Brexit has been a recurrent topic in the news for quite a while – but what does it mean for Erasmus and the UK students and institutions?
How Erasmus works
Erasmus is essentially a project of the EU that allows students from the EU (and Partner Countries, for Example Albania and Turkey) to spend up to 12 months abroad in one study cycle (BA/BSc, MA/MSc and PhD studies) at a host university within the EU (or in one of the Partner Countries). The students are then considered regular students of the host university, don’t pay any tuition fees and can have their modules recognised at the end of their stay (this is subject to agreement between the home and the host university), which means that if they take similar modules abroad, they will not have them recognised by their home university. On top of that, students receive an Erasmus grant – money from the EU to help you with your living costs.
There are other activities you can take part in under the Erasmus scheme, but for the purpose of this article, we will only focus on the HE mobility.
Erasmus is beneficial for further studies or employment – most of the universities and employers value the additional experiences gained abroad, so taking part in Erasmus can help you with further studies or job applications. The most important aspect of Erasmus is probably having the opportunity to try living abroad, learn a foreign language and meet new people who can become lifelong friends.
How Brexit can influence the UK’s participation
The UK is currently negotiating the terms of its departure from the EU; it is yet unclear what the outcome will be and there are several possible outcomes.
Projects in progress
There is no need to worry if your project has already been approved and you are going abroad during the second semester; the UK has created a scheme that will fund any projects that are in progress should the UK leave the EU suddenly. The EU has done the same, so students coming to the UK don’t need to worry. The home and host universities are working hard on signing additional agreements which should guarantee that UK/EU Erasmus students will be allowed to finish their study period even in case of hard Brexit. However, students might be required to apply for visa in some countries if there is a no-deal Brexit – it is always a good idea to check with your host university representatives, they will know more.
The possible outcomes
Leaving with a deal
A part of the Brexit deal is dedicated to Erasmus – the UK and the EU have agreed that Erasmus should continue during the transition period, which means that the European students will be able to come and study in the UK and the English students will be able to study in Europe. There is however no information about what will happen at the end of the transition period.
Leaving without a deal
If there is no deal and the UK ‘falls out of Europe’, Erasmus projects for the UK institutions might suddenly stop and EU students might not be able to study in the UK in the Erasmus scheme.
Potential solutions
There are several ways how to preserve the UK-EU exchange and I believe one (or all) of them will eventually be used:
Bilateral agreements
The universities are always free to sign bilateral agreements, which means that students from university A can spend some time studying at university B (and vice versa); it is very likely that the subjects studied would be recognised (thanks to the European Credit Transfer System which is not a part of the EU and universities can – and do – implement it individually). The universities can then also waive tuition fees and fund such exchanges, but they will have to use their own resources, so exchange students might get less money compared to Erasmus students. The students are also likely to be required to apply for visa to be able to stay in the host country. This solution also means that the previous partner universities might be no longer available as universities will have to negotiate individually, which might take some time, and not all the previous partners might be interested.
Erasmus Partner countries
As mentioned above, there are countries outside of the EU that take part in Erasmus; the UK might be able to transition in this category as well. It would therefore mean that the main frame of Erasmus would be unchanged and the selection of the universities would stay unchanged as well as the funding (there might however be some changes to the amount of money the students would receive). The only major change in this scenario would be the students having to apply for visa.
Where can I find out more?
- Brexit updates from the UK Erasmus Plus Office
- The EU’s Erasmus+ Contingency Plan
- BBC’s Brexit news