Internationalise your studies with Circle U.
Circle U. is a European university alliance where nine universities work together to create international offers for students and staff. On this page, you can read more about what Circle U. offers students and what you need to be aware of.
What does Circle U. offer students?
As a student at AU, you have access to different online and onsite academic offers at the other Circle U. universities.
You can go on traditional exchange, but there are also many other ways to internationalise your studies such as short stays abroad, online activities and courses with both online and onsite components (so-called blended intensive programmes or BIPS).
Circle U. offers include various formats e.g.:
- Summer schools, hackatons and challenges
- Webinars and online talks on current topics
- Courses on MA and BA level within different academic fields
- Specific events designed for Circle U. students (e.g Circle EU Lympics, Climate Day)
See all current offers on the Circle U. website
What you need to know about credit transfer and ECTS
Many of Circle U.’s online activities (e.g webinars and online talks) are free of charge and only require registration. These activities usually do not award ECTS credits.
However, when it comes to onsite activities and courses that award ECTS credits (e.g. summer schools and blended intensive programmes), you need to be aware of the following:
- Activities published by Circle U. are generally not pre-approved by Aarhus University
- You must apply for credit transfer if you wish to receive recognition for the course.
This means that before applying to courses that award ECTS credits, you must always apply for preapproval with your Board of Studies. Preapproval is also a prerequisite for being considered for Erasmus funding.
If you have any questions about preapproval or courses abroad, you can always reach out to your international coordinator or the contact person on your study board.
How to go on exchange, short courses and BIPs with Circle U.
As a student at a Circle U. university, you can participate in a semester exchange at one of the alliance’s universities provided they offer study places on your degree programme. AU has a number of exchange agreements with Circle U. partners and is continuously working to establish more.
You apply for exchange at a Circle U. university in the same way as you would for AU’s other partner universities by submitting your application through the application portal in MoveON.
Get an overview of your exchange opportunities or read more on your study portal.
Funding and scholarship through Circle U.
All students who go on exchange at a Circle U. partner university are automatically considered for an Erasmus+ grant. The grant cannot be guaranteed, but experience shows that grants are generally available for all students.
Short exchange stays - the blended intensive programmes
Apart from semester exchange, you can also go on shorter stays such as BIPs (blended intensive programmes) which consists of onsite and online components. Find out more below.
Go on a shorter BIP exchange stay in Europe through the Erasmus+ program
You have the opportunity to apply for an Erasmus+ grant for a blended intensive program (BIP). A BIP is a short exchange stay that takes place partly onsite at a host university in Europe and partly online from home. The onsite part of a BIP lasts 5-30 days, while the online part can vary in length.
A BIP can, for example, focus on case-based or problem-based learning, where cross-national or interdisciplinary teams collaborate to tackle global challenges. These challenges may be related to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals or other major societal issues.
Below, you can read more about the application process step by step.
Step 1: Decide where you want to go
You can participate in blended intensive programmes at European host universities with which your degree programme at Aarhus University already has an exchange agreement.
If you have already found a BIP, you can check in this MoveON database if there is an agreement between your degree programme at AU and the BIP host university: https://au.adv-pub.moveon4.de/bip/.
If there is no Erasmus exchange agreement between AU and the host university for the BIP you are interested in, you cannot participate in the BIP.
You can also contact your international faculty coordinators to see if there is a valid agreement. You can find their contact information in the left-hand menu under "Contact."
Step 2: Apply for admission directly to the BIP host university
Each host university and each BIP have their own admission requirements for participants in a BIP.
You must thoroughly familiarize yourself with these requirements and apply for admission to the BIP directly to the host university (or BIP coordinator). Please note that ultimately it is solely the host university's decision whether you can be admitted to the BIP.
Step 3: Apply for pre-approval from your AU study board
It is a requirement from AU that the BIP must be included in your study programme (i.e., it must replace another course, such as an elective). Therefore, it is a requirement that you apply for pre-approval of the BIP from your study board.
When you apply for pre-approval, the study board gives its academic assessment of whether the BIP can be included in your degree. Pre-approval concerns the academic content of the BIP. It is your responsibility to ensure that there is no overlap between a pre-approved BIP course and other parts of your degree, including teaching, exams and thesis.
For the BIP to become part of your degree at AU, it must