Financial support for your exchange

Erasmus Belgica

• Destination An agreement with a university of the French-speaking community in Belgium for your study programme is needed.
• Application procedure & selection Up to now sufficient funds for all nominated students. In case of insufficient funds, faculties will prioritise using own standards.
• Scholarship details & payment scheme Min. 8 weeks of scholarship (= between €400 - €1000 depending on situation)
• Duration Min. 3 - max. 12 months.

Erasmus+

• Destination An greement with a higher education institution in an Erasmus+ programme country for your study programme is needed.
• Application procedure & selection In case of insufficient funds, faculties will prioritise using own standards. You'll be informed in June if you'll be on the effective liste or reserve list/ 
• Scholarship details & payment scheme
  • On average grant covers 50-60% of the expenses made abroad. (overview for an exchange for studies)
  • Scholarship amounts vary depending on the destination and top-ups. 
  • Students belonging to the below categories get a top-up of 250EUR/month for their exchange for studies.
    • You receive a scholarship from the Flemish community in the year of your exchange
    • You are a 'bijna-beursstudent' in the year of your exchange
    • You have a disability recognised by VAPH (Vlaams Agentschap voor Personen met een handicap) in the year of your exchange
    • You are a working student in a working programme (see the definition of the government of Flanders - only in Dutch available) in the year of your exchange
      • Werkstudent : een student die aan al de volgende voorwaarden beantwoordt :
        1) hij is in het bezit van een bewijs van tewerkstelling in een dienstverband met een omvang van ten minste 80 uren per maand, of hij is in het bezit van een bewijs van uitkeringsgerechtigde werkzoekende en de opleiding kadert binnen het door een gewestelijke dienst voor arbeidsbemiddeling voorgestelde traject naar werk;
        2) hij is nog niet in het bezit van een tweede cyclusdiploma of masterdiploma;
        3) hij is ingeschreven in een studietraject met specifieke onderwijs- en leervormen en met specifieke modaliteiten van begeleiding en aanbod, dat als zodanig geregistreerd is in het Hogeronderwijsregister. De afzonderlijke registratie in het Hogeronderwijsregister impliceert niet dat het hier een nieuwe opleiding betreft.
  • Students can opt for the Green Travel top-up (= the travel that uses low-emissions means of transport for the main part of the travel, such as bus, train or car-pooling to travel to/travel from your Erasmus mobility destination. You can find here more info on what VUB considers as an eligible Green Travel. 
  • Scholarship is paid in 2 instalments; 70% is after arrival and 30% upon return.
  • Students can receive a grant for max. 6 months (with the exceptions of students belonging to the above mentionned categories)
• Duration Min. 3 months (or min. 1 semester) - max. 12 months.
• Specific conditions
  • Complete non-binding online language tests. Results are not accessible by the host institution. Students whose mother tongue is the language of instruction at the host institution are exempt.
  • Complete a survey 

Swiss European Mobility Programme

• Destination An agreement with Swiss higher education institution for your study programme is needed.
• SEMP provides the financial support and the Swiss host institution for which you were selected makes the arrangements and ultimately pays (+/- 440 CHF/month). You need to contact the International Relations office of the Swiss host institution for more info.

Generic scholarships

• *Destination Agreement with a non-European higher education institution is needed. To receive more info on the VUB partner institutions, contact IRMO. 
• Application procedure & selection Students need to be nominated by their Faculty. You will be informed when the VUB call to apply for a Generieke Beurs is open (as from March 15) and how to apply. Applications are sent to IRMO the latest 1 April 2024. VUB’s International Policy Council decides who is awarded the grant (start of June) on the basis of 3 criteria:

1. Weighted average grades (including the January session)
2. Priority for exchanges to a VUB partner institution
3. At least 25% of the selected candidates receive a Flemish study allowance

• Scholarship details & payment scheme The scholarship consists of a travel grant, which is a fixed amount based on the distance between Brussels and your destination, and a monthly grant of 700 EUR (or 900 EUR for students with a Flemish study allowance).
  • 80% of the scholarship is paid upon arrival.
  • 20% is paid upon return.
  • The travel grant is transferred after signing the grant agreement.
• Duration Min. 1 month - max. 10 months.
• Specific conditions
  - Write a final report
  - Complete a short survey.

! Given the limited number of scholarships available, the competition is high for scholarships for studies to a host organisation of your choice. If you are however not awarded a scholarship, you can still go for an intercontinental exchange at your own expense.

