Erasmus+: Sciences - science area

For all aspects related to the Erasmus+ study Call, and to the other available calls, it is necessary to refer to what is indicated in the full call text.

The flows are activated well in advance of the publication of the call and do not result from a choice made by the Mobility Unit, but rather from requests made by the lecturers in charge of the flows to activate bilateral agreements with certain universities and from the successful outcome of those requests.

Any imbalances in the number of flows available for some degree courses are therefore entirely incidental.

The information relating to the degree courses eligible for each flow is agreed by the lecturer in charge of the flow with the host institution, which may impose binding conditions regarding the study area concerned (and therefore a Degree Programme rather than another) or the eligible study activity (thesis or courses).

In case of doubt (for example: I am a Chemistry student: can I apply for a Materials Science flow?) please contact the respective lecturer in charge of the flow directly.

It is necessary to consult the websites of the partner Universities (paying particular attention to the degree courses) and, if appropriate, to seek information from the flow coordinator of the destinations of interest, in order to identify possible courses to be taken abroad. These courses must be entered, in the original language, in the proposal of activities to be carried out abroad available on the page http://www.unipd.it/erasmus-studio.

At a later stage, after the publication of the rankings and according to the completion dates indicated in the call, those who have been awarded an Erasmus place and have accepted it must submit the Learning Agreement in Uniweb and have it approved by the president of the CCS or their delegate.

Destinations are available on the new interactive platform: www.unipd.it/mobility-agreements.

You must select your Degree Programme from the Study field drop-down menu. The total number of months indicated in the portal (Number) for each agreement must be divided by the number of available places (Total number).
It is necessary to note down all the main information (for example: Erasmus code, lecturer in charge of the flow, isced/study area) in order to select the destination correctly in Uniweb.

Bachelor's Degree
Students enrolling in the first year of a Bachelor's Degree Programme in the academic year 2025/26 are not eligible for selection, except for the degree programmes in Informatica, Statistica per l’economia e l’impresa and Statistica per le tecnologie e le scienze.

Attention: for the first call for applicants enrolling in the above-mentioned degree programmes, the mark obtained in the final secondary school examination and in the entrance test will be taken into consideration.

Students enrolled in a Bachelor's Degree who are in years after the first, and enrolled in all degree programmes, are eligible for selection only if they have obtained at least 40 credits at the time of submitting the application.

Master's Degree
Students enrolled in a Master's Degree and doctoral candidates automatically meet this requirement, as they have already completed the Bachelor's Degree and/or the Master's Degree.
Students enrolled in a Master's Degree who will undertake mobility during the second year or later must obtain at least 30 credits before signing the financial agreement and departing.

• proposal of the activities to be carried out abroad, indicating the courses with their original name in the foreign language and/or a letter from the supervisor or adviser for thesis work and/or traineeship (mandatory attachment) using the specific form;
• language certificates, if held, or a self-certification stating the grade and the language examination obtained at a university other than the University of Padua;
• self-certification stating the grade and qualification if obtained at a foreign university;
   

Students who intend to take part in Erasmus+ mobility for study must submit their application exclusively through Uniweb no later than 1 p.m.

The selection and allocation of successful applicants are defined by the relevant committees, as specified in the Regulations for Erasmus selection approved by the School of Science available here.

• consistency of the activity included in the “proposal of activities to be carried out abroad” with the university career, with the degree courses offered by the host institution and with the length of stay at the same institution
• weighted average mark and number of credits obtained for each year of enrolment
• knowledge of the language of the host country, also assessed on the basis of the certificate submitted, and knowledge of the vehicular language.

The Erasmus programme offers students the opportunity to carry out thesis, research or traineeship activities at the host institution abroad.

Anyone intending to carry out such activities at the host institution abroad, using the form available on the website, must submit a letter signed by their internal supervisor in Padua (or, if they are not yet able to define the thesis topic and supervisor, by one of the other persons authorised to sign), in which the latter declares their willingness to allow this teaching activity to be carried out abroad at the chosen host institution.

Before applying for a destination, check the website of the host institution for the language requirements requested for Erasmus students.

Most foreign universities require a specific certified level to be demonstrated at the time of the application, well in advance of the departure date.

Only for University destinations, the language level is a mandatory requirement, on pain of ineligibility, also for participation in the call for applications, and it will be verified by the University of Padua for selection purposes.

Erasmus students about to leave are offered a free language preparation course at the University Language Centre or at other venues according to the instructions that will be provided later on the Erasmus page.

In any case, all those who have been awarded a place are strongly advised to take an online level test (Online Linguistic Support - OLS) provided by the European Commission for the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch (for the latter only if required by the foreign university), to be taken before departure and after returning from the stay.

The European Commission will also make available a free online course for self-learning, again for the languages listed above.

Successful students who need a language level certificate may use the language tests offered by the CLA or by other bodies indicated by the Mobility Unit. If the foreign University requires specific “language certifications” (e.g. TOEFL, IELS), it is necessary to arrange these independently.

