Students

Once a student exchange agreement has been signed - and dependent on the start date listed in the agreement - it becomes active. At that point Leiden students can apply to go on exchange to that partner, and the partner can nominate students to come to Leiden on exchange.  Outbound Leiden students apply through the ‘owner’ of the agreement. In other words, if the partnership is institution-wide, the owner is International Relations. If it is a faculty agreement, the faculty is the owner and the agreement is managed by the faculty or programme’s International Coordinator.

As most partnerships works on the principle of balance between the numbers of incoming and outgoing students, there are a limited number of places at each partner each year. Consequently there is a deadline - dependent on whether students are applying for university-wide or faculty partners - and a selection process based on gpa and motivation. You can familiarise yourself with the process for university-wide partners on the International Relations student website. Information on faculty or programme processes can be found on their respective websites.

Once selected, students are guided through the application process for the partner university by their exchange coordinator. Students can apply for scholarships through the Leiden Scholarship department depending on where they are going on exchange. At the partner university there are processes in place to help support international exchange students during their stay.

Staff

Likewise, once an agreement is active staff exchange in both directions may begin if it has been included in the agreement. For Erasmus staff exchange the agreement is managed by the faculty/programme International coordinator; staff wishing to apply for an Erasmus+ stipend to support exchange to an Erasmus + partner can find information about the application process on the website of the Scholarships office.

Safety regulations and travel restrictions

Leiden University will not send students on exchange to a region which is not considered to be safe (or which becomes unsafe). There are also restrictions on staff travel. For more information on travel restrictions, see Safety abroad and crisis management.