Priority Country Programme

• Destination Agreement between with a non-European higher education institution is needed and the host institution needs to be located in one of 9 priority countries: Brazil, Chile, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Turkey, United States and South-Africa. To receive more information on the partner institutions, contact IRMO.
• Application procedure & selection Students need to be nominated by their Faculty and the selection must be accepted by the host institution. Students equally need to express their interest for this scholarship to IRMO and will then be informed when the call to apply for this grant is open detailing the procedure. Selection is done externally based on the criteria of the PC Programme.
• Scholarship details & payment scheme Scholarship consists of return ticket (fixed amounts) and a grant of 700 EUR (or 900 EUR for students with a Vlaamse Studietoelage)/month. ! Maximum of 2,800 EUR in all. The application deadline for academic year 2024-2025 is 23 February 2024. 
• Duration Min. 1 month - max. 12 months (except for Turkey)
• Specific conditions & more information on the PC Programme page.

Erasmus+ Internship during studies

• Destination To host organisation, agreed upon with Exchange Coordinator, located in an EU Member State, FYROM, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Turkey.
• Application procedure & selection Up to now all students who are selected by their Faculty are eligible. In case of insufficient funds, faculties will prioritise using own standards. You'll be informed in June if you are on the effective list or reserve list. 
• Scholarship details & specific conditions
  • On average grant covers 50-60% of the expenses made abroad. Scholarship amounts vary depending on the destination (overview for an exchange for traineeships).
  • Students belonging to the below categories get a top-up of 250EUR/month for their exchange for studies.
    • You receive a scholarship from the Flemish community in the year of your exchange
    • You are a 'bijna-beursstudent' in the year of your exchange
    • You have a disability recognised by VAPH (Vlaams Agentschap voor Personen met een handicap) in the year of your exchange
    • You are a working student in a working programme (see the definition of the government of Flanders - only in Dutch available) in the year of your exchange
      • Werkstudent : een student die aan al de volgende voorwaarden beantwoordt :
        1) hij is in het bezit van een bewijs van tewerkstelling in een dienstverband met een omvang van ten minste 80 uren per maand, of hij is in het bezit van een bewijs van uitkeringsgerechtigde werkzoekende en de opleiding kadert binnen het door een gewestelijke dienst voor arbeidsbemiddeling voorgestelde traject naar werk;
        2) hij is nog niet in het bezit van een tweede cyclusdiploma of masterdiploma;
        3) hij is ingeschreven in een studietraject met specifieke onderwijs- en leervormen en met specifieke modaliteiten van begeleiding en aanbod, dat als zodanig geregistreerd is in het Hogeronderwijsregister. De afzonderlijke registratie in het Hogeronderwijsregister impliceert niet dat het hier een nieuwe opleiding betreft.
  • Students can opt for the Green Travel top-up (= the travel that uses low-emissions means of transport for the main part of the travel, such as bus, train or car-pooling to travel to/travel from your Erasmus mobility destination. You can find here more info on what VUB considers as an eligible Green Travel. 
  • Scholarship is paid in 2 instalments; 70% is after arrival and 30% upon return.
  • Students can receive a grant for max. 6 months (with the exceptions of students belonging to the above mentionned categories)
• Duration Min. 2 -  max. 10 months
• Specific conditions
  - Complete non-binding online language tests. Results are not accessible by the host institution. Students whose mother tongue is the language of instruction at the host institution are exempt.
  - Complete a survey 

Erasmus+ Internship after graduation

• Destination To host organisation agreed upon with Exchange Coordinator located in
  • one of the 27 EU Member States
  • the European Free Trade association: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
  • Candidate members: North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. 
  • Third countries, not associated with the programme (attention: limited budget)
  • Click here to find an overview of all possible countries
• Application procedure & selection Students who are selected by their Faculty for this exchange will be informed on the call to apply. The application itself is managed by Students on the Move. 
• Scholarship details & payment scheme Students on the Move applies a first come first served principle. 
• Duration Min. 2 and max.12 months (including the deduction of the # of months you have been on an Erasmus+ exchange within the study cycle (Bachelor, Master) you are graduating from). You can get a grant for max. 6 months. 
• Specific conditions Need to be nominated by your Faculty towards IRMO (see procedure), register while you are still a VUB student (i.e. before graduation), and internship needs to be in line with your VUB programme. Only possible to do this internship after your bachelor or master. Not possible after a postgraduate programme.  
• More information via this link.