Attention: the ranking lists will be published exclusively in the Erasmus+ Studio section of the University portal and will constitute the sole means of publication.

No personal communications will be made, either in writing or by telephone.

Successful students must accept the place according to the procedures and deadlines indicated on the page Accettazione posto Erasmus.

In the event of publication errors and/or delays in the delivery of the ranking lists to the office, the above dates may be subject to change and those who have been awarded the call may accept the grant at a later date.

At the time of acceptance, you are required to indicate precisely the starting date of the study period abroad, which must be decided on the basis of the academic calendar set by the foreign university. The date indicated will be considered the official departure date even if it may subsequently be changed.

For those who have been awarded an annual grant (nine months or more) whose departure date has been set or moved to the second semester, the grant will be automatically reduced so that it covers only the teaching and examination period (generally until the end of July). Students leaving for a thesis and/or traineeship are excluded from this automatic reduction.

It is not possible to bring departure forward from the second to the first semester.

The list of vacant places will be published after the acceptance and replacement phases of the first call, and these places may be used for mobility exclusively in the second semester.

Students must submit their application exclusively through Uniweb. Once the application has been confirmed, it will not be possible to modify it.

At the end of the application submission process, an email is sent to the student's institutional email address (nome.cognome@studenti.unipd.it) to notify them that the application has been submitted correctly.

Students who withdraw from their Erasmus mobility place after the acceptance phase has ended must use exclusively the online procedure available on the Mobility Online portal and are required to notify the flow coordinator and the host university.

Before departure, all students assigned an Erasmus place must submit in Uniweb a Learning Agreement in which they will indicate the educational activities (courses, thesis, etc.) that they intend to undertake abroad according to the dates indicated in the call for applications.

For instructions on how to complete it, on the documentation to be attached, and on the procedures for approval of the Learning Agreement by the host University, please refer to the "Learning Agreement" section on the following page: http://www.unipd.it/erasmus-studio 

For the recognition of the activity carried out abroad during the Erasmus period, it is necessary to contact the relevant delegate or President of the Degree Programme (table attached at the bottom of the page) and, if they do not belong to the student's Bachelor's Degree Programme, the President of the Degree Course Board.

The recognition of the activity carried out abroad must take place in compliance with the approved Learning Agreement and in accordance with the provisions of the Academic Senate resolutions of 13/04/2015 and 15/12/2020.

The conversion of foreign grades is carried out in accordance with the ECTS scale where a Transcript of Records containing this information is available or, where such information is missing, on the basis of the University's general table as per the Academic Senate resolution of 15/12/2020.

For the conversion of foreign grades into Italian grades (out of 30) according to rules shared at European level, please consult the ECTS scale and statistical grade distributions available on the website under Erasmus.

Please note: Those who do not obtain at least 12 ECTS during the period abroad will have their Erasmus mobility recognised as “Zero Grant”; therefore, they will not be entitled to any monthly instalment of the grant or related supplements and will be required to repay any sums already disbursed.

Who carries out the selection? How do I choose the exchange stream for which to apply?
For each exchange stream of interest, the following factors must be taken into account:

• since an exchange stream originates from a bilateral agreement in a specific area with the foreign University, the selection committee, in accordance with the School regulations, gives preference to applications from students on the degree courses provided for by the agreement itself, and has the right to exclude in advance those coming from study areas not covered
• the exchange stream may require particular language skills - students who already possess such skills at the time of application will receive a higher score than others;

If one is interested in working abroad on their thesis, does the exchange stream allow this type of activity or not?
If nothing is indicated in the file with the list of exchange streams, send an email to the mobility office or enquire directly with the foreign institution. There are some universities that do not allow thesis research, for example the Arqus institutions.

What should I do once I have chosen an exchange stream?
Once you have decided which exchange stream you wish to apply for, you must visit the website of the foreign University for that exchange stream in order to find out which courses this University offers. The degree courses (relating to the academic year of mobility) may not yet be available on the website of the foreign university. In that case, refer to the most recent degree courses. If you find courses of interest, you must then prepare an initial study plan proposal of activities to be carried out abroad consisting of courses and, where applicable, the thesis.
The courses must be at a level appropriate to the student, and the total number of credits included in the study plan should be broadly proportionate to the duration of the grant: 20 credits for one term and 30 for one semester, and so on.

What should I do if I want to go abroad to work on my thesis?
Students selected to carry out thesis activities and PhD candidates must attach to the Learning Agreement in Uniweb a letter signed by the supervisor from the University of Padua or by the lecturer tutor of the PhD course, stating the name of the foreign supervisor/tutor. In the absence of this document, the Learning Agreement, even if approved, will not be considered valid.

Can I apply for more than one call for applications?
Yes, but if I am successful in more than one call for applications, I will then have to choose only one type of mobility

If the exchange stream allows this type of activity, the student must obtain a letter from a lecturer (thesis letter) stating that they are willing to act as supervisor in the event of being awarded the Erasmus place. 
The thesis work will be worth the same number of credits as the thesis in Padua.
It is possible to include thesis activities in their study plan only if this is compatible with their progress in their studies.