Living in Luxembourg
Whether you are a student in Luxembourg or abroad, here is some useful information for you!
ERASMUS
Every student has the right, as part of their studies, to spend 6 to 12 months studying at a partner university. This is called an Erasmus.
Erasmus requires a certain amount of organization. The steps you need to take in order to go abroad are as follows:
Prepare your application in time (1 year in advance) and submit it.
Go through the list of universities and check how many places they offer.
See in which semester you can go abroad and make sure this matches with the academic calendar.
Check the language requirements (depending on the case, a language test may be necessary).
Have health insurance (normally your European Health Insurance Card is sufficient).
Consider how you will finance everything (at Uni.lu you are partly entitled to a grant).
Make sure that the courses you need to take are offered, and that you can obtain enough ECTS credits for them.
If you go abroad to study, during the period of your stay you are entitled to the Mobility Grant from the Service Aides financières of the Ministry for Higher Education and Research, provided you also have a rental agreement there.
If you want to do an exchange in Switzerland, you don’t go through the Erasmus program but through the Swiss-European Mobility Program. However, the conditions are the same as for Erasmus.
The following information relates to the University of Luxembourg (it may vary in other countries).
At the University of Luxembourg, a semester abroad is compulsory before completing the Bachelor’s degree. Bachelor students can usually do an Erasmus in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th semester. However, to be eligible, one must have successfully completed at least 15 or 10 ECTS credits in the 1st semester. Master students can only go on Erasmus in the 3rd semester. For this, they must submit their Erasmus project, which is then evaluated.
For students, an information session takes place at the beginning of the semester (on the 2nd Thursday in November). In March, students make three choices to indicate their preferred destinations. Afterwards, a form is sent by email, which must be filled in. The person responsible in the study department then allocates the available spots based on the points students have (end of March to April).
Once the application has been approved by the host university, the student must register there. They must send their application themselves to the host university. A Learning Agreement or Online Learning Agreement is completed (minimum 30 ECTS credits). This must be approved both by the responsible person in the study department and the host university. During the first month of Erasmus, the Learning Agreement can be changed if necessary. Any changes must again be approved by both universities.
If the language of instruction is different from the student’s mother tongue, they must take part in a language evaluation. If the level achieved is below B2, the student must take language courses before and during their Erasmus.
Free Public Transport
Since March 1, 2020, public transport has been free for everyone in Luxembourg.
Housing
The university does not take care of housing arrangements. You therefore have to find accommodation yourself in the country where you are doing your Erasmus. However, many universities have their own housing, which they make available to Erasmus students. Since the number of places is limited, you must apply early enough to secure one. For this, it is best to contact the university directly.
You can find more information about the Erasmus+ program at the University of Luxembourg here:
