Application and Qualification procedure for K2 students to participate in the Erasmus+ student exchange (study abroad) program 2020-2021


Application and Qualification procedure for K2 students to participate the in Erasmus+ student exchange (study abroad) program 2020-2021


The Erasmus+ program allows you to study at another European University and receive a scholarship to cover part of the cost of living abroad. You can choose from the list of partner Universities with whom the Faculty of Psychology has an Erasmus+ agreement (see the list of our partners). The length of time you can study abroad is one semester.

As K2 is formally part of the Faculty of Psychology, the exchange can only be to other psychology departments with whom there currently is an Erasmus exchange agreement. As K2 is a new study program, there are currently no specific agreements with other Cognitive Science programs. This in practice will limit the offer to you, as some partner Faculties will not offer a sufficient number of courses that specifically fit with the K2 program. When selecting a University where you would like to go, ensure that the course offer available to you, offered by the faculty of psychology there, is compatible with your program here. This will also be a topic during the interview: see below for more information.

There will be information meetings for all who are interested to go on Erasmus on Thursday December 19 2019 at 15:15 and again at 17:30 in room 412.

Who can apply?

Students in the first year of K2.

How to apply

In order to apply you need to:

  • Apply by filling in the following online form: https://goo.gl/forms/g3TmZVUCw1p5QGCY2
    The deadline for completing the application is Wednesday January 15 2020
  • Participate in a qualification interview
    Interviews will take place during the first week of the spring semester (January 27-29 2020) and will last 10 minutes.

List of partner universities

Qualification criteria

  • Qualification interview; applicants will be asked about their motivations to apply to the Erasmus+ program and their University of choice. Applicants will receive a score on the basis of the interview. Interview scores below 50% result in failure to qualify. Particular attention will be paid to the compatibility of the course selection offered by the Faculty of Psychology of the University of your choice and the K2 program: You have to show that Cognitive Science courses are part of the course offer.
  • GPA (grade point average); the average score of a student from courses during the first semester of K2 studies, as calculated by USOS. The minimum grade average required to receive an Erasmus+ scholarship is 3.49. Applicants with a lower GPA can participate in Erasmus+, but without scholarship.
  • GPA and interview scores are equally important and will be added together to give a final qualification score. Candidates with the highest score will be qualified. (NB: candidates apply and qualify for a chosen University, not for participation in the Erasmus+ program in general – see also below in “qualification procedure” for details. Having an interview score above 50% is a requirement for qualification).
  • All candidates need to show proof of language proficiency at B2 level in the language in which they will follow courses. To fulfill the language requirement, official certificates are accepted (for example TOEFL and IELTS for English, Goethe and TELC for German, DELE and TELC for Spanish, but there are many more). Also a language exam passed at the University of Warsaw is acceptable, or having passed matura with a score of at least 60% in a language at advanced level is counted as B2 level.
    In case an applicant possesses a good conversational level of proficiency at the time of the interview, but not yet B2, the applicant can be conditionally qualified, but must present proof of B2 proficiency before the exchange period starts. Non-conditionally qualified applicants have priority over conditionally qualified candidates, irrespective of score.
  • Applicants who have not participated in the Erasmus+ program before have priority over those who already have been “on Erasmus”, irrespective of qualification score. For this also Erasmus participation during previous studies are taken into account (this is an EU requirement).
  • On the day of March 10th 2020 the applicant is allowed to have no more than one conditional pass.

Criteria that have to be fulfilled at the moment the Erasmus exchange starts:

  • A consent-form signed by the Master thesis supervisor, i.e. your supervisor has to agree to work on distance.
  • B2 language proficiency, in case the candidate was conditionally qualified on the basis of the language requirement.

Qualification procedure

All eligible applicants who have send in the application form on time will be invited to a qualification interview. Interviews will take place at the end of the semester; during the first days of February. Candidates will be sent a link so they can select their preferred time slot for their interview.

The interview will be conducted by a qualification commission composed of the Faculty’s Erasmus+ coordinator, an academic teacher and a student representative. All commission members assess a candidate’s motivation; the candidate’s score will be the simple average of the three commission members. The questions being asked will refer to the candidates motivation to participate in the Erasmus+ program in general, and her/his choice of University. Be prepared that during part of the interview you will be asked to speak in the language of instruction of the University you selected. If there are multiple languages of instruction at the selected University, you can choose a language.

If you did not qualify for the University of your choice, you can still qualify for another University at which there are still free places. A “second round” of qualification will be organized for those who did not qualify for the university of their first choice, so that as many people wanting to go on Erasmus, will have the chance to.

Students have the right to appeal against the decision of the committee, in first instance to the Dean, and in second instance to the vice-rector for student affairs and quality of education, whose decision will be final. The appeal can be made through the body which has issued the decision, within a period of 14 days (Rules of study UW, paragraph 7 point 3).

 

Full information about rules, regulations and procedures concerning Erasmus can be found at: http://bwz.uw.edu.pl/

 

[spacer height=”20px”]Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much scholarship will I receive?
A: It depends on the country where you go and how long you will go.

The following amounts are valid the current academic year, and most likely will not change for the coming academic year. The amounts are per month, in Euros:
500€: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Italy
400€: Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, Luxemburg, Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Turkey
350€: Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia – Former Yugoslav Republic , Malta, Rumania, Slovak Republic, Hungary

Q: Can I go on Erasmus during a semester when I am supposed to do obligatory courses?
A: Yes, but you still have to do the obligatory courses.

  • You can do an obligatory course at the University where you plan to go, if they offer that same course. You need permission from the Dean of student affairs for this. The Dean will ask you to first bring approval of the instructor teaching the obligatory course here. The instructor will need to check if the content of the course at the other University is indeed the same as the course here. You will need to present the instructor with a detailed course description for this.
  • You can enroll in the course through USOS during the normal registration period and try to pass the exam after you come back from Erasmus (provided that attendance to classes is not obligatory). Being on Erasmus does not count as a valid excuse for missing an exam. If you miss the first exam in the session because you are still abroad, then this will count as a missed chance. The re-take exam will not count as your “first attempt”.

Q: how many credits should I do during Erasmus?
A: In principle 30 ECTS per semester, but no less than 20 ECTS per semester.

Completing less than 20 ECTS will result in loss of part of your scholarship, and will thus have financial consequences.

Q: When should I show proof that I have the required language proficiency?
A: In order to be able to qualify unconditionally, you should show it at the interview.

You can bring a certificate (or a copy of your matura, if this applies). In case you have passed the exam at the University of Warsaw and have it registered in USOS, you can just mention this and we will verify in USOS. Note that you can qualify conditionally if you cannot present a proof of proficiency yet. However candidates who can show proof of proficiency will have priority (even if they have a lower score).

 

This information has been published on December 13 2019.

With other questions, you can reach us by email at erasmus@psych.uw.edu.pl