Abroad & Returning Back

Subject to agreement, you may extend your stay abroad by one semester. To do so, you must first obtain our permission and then the consent of the partner university. We will check whether exchange places are still available under our agreements. As a rule, we have no objection, provided that your extension does not reduce the number of exchange places available for the coming year. However, there are some exceptions and special circumstances that you should be aware of.

Erasmus+ (KA131 Europe and KA171 partner countries)

• Mobility grant: Whether a mobility grant can be paid for the second semester depends on the available Erasmus+ budget and will be assessed by us on a case-by-case basis. You will usually receive a response by the end of November.
• Extension period: Extending a stay from the winter semester into the summer semester is generally easier than extending it from the summer semester into the winter semester. The reverse is only an option in exceptional cases and requires a separate assessment by the Division of International Affairs.
• Special note: At Maynooth University (Ireland), the application for an extension must be submitted before the start of your studies abroad.

Global partnerships (non-EU)

At some universities, e.g. in Australia, Canada and the USA, an extension is generally not possible. In Latin America or other global partnerships, extensions are often possible regardless of the semester, subject to agreement.

Documents to be submitted: Please complete the “Follow-up form: Erasmus+ documents following mobility (outgoing students)” at MoveON and upload the following documents there:

1. Letter of Stay – Completed in full and signed.
2. Transcript of Records – In addition, this must be sent to us directly by the partner university (by email, post or via an online system accessible to us).
3. Experience Report – We ask that you write a report on the experiences you have had whilst abroad. You can find a current template in the downloads section.
4. EU Survey (Participants’ Report) – You will receive the invitation automatically by email; please also check your spam folder. Please contact your designated Outgoing Co-ordinator at Viadrina if you have not received the link. Once you have completed the survey, please upload the automatically generated PDF.

Prerequisite: In order to process your documents upon your return, we require the (online) Learning Agreement, including any ‘Changes during the Mobility’ where applicable. The document must be signed by you, your home university and the partner university, and is usually already available.

Recognition of academic achievements: The application for recognition of your academic achievements obtained abroad is submitted separately and varies depending on your study course and Faculty. You can find details on the recognition webpages.

Please email the documents/evidence listed below to your designated Outgoing Co-ordinator.

1. Learning Agreement & any Changes during the Mobility – signed by you, your home university and your partner university. This is usually already available and is only listed here for the sake of completeness.
2. Letter of Stay* – Confirmation of arrival and departure.
3. Experience report* – We ask that you write a short report on the experiences you have had abroad.
4. Transcript of Records – We require an email containing the transcript sent directly from the partner university or the original sent by post. We will inform you upon receipt. An online copy of your marks or forwarding the transcript yourself is not sufficient. If you have received the original transcript, you must either hand it in in person at the office or send it by post. Once the recognition process has been completed, you are welcome to have the original returned to you.
5. Application for recognition of your foreign academic achievements – This varies depending on the Faculty/study course. Details can be found on the webpages on recognition.

*Current templates in the downloads section.

Viadrina is, in principle, prepared to recognise academic achievements obtained abroad. However, the scope and procedure for recognition vary across the three Faculties. For instance, the Faculty of Law is much more strictly bound by legal requirements regarding the recognition of academic credits than is the case for the Faculties of Economics and Social and Cultural Sciences.

The following general guidelines on recognition apply to all three faculties:

• Academic credits from abroad can, in principle, only be recognised if they originate from recognised universities with the right to award doctorates or from business or law schools with the relevant accreditations. This is the case for all of Viadrina’s partner universities. Special rules apply to colleges.
• Academic achievements can only be recognised if they can be matched to subjects offered at Viadrina.
• Within Europe, the requirements of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) apply.