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.
• Scholarship There is no funding linked to this programme.
• 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
  • The Erasmus+ grant is meant as a contribution to 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 BOTH TO AND 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. 4 months (with the exceptions of students belonging to the above mentioned 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 Mobility Unit. 

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 (normally in March) and how to apply. 
 
Application deadline : 1 April 2026 for an exchange in academic year 2026-2027

• The grant is awarded on the basis of 2 criteria:

1. Weighted average grades (including the January session)
2. At least 25% of the selected candidates receive a Flemish study allowance

Scholarship details & payment scheme
The scholarship consists of a monthly grant of €1,000. One month is calculated as 30 days.

• 70% of the scholarship is paid upon arrival.
• 30% is paid upon return.
• If the final month of the mobility lasts between 15 and 29 days, a half-month grant of €500 can be awarded.
• The minimum scholarship is €1,000. The maximum scholarship is €3,000 for regular students and €5,000 for students belonging to the category 'fewer opportunities'. For 'fewer opportunities' students, the minimum scholarship is €2,000 if the mobility lasts longer than 1 month.

Students belonging to the category 'fewer opportunities' include:

• Students receiving a Flemish study allowance (Vlaamse studietoelage)
• Students with a disability or special needs:
  • Students with a VAPH accreditation
  • Students with an accreditation from the Federal Government (Federale Overheidsdienst – FOD) Social Security – Directorate General for Persons with Disabilities
  • Students who incur additional costs due to their disability or special needs, as demonstrated and verified by Student Services
• Working students:
  • Working students on a work placement programme. The student must be an employee or a jobseeker and their course of study must form part of a pathway to employment proposed by the employment service. Furthermore, the student must not yet hold a master’s degree or second-cycle degree
  • Students who work at least 80 hours per month or 50% of full-time hours in employment subject to social security contributions
• Students who are self-employed as their main occupation
• Bijna-beursstudenten

Duration
The exchange period must be:

• Minimum: 1 month (30 days)
• Maximum: 12 months

• Students can undertake a mobility longer than the period covered by the scholarship. Any additional period beyond the funded duration is considered a partial zero-grant period, meaning that students can continue their exchange but will not receive additional scholarship funding.

   

• 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.

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
  • The Erasmus+ grant is meant as a contribution to 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. 4 months (with the exceptions of students belonging to the above mentioned 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.

Thinking about doing a traineeship after graduation? Learn from students who have already taken this step by watching this video.

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. 

ASEM Work Placement

• Traineeship as an integral part of the VUB curriculum.  
• Destination Host organisation, agreed upon with your Exchange Coordinator or the Traineeship 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: Traineeship has to take place before 1st September 2027 (credits have to be assigned to the academic year 26-27), minimum 1 and maximum 6 months
 

• Eligibility criteria & Modalities
  
  • Traineeship mobility only, all disciplines
  • Traineeship 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).
  • Traineeship Agreement agreed upon by 1) student, 2) VUB Exchange Coordinator or Traineeship 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 (either €820 or €1.500 depending on the distance band) 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)
  • Flemish students from underrepresented groups receive an extra allowance of € 200/month on top of the regular allowance. The following groups are considered:
    • Students who receive a study allowance from the Flemish Government (proof of AHOVOKS).
    • Students with a disability, recognized through VAPH (proof of VAPH).
    • Working students. The student must be an employee or jobseeker, the training being part of a trajectory proposed by the employment agency. Moreover, the student may not yet have a master's degree or a second cycle diploma.
  • Monthly top-up of €200 for Flemish students receiving a study grant from the Flemish Government (Vlaamse Studietoelage), students with a disability, recognised through the VAPH and/or working students.
  • The scholarship can cover up to 2 months of mobility
  • Applicants can apply for a grant from the Flemish Government
    
    • The grant is allocated through a raffle
    • The grant cannot be combined with another scholarship from the Flemish Government or VLIR-UOS
       
• Duration minimum 1 month and maximum 6 months

• Application
  
  • STEP 1: Express interest to the Mobility Unit
    
    • The Mobility Unit 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 Traineeship Responsible for student’s study programme of the Traineeship (traineeship needs to be part of VUB curriculum (credit transfer))
  • STEP 2: Applicant sends application information to the Mobility Unit
  • STEP 3: the Mobility Unit nominates the students to the Flemish Government for the ASEM Work Placement Programme from 9 November 2026
  • STEP 4: The applicant receives an email notifying about the start of the application procedure and the next steps. These steps need to be completed in the Flemish Government’s online system by 23 November at 3 PM at the latest.
    
    • 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 - Training agreement, signed by all parties: trainee, Home institution and Traineeship institution/organisation/company

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 and how to apply. Applications are sent to the Mobility Unit at the latest 1 April 2026 for exchanges in academic year 2026-2027.  

  The grant is awarded on the basis of 2 criteria:
  - Weighted average grades (including the January session)
  - At least 25% of the selected candidates receive a Flemish study allowance

• Scholarship details & payment scheme
  The scholarship consists of a monthly grant of 1000 EUR. One month is calculated as 30 days.
  • 70% of the scholarship is paid upon arrival, 30% upon return.
  • If the final month of the mobility lasts between 15 and 29 days, a half-month grant of €500 can be awarded.
  • The minimum scholarship is €1,000. The maximum scholarship is €3,000 for regular students and €5,000 for students belonging to the category 'fewer opportunities'. For 'fewer opportunities' students, the minimum scholarship is €2,000 if the mobility lasts longer than 1 month.

Students belonging to the “fewer opportunities” category include:

• Students receiving a Flemish study allowance (Vlaamse studietoelage)
• Students with a disability or special needs
  • Students with a VAPH accreditation
  • Students with an accreditation from the Federal Government (Federale Overheidsdienst – FOD) Social Security – Directorate General for Persons with Disabilities
  • Students who incur additional costs due to their disability or special needs, as demonstrated and verified by Student Services
• Working students
  • Working students on a work placement programme. The student must be an employee or a jobseeker, and their course of study must form part of a pathway to employment proposed by the employment service. Furthermore, the student must not yet hold a master’s degree or second-cycle degree
  • Students who work at least 80 hours per month or 50% of full-time hours in employment subject to social security contributions
• Students who are self-employed as their main occupation

• Bijna-beursstudenten

   

• Duration 
  • Min. 1 month (30 days)
  • Max. 12 months.

• Students can undertake a mobility longer than the period covered by the scholarship. Any additional period beyond the funded duration is considered a partial zero-grant period, meaning that students can continue their exchange but will not receive additional scholarship funding.

   

• 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.

Thinking about doing a traineeship after graduation? Learn from students who have already taken this step by watching this video.

Scholarship REI

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

• Destination There are 23 countries in Africa, Asia & Latin America.
• Application procedure & selection Applications include a student’s motivation letter, an invitation letter from the host institute and a commitment letter from both the VUB supervisor and host institute supervisor. At the time of application, the student should have registered to take a UCOS preparatory course. The first selection is on admissibility and the 2nd on content by BAOW members.
• Scholarship details & payment scheme 1,500 EUR (lump sum), first 70% paid after approval by VUB’s International Policy Council and signing of a grant agreement, remaining 30% 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.