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Starting a partnership and signing an exchange agreement is just the first step in facilitating student and staff mobility. Staff and student exchange at Leiden University is administered by international coordinators at faculty and central level.
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.
Staff mobility
Staff exchanges are an enjoyable way to discover other education systems, gain international and intercultural experience, develop new professional skills and network with foreign colleagues.
Exchanges are available for both academic staff and non-academic staff, but are subject to the capacity and availability of the partner university.
Outgoing staff mobility
Europe
Within Europe, we work with about 40 universities that offer opportunities for Erasmus student exchanges. These partners are also open for staff mobility:
| Partner university | Type of mobility |
| Anglo-American University in Prague | Teaching |
| KU Leuven | Teaching |
| University of Limerick | Teaching |
| Universidade de Lisboa | Teaching |
| University of Ljubljana | Teaching |
| Panteion University | Teaching |
| Sabanci University | Teaching and training |
| German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer | Teaching |
| Tallin University of Technology | Teaching |
| University of Tartu | Teaching |
| Trinity College Dublin | Teaching |
| Université catholique de Louvain | Teaching |
| University of Vaasa | Teaching |
| University of Warsaw | Teaching |
Exchanges can be organised through Erasmus+ for Training, for training courses, language training, job shadowing and other short courses with European partners (for all academic staff (WP) and non-academic staff (OBP), including Leiden-based PhD students) and through Erasmus+ for Teaching Assignments, for teaching courses with European partners (for all Leiden-based WP and OBP staff).
More information and the conditions are available here:
Outside Europe
While the university does not offer internal grants for opportunities outside of Europe, the International Office is happy to support you in identifying and exploring external funding opportunities.
| Partner university | Type of mobility |
| University of Edingburgh - Edinburgh Futures Institute (UK) | Teaching |
| Grinnell College (USA) | Contact International Office for details |
| Macalester College (USA) | Contact International Office for details |
| Diego Portales University (Chile) | Contact International Office for details |
Incoming staff mobility
Of course, we are more than happy to receive staff from our international partners and other universities. If you are a staff member from one of our partner universities and you would like to visit Leiden University, you need to find a Leiden University staff member that would like to supervise and organize your visit. Next to approval from your home university, You also need the written approval from the Institute manager that is willing to host you. The FGGA International Office can advise on the administrative procedure.
You can request financing for staff mobility via your home university.
For more information about the Visiting Scholar Scheme from our Institute of Security and Global Affairs, see this website.