Flanders Traineeship Programme

The Flanders Trainee Programme (via the Flemish Government and the Department Chancellery and Foreign Affairs) has grants for internships for students and graduates with multilateral international organisations.

The grants are available for those who:

• have secured a work placement with a multilateral organisation (list is available here)
• are younger than 35 at the starting date of their internships/work placement
• have a final diploma obtained at an institution of secondary or higher education that is financed or subsidised by the Flemish community.

Duration of the internship/work placement is from at least 2 months until maximum 6 months with one of the approved organisations from the list. 

To find out more on how it works, check the website. You can find the procedures and application forms online as well. 

Here below you can find more information about the possible scholarships for a traineeship outside Europe. Each scholarship has its own conditions: Washington Center, Priority Country Programme, Generic Scholarship, Erasmus+ Traineeship after graduation, Rei Scholarship and Asem WPP. 

ASEM Work Placement Programme

• Internship as an integral part of the VUB curriculum. Find more information on ‘internships’.
• Destination Host organisation, agreed upon with your Exchange Coordinator or the Internship Responsible for your study programme, located in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam

      Period & duration: Internship has to take place before 1st September 2025 (credits have to be assigned to the academic year 24-25), minimum 1 and maximum 6 months

• Eligibility criteria & Modalities
  • Internship mobility only, all disciplines
  • Internship is integral part of the curriculum/study programme (traineeship is recognised by VUB through credit transfer)
  • Enrolled in a full time study programme, completed at least 1 year (60 ECTS). Only possible for BA and MA students (not possible for PhD students).
  • Internship Agreement agreed upon by 1) student, 2) VUB Exchange Coordinator or Internship Responsible for your study programme and 3) Institution/organisation/company in the host country (host institution)
  • English language proficiency: IELTS 6, TOEFL 80 or B2 level on the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)) or a certificate provided by VUB Professor
  • No restriction on nationality
• Scholarship details
  • Grant consists of: travel allowance €1.500 and grant amount of €700/month (a month is defined as a period of 30 days even if the month counts 28, 29 or 31 days, with the exception of the last month of mobility which needs to be minimum 26 days)
  • Monthly top-up of €200 for Flemish students receiving a study grant from the Flemish Government (Vlaamse Studietoelage) and/or students with a disability, recognised through the VAPH.
  • Duration: minimum 1 and maximum 6 months
  • Scholarship: Maximum grant of 2 months
  • Applicants can apply for a grant from the Flemish Government
    • Grant approval and selection are done by VLUHR
    • Grant cannot be combined with another scholarship from the Flemish Government or VLIR-UOS
• Application
  • STEP 1: Express interest to IRMO
    • IRMO sends more information on the application procedure and the eligibility criteria and modalities
    • Check whether students meets eligibility criteria and modalities of the ASEM Work Placement Programme
    • Official approval from Exchange Coordinator and/or Internship Responsible for student’s study programme of the Internship (Internship needs to be part of VUB curriculum (credit transfer))
  • STEP 2: Applicant sends application information to IRMO
  • STEP 3: IRMO nominates the students to the Flemish Government for the ASEM Work Placement Programme
  • STEP 4: The applicant receives an email notifying about the start of the application procedure and the next steps. Necessary steps for the student to complete in the Flemish Government’s online system
    • 1 - Upload English language test results (IELTS 6, TOEFL/TOEFL iBT 80 or B2 level on the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)) or a similar result in another official English language test (recognised by VUB)
    • 2 - Complete details about the traineeship company in the online tool
    • 3 - Internship agreement, signed by all parties: trainee, Home institution and Internship institution/organisation/company

The Washington Center

• Destination An opportunity for students to do an internship and follow academic seminars at the Washington Center (TWC) in Washington, D.C. Find out more here.
• Application procedure & selection
  • In order to qualify for this scholarship you need approval from your Exchange Coordinator who approves to award and recognize 30 ECTS in your curriculum for this programme. The exchange covers the following disciplines: arts, business and management, global trade, information technology, media and communication, international relations, law and criminology, political sciences.
  • Students who expressed their interest to IRMO will be informed when the call to apply is open, detailing the application procedure. The application deadline is 25 February. The application package can be obtained at IRMO by sending an email to exchange.outgoing@vub.be. Selection is done external and based on following criteria.
• Scholarship details & payment scheme 9,000 EUR (12,000 EUR for students receiving a Flemish study allowance) as a onetime pay-off.
• In case of online exchange due to COVID-19, the amount will be 3,500 EUR (4,300 EUR for students receiving a Flemish study allowance)
• Duration 15 weeks during the first semester of the academic year 2023-2024.
• Specific conditions are set by Vlaamse Universiteiten en Hogescholen Raad - VLUHR (Flemish Universities and Colleges of Higher Education Board) awarding the grant.
• More information via this link.

