, simply send us your Certificate of Attendance and we will adjust the dates on the official database so that you receive the link.

OLS Language Assessment #2

If you already took an OLS language assessment, then you should take another one at the end of your study visit. Please refer to Online Language Support section.