Costs of travel and living
Obviously, the costs of your semester abroad will depend on the country you go to and the length of your stay. Available grants will only cover a (small) part of your expenses so you should expect to spend additional personal savings and/or to receive parental support.
Financial aid
While you are not required to pay tuition fees at your host institution as an exchange student, you will be responsible for all other expenses. To cover a part of these, depending on the kind of exchange program, you will receive either a Socrates grant (for EU-citizens and EU-countries) or a UCM grant. Please note that if you do not meet the conditions under which these scholarships are granted, you will have to return the money.
Socrates/Erasmus
The Socrates/Erasmus program is an EU-funded education program, designed to encourage students to expand their university education by spending a period of study in another EU member state. The Socrates program applies to all member countries of the EU, including Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, excluding Luxembourg and Switzerland. To achieve this, funds are provided ONLY for formally organized student exchange programs involving specific universities with which UCM has signed a Bilateral Agreement. Students participating in Socrates exchange programs will receive a Socrates grant if they hold an EU membership nationality. If they are not an EU citizen, they will receive a UCM grant as long as they are accepted by the host institution in the exchange program.
UCM grant
UCM also has exchange agreements with universities in countries outside the European Union (e.g. various US and Australian universities). Students who are going to one of these host institutions will receive a UCM grant.
You do not have to apply for these grants separately from your application procedure. As soon as you have returned the student contract that you will automatically receive for your semester abroad, UCM will see to it that you will receive 50 per cent of this grant before your departure. The remaining 50 per cent will be transferred to your account upon receipt of the Student Report, which you have to hand in when you return, and upon receipt of the official study results from your host institution.
Dutch “Studiefinanciering” and public transport student card (OV-card)
For those of you who receive the Dutch “Studiefinanciering” it is important to know that if you are registered as a full-time student at UCM and your semester abroad is recognized as part of your UCM program, your “studiefinanciering” will continue while you are abroad.
It is possible to discontinue your public transport student card while abroad. You need to fill out the relevant DUO-IB form called “Aanvraag OV-vergoeding voor de scholier/student in het buitenland”. This form can be downloaded from the DUO-IB-groep website: www.ib-groep.nl. It has to be signed by Ina Engelen.
Other scholarships
Students who study at UCM on another financial aid program (other than the Dutch Studiefinanciering), should inform their sponsor about their semester abroad plans well in advance. They should talk to their bursar about what can and cannot be applied to a semester abroad program.
Other grants for studying abroad
Sometimes there are additional grants available for studying abroad. Information can be found at the university’s “Informatiecentrum voor Studie en Loopbaan” in the Bonnefanten building (Student Service Center). See your Student Handbook or the “Observant” for business hours.
Most of these grants, however, are for graduate studies or for medical internships.
