Freemover Option
What is the Freemover Option?
A short introduction
Freemovers are students who freely organize their semester abroad at a university. This means that they either choose a university themselves independently of the university coordination partners (such as IS:link and Erasmus) and take on the planning and organization on their own initiative or go to study abroad via an organization of their choice.
Tips for Freemovers
If you have decided to organize your semester abroad on your own, you should take into account that individually organized study abroad programs differ from those of the Erasmus and IS:link networks in some respects.
As a freemover, a high degree of independence is expected from you.
Contact IS:link
First of all, you have to take care of the nomination and application deadlines yourself and inform the IS:link team. Furthermore, the contact and communication with the exchange university is your responsibility. Furthermore, you will not receive any help regarding the course selection. IS:link only takes care of the preparation of the documents for the verification of the course credit and later recognition.
As a freemover, you are also required to complete a Learning Agreement, which will be reviewed by IS:link and forwarded to the Examination Board to ensure course creditability.
Funding Opportunity
In addition, freemovers have a higher financial burden, because besides the basic costs such as travel, accommodation, etc., there are also tuition fees of the university abroad that have to be paid by the student.
Scholarships such as Promos or Due-Mobil can also be applied for by freemovers.
Arguments for the Freemover Option
When does the freemover option make sense for me?
Pro Arguments
- Wide choice of location and university, thus high flexibility
Contra Arguments
- The advantages of the networks (Erasmus and IS:link) no longer apply here
- Correspondingly high bureaucratic hurdles in planning
- Higher costs of the semester abroad (money, effort and time)
The application process
The selection of universities outside the networks have the consequence that the application process is independent. Nevertheless, there are organizations that help freemovers visit their universities of choice, for example:
- College Contact supports students in their search, selection and the entire application process
Contact for UDE students
Please schedule an appointment at: https://calendly.com/is-link/consult
Our service hours:
- Monday - Thursday: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Our consultation hours:
- Monday - Thursday: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm