Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (KA 171)

If you would like to know more about the Erasmus+ program, please visit the website of the European Union.

Please also read the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education as well as the Erasmus+ Student Charter.

Please contact the International Office of your home university to find out what opportunities you have to study at TH Köln as an exchange student of a partner institution within the framework of Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) . The selection criteria for participation are determined by the sending institution in consultation with the host institution.

Nomination deadlines:

• April 15^th for the winter semester and the whole academic year
• October 15^th for the summer semester

After you have been nominated by your home university, you will receive an email by TH Köln's Department of International Affairs with a link to a Mobility Online application. Our video tutorial below will explain in detail how to submit your application and which information to insert in the indidviual fields. Once registered, you can upload the required application documents in Mobility Online. If application documents are missing, you will be informed by e-mail. Your application will only be reviewed once you have uploaded everything. You can correct and complete your application until the following deadlines:

Application deadlines:

• May 1^st for the winter semester and the whole academic year
• November 1^st for the summer semester

Applications uploaded after these deadlines cannot be processed.

Your application documents will be reviewed after the application deadlines by the Department of International Affairs and the faculty coordinator of your selected faculty or institute. After this, you can download your admission documents for the winter semester starting in mid-June and for the summer semester starting in mid-December. In the event of a successful application, the Department of International Affairs will also issue, if required, a letter of confirmation of scholarship and/or a letter of invitation to apply for a student visa.

The following criteria must be met in order to be admitted as an exchange student at TH Köln:

• an existing cooperation agreement between your home university and TH Köln
• a sufficient number of free places available in the study program for which you would like to be nominated
• you must have sufficient language skills*)
• you need a supervising professor in your host faculty at TH Köln, if you want to do a final thesis or an internship at TH Köln

*) Language skills

In general, you must provide proof of language skills in German or English at level B1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Which language skills you need depends on the language of instruction of your host faculty.

Please note that many courses, especially in the engineering sciences at TH Köln, are offered in German.

After successful application and selection, you will receive an Erasmus+ scholarship, which is linked to the partner institutions and countries approved in the application. According to the Erasmus+ ICM regulations, stays abroad for study purposes as well as for internships are possible. The participants receive a mobility scholarship for the duration of the stay abroad as well as a travel allowance. The monthly scholarship is 850 EUR, the travel allowance is calculated with the EU distance calculator tool and it depends on the actual distance. 

Details of the financial support and the payment modalities are set out in a so-called Grant Agreement. This contract between participants in the Erasmus+ ICM and the host university is set up and signed by TH Köln before the start of the mobility.

Within the framework of the Erasmus+ program, you can also apply at the Department of International Affairs for a thesis research or an internship in one of TH Köln's institutes or laboratories. Please inform yourself on the websites of the faculties in advance, so that you can state in which area or topic you are particularly interested in your letter of motivation.

Please submit the following application documents in a single pdf-file to the e-mail adress incomings-exchange@th-koeln.de:

• a meaningful letter of motivation describing your project and the timeframe in which you would like to be at TH Köln
• an up-to-date CV
• a current transcript of records

Two offices work together to coordinate your study stay at TH Köln: The Department of International Affairs provides advice on organizational and practical issues (e.g. arrival, enrollment). The departmental coordinators work at the faculty or institute where you will be studying. They will help you with all academic questions concerning your study stay (e.g. timetable, learning agreement).

When choosing a course, please note that bachelor students may only choose courses from bachelor programs. Master students may select courses from bachelor and master programs.

Further information about your faculty/institute, contact details for your departmental coordinator and information about the module manuals can be found on the respective faculty pages. Please contact your departmental coordinator directly if you cannot find sufficient information.

We recommend that you include a German course in your timetable during the semester, as you can earn ECTS credits for this. The Academy of Continuing Education of TH Köln also offers courses on various topics and the opportunity to acquire ECTS points.

The Learning Agreement is a mandatory document in the Erasmus+ program. In it, the selected courses at TH Köln and the courses for a possible recognition and credit transfer at your home university are recorded. The Learning Agreement must be signed by the departmental coordinators at TH Köln and your home university as well as by yourself.

At TH Köln, all learning agreements are created in Mobility Online. This important document is divided into the sections "Before the Mobility (BTM)", "During the Mobility (DTM)" and "After the Mobility (ATM)".

In general, most course offerings are not yet scheduled and published before your departure. Therefore, the learning agreement "Before the Mobility (BTM)" is provisional.

After your arrival in Cologne you have the possibility to further define your learning agreement "During the Mobility (DTM)" with the concrete courses you are taking. You have four weeks time from the start of lectures to do this. The learning agreement "During the Mobility (DTM)" is the basis for your exam registration. Registration for the exam is not possible without a learning agreement "During the Mobility (DTM)". You will be notified about the dates for exam registration by e-mail in good time.

The learning agreement "After the Mobility (DTM)" is replaced in most faculties by the transcript of records. You can download and print the Transcript of Records yourself via PSSO up to six months after your departure.

Faculties and institutes that do not use PSSO will create the learning agreement "After the Mobility (ATM)" manually, which is equivalent to a transcript of records. You will be informed by your departmental coordinator which procedure applies to you.

Each higher education institution, by signing the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, commits to ensuring equal access and opportunities to participants from all backgrounds. Therefore, students and staff with physical, mental or health related conditions can benefit from the support services that the receiving institution offers to its local students and staff.

TH Köln is happy to support you in planning and implementing your stay abroad. Please make sure that your home university informs us in time about your special needs so that we can actively support you.

Find out more about studying with special needs at TH Köln.