EXCHANGE RULES
ERASMUS+TRAINEESHIP MOBILITY
This mobility activity is an internship opportunity at an overseas organization for a student registered at a higher education institution. An “Internship” is a process where a beneficiary receives professional training and/or gains work experience at a foundation or organization in another country participating in the program.
The internship activity cannot be used for studies, such as research or analysis related to academic studies, within the scope of a certain curriculum.
The internship is for a student to gain practical work experience in the vocational training area that they study.
The internship activity is not expected to be compulsory for the student's diploma program. However, the economic sector for the internship should be related to the current vocational education program of the student.
Studies, scientific research and projects that the students carry out to complete or support their own scientific studies are not considered internship activity.
For these activities to be considered as an internship, they must be performed as professional activities with an economic equivalence in the relevant sector, not as part of academic studies.
For example, working in experimental and research studies for product development purposes at a Research and Development (R&D) company, or an R&D unit of a company, or in such works conducted by a higher education institution, or a research center for an economically active company are considered within the scope of internship activity.
In the post-graduation internship activity, the application must be made before the student graduates (when he/she is currently an associate, undergraduate or graduate student).
Graduated students can not apply for the mobility.
Internship mobility after graduation must be completed within 12 months of graduation.
Students who froze their registration cannot benefit from the mobility. (Application for student mobility for studies or student mobility for internships can be made during registration freeze.)
Eligible Places for Internship
Any public or private sector institution located in one of the countries where internship activities can be carried out, in the labor sector or in the field of education, training, youth, research and development can be an internship place. While there is no limit to the list, the following organizations can be considered as examples of eligible places for internships:
- Small, joint or large enterprises owned by a public or private sector
- Local, regional or national public institutions
- Embassies or consulates of the sending country abroad
- All kinds of formations/unions belonging to the business world such as chambers of commerce, tradesmen-crafts unions, stock markets and unions
- Research institutes
- Foundations
- School/institute/education center (can be any educational institution from pre-school to high school, including vocational education or adult education)
- Non-profit institutions, associations, NGOs
- Institutions providing career planning, professional consultancy and information services
- Higher education institutions (Higher education institutions in the countries associated with the program must have ECHE and no mutual agreement is required within the scope of internship mobility. A bilateral inter-institutional agreement must be signed before the activity in countries that are not related to the program.)
If the institution in which the internship activity will take place is a higher education institution abroad, the work to be performed is not an academic learning activity but it is to obtain practical working experience in the related units.
For the studies that have equivalent credits and will be carried out under the supervision of a advisor but not within the context of internship, students who have completed their graduate studies and are in their thesis year must apply to the activity within the scope of Student Mobility for Studies.
The following institutions are not appropriate for higher education internship activity within Erasmus+:
- European Union institutions and EU agencies
See:
- The National Agency and similar institutions conducting EU programs.
Students studying in double major can only apply for mobility from one major in the same application period.
Minimum period is 2 full months, and maximum period is 12 full months in Student Mobility for Traineeships.
If the internship institution is closed due to holiday during Mobility for Traineeships, the internship might be interrupted. Grants will be given for the period when the institution is closed. The dates when the internship institution will be closed must be researched beforehand to ensure the minimum activity period, and the minimum period must be ensured even after holiday period is excluded.
Weekend holidays are not excluded from the activity period.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Students should meet the following minimum requirements to participate in the activity.
1. Students must be full-time and enrolled in a higher education program (Associate/Undergraduate, Master, or PhD).
2. First cycle (Associate/Undergraduate) students must have a minimum GPA of 2.20/4.00 (1 academic year for annual grading or 1 term for others).
3. Second and third cycle (Master/PhD) students must have a minimum GPA of 2.50/4.00. If no transcript exists for first-semester Master/PhD students, the previous education level’s graduation grade is used.
Note: The graduation grade obtained at the previous higher education level is used for the students who applied for the first semester at the master and doctorate level and have not yet formed a transcript in the higher education institution where the election was made.
4. Students who have participated in Erasmus+ or LLP activities in the current education level cannot exceed 12 months in total, including previous activities.
5. The total duration of new and previous mobility activities in the same education level must not exceed 12 months.
In the event that the total scores calculated by taking all criteria into account are equal, priority is given to the student with the higher academic achievement score. If the academic achievement scores are also equal, priority is given to the student who is in the higher grade level within the same cycle.
GRANT SUPPORT
Grants are given to students to help them with the additional costs incurred during their stay abroad.
Grants are only contributions; they are not intended to cover the student's full costs of the activity.
The countries where student mobility activities can be carried out were divided into 3 groups according to their standard of living and monthly learning and internship grants were determined for the country groups.
The groups of countries and the amount of grants to be given to the students going to these countries are given in the table below:
- Students are paid in 2 installments, 80% of the grant is paid before the mobility and 20% upon the successful completion of the mobility (A 2/3 success rate will be required for the credits obtained from the partner organization.) Payments are made in Euro. (If the 2/3 success rate is not met, the 20% grant payment will not be made.)
