Erasmus+ works by providing free movement and education exchanges between registered universities and institutions for eligible students. An Erasmus+ mobility can last for 3 months to a year. It might be a requirement to participate in Erasmus+ as part of your college course or degree, or you may just want to do it to experience another country.
Erasmus+ supports traineeships (work placements, internships, etc) abroad for students currently enrolled in higher education institutions in programme countries at Bachelor and Master level, as well as for Doctorate candidates. These opportunities are also open to recent graduates.
Erasmus+ mobility for traineeships is the EU-promoted student mobility programme which gives students a chance to broaden their vocational and training curriculum by working abroad in any public sector company or a private commercial enterprise located in European countries that are members of the Erasmus+ Programme.
To be clear, an Erasmus+ internship is most likely unpaid. This is because it is often part of a study curriculum, or it may be something you wish to do voluntarily to strengthen your resume. A traineeship is always paid and usual, it’s a full-time position.
You can apply through the international or Erasmus+ office of your higher education institution. You are selected by your sending higher education institution in a fair and transparent way. The duration of traineeships under this programme is from 2 to 12 months and students may receive an EU grant up to a maximum of 3 months.
The destination countries are as follows:
The 26 European Union Member States:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Hungary.
The 3 Countries of the European Economic Area:
Ireland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The Accession Candidate Countries:
North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
Students enrolled in first, second, third cycle degree programmes and single-cycle degree programmes who can carry out their traineeship before or after graduation may take part.
Read our guides for the Erasmus+ application:
Erasmus+ Application Guide I – Getting Started
Erasmus+ Application Guide II – Project Design
Erasmus+ Application Guide III – Project Evaluation and Impact