Priority Country Programme

• Destination To a host organisation, agreed upon with your Exchange Coordinator, located in one of 8 priority countries: Brazil, Chile, Japan, Morocco, Mexico, Turkey, United States and South Africa.                                                                                                                
• Internship Agreement: the student, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Exchange Coordinator) and an institution/organization/company in one of the priority countries (Host institution) need to have established a learning agreement for Internships.

For more information on application, selection & scholarship amounts check this page.

Generic Scholarships

• Destination: To host organisation, agreed upon with your Exchange Coordinator, located in any country except in one of the EU Member States, FYROM, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Turkey. There needs to be a Learning Agreement for Traineeships.
• Application procedure & selection Students need to be nominated by their Faculty. You will be informed when the VUB call to apply for a Generic scholarship is open (as from March 15) and how to apply. Applications are sent to IRMO the latest 1 April 2024. VUB’s International Policy Council decides who is awarded the grant (start of June) on the basis of 3 criteria:
  - Weighted average grades (including the January session)
  - Priority for exchanges to a VUB partner institution
  - At least 25% of the selected candidates receive a Flemish study allowance
• Scholarship details & payment scheme
  - Scholarship consists of return ticket (fixed amounts) and a grant of 700 EUR (or 900 EUR for students with Flemish study allowance)/month.
  - 80% of the scholarship is paid upon arrival, 20% upon return.
  - Travel grant is transferred after signing the grant agreement.
• Duration Min. 1 month - max. 10 months.
• Specific conditions
  - Write a final report
  - Complete a short survey.

! Given the limited number of scholarships available and that priority is given to exchanges to a VUB partner institution, the competition is extremely high for scholarships for an intercontinental internship to a host organisation of your choice. If you are however not awarded a scholarship, you can still go for an intercontinental internship at your own expense.

Erasmus+ Traineeship after graduation

• Destination To host organisation agreed upon with Exchange Coordinator located in
  • one of the 27 EU Member States
  • the European Free Trade association: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
  • Candidate members: North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. 
  • Third countries, not associated with the programme (attention: limited budget)
  • Click here to find an overview of all possible countries
• Application procedure & selection Students who are selected by their Faculty for this exchange will be informed on the call to apply. The application itself is managed by Students on the Move. 
• Scholarship details & payment scheme Students on the Move applies a first come first served principle. 
• Duration Min. 2 and max.12 months (including the deduction of the # of months you have been on an Erasmus+ exchange within the study cycle (Bachelor, Master) you are graduating from). You can receive a grant for max. 6 months. 
• Specific conditions Need to be nominated by your Faculty towards IRMO (see procedure), register while you are still a VUB student (i.e. before graduation), and traineeship needs to be in line with your VUB programme. Only possible to do this traineeship after your bachelor or master. Not possible after a postgraduate programme.  
• More information via this link.

Scholarship REI

Want to go for studies to a developing country?  Then this REI scholarship is for you.

• Destination There are 37 countries in Africa, Asia & Latin America.
• Application procedure & selection Applications include a student’s cover letter, invitation letter of the local supervisor and recommendation letter of the Flemish supervisor. At the time of application  student should have taken an UCOS preparatory course. First selection on admissibility and a 2nd on content by BAOW members.
• Scholarship details & payment scheme  1,500 EUR (lump sum), first 75% paid after approval by VUB’s International Policy Council, remaining 25% after completing the final report.
• Duration At least 28 consecutive days (no maximum)
• Specific conditions Must be part of a recognized study component (i.e. work placement/internship or a thesis). Following classes is not enough.
• More information via this link.

Flanders Trainee Programme

The Flanders Trainee Programme (via the Flemish Government and the Department Chancellery and Foreign Affairs) has grants for internships for students and graduates with multilateral international organisations.

The grants are available for those who:

• have secured a work placement with a multilateral organisation (list is available here)
• are younger than 35 at the starting date of their internships/work placement
• have a final diploma obtained at an institution of secondary or higher education that is financed or subsidised by the Flemish community.

Duration of the internship/work placement is from at least 2 months until maximum 6 months with one of the approved organisations from the list. 

To find out more on how it works, check the website. You can find the procedures and application forms online as well.