- Students can participate in activities without grant. Students without grant are also subject to general evaluation along with other applicants and go through the same process as the students with grant.
- The difference of the student without grant is that the student is not included in the budget calculations and is not paid. The absence of a grant is not a justification for the student not being involved in the selection process.
Travel Cost Calculations
In order to contribute to students' travel expenses, the distance between the starting point of mobility and the location of the activity is determined using the distance calculator provided by the European Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/tools/distance_en.htm). Based on this distance, the travel grant is calculated using the table below. The value shown in the distance band calculator corresponds to the round-trip grant amount in the table below, and this amount is not multiplied by two.
STUDENT MOBILITY TO THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE PROGRAM (INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY)
Our university has allocated 20% of the KA 131 Mobility for Traineeships grant to send students to the countries (1-14 Regions) not related to the Program in the table below
Groups of countries that are not related to the program and the monthly grant amounts for students going to these countries are given in the table below:
COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO THE PROGRAM (REGION 1-14 COUNTRIES)
Additional Grant Opportunity for Students with Financial Difficulties:
Students with financial difficulties may receive an additional grant of €250 per month from the mobility budget if they meet the following criteria and provide the necessary documentation:
1. Students under Law No. 2828 (protection, care, or shelter decision by the Ministry of Family and Social Services).
2. Students under Child Protection Law No. 5395 (protection, care, or accommodation decision).
3. Orphans receiving a pension without additional parental income.
4. Children of Martyrs/Veterans.
5. Students or families entitled to a disability pension, with documentation of financial support from public institutions, municipalities, or organizations like Kızılay or AFAD.
6. Disabled students with at least a 70% disability rate, as documented by the Disability Health Board report (per regulations in the Official Gazette dated February 20, 2019).
7. Students with parents or guardians over 65 receiving a disability or needy pension under Law No. 2022.
8. Students or first-degree relatives receiving disaster victim aid from AFAD.
Note: Scholarships such as those from the Credit and Dormitories Institution (KYK), other success grants, or one-time financial aid are not considered within the scope of financial aid eligibility.
Extension of the Activity Period
If the student wants to extend the mobility period, his/her request is evaluated by the Erasmus Office and the faculty/department officials of the student. Depending on the approval of the institution and the academic status of the student, it is possible to extend the mobility period.
Requirements for Extension:
1. The extended period must immediately follow the current term without interruption (holidays and term breaks are not considered interruptions).
Note: If approved by the host institution, mobility can continue in the fall term after the spring semester, provided it is completed before the project end date. No grant is paid for gaps between semesters.
2. Extension requests must be submitted at least 1 month before the original mobility end date. If approved, the Grant Agreement must be amended (if sufficient funding is available), and all necessary procedures must be completed.
Note: The minimum duration for Student Mobility for Studies is 2 months and cannot be reduced except in cases of force majeure. No grant is paid for mobility periods below the minimum duration.
Academic Fees
Students must remain enrolled at their home institution and pay their regular fees (if applicable) during their mobility. Financial eligibility will be checked before grant payment.
Documents Required for Application
1-Current Transcript
2-Letter of Acceptance (For students who did not submit an Acceptance/Invitation Letter during the application, the deadline for the relevant document is March 20th, 2026.)
*The Letter of Acceptance must cover the exact dates in minimum 2 months period on the stationery letterhead of the internship institution. (Example: 01/07/2026- 01/09/2026)
See the sample of acceptance and motivation letter:
https://erasmus.istinye.edu.tr/en/announcement/sample-documents-be-used-erasmus-traineeship-mobility
**The letter must be signed/stamped.
***Dates of placement must be determined by taking official holidays of the host country into consideration.
Exam Information
To benefit from the Erasmus traineeship mobility, a minimum language proficiency level of B2 is required.
Students who have the following exam results will be exempted from the foreign language exam held by our Foreign Language Department and will be evaluated based on the corresponding score of the exam result indicated in the table.
Students who do not have the scores below are required to participate in the exam that will be held by our Foreign Languages Department. (English Preparatory Exam (ISTEP) and/or Erasmus language proficiency exam that is taken previously will not be evaluated as an eligible exam type.)
*The validity period of the documents is 2 years.
- As part of the ERASMUS+ Study and Internship Mobility applications, an assessment will be conducted to measure your language proficiency in four skills (listening, reading, writing, speaking). The exam consists of listening, reading, writing, and speaking sections. The listening and reading sections will include short-answer questions, the writing section will consist of open-ended/long-answer questions, and the speaking section will involve a 5-minute face-to-face conversation. Each section of the exam is worth 25 points. Your final score for the English Proficiency Exam will be the sum of the points from each section. You can find an exam sample on our website: https://yabancidiller.istinye.edu.tr/en/divisions/measurement-evaluaon
The following actions will invalidate the exam for students:
- Late arrivals
- Behaviors that disrupt the order of the exam
Note: As this is a ranking exam, excuses (including medical reports) will not be accepted in case of absence for any reason, and no make-up exam will be provided.
We wish you success.
*This information has been revised according to the Erasmus 2025 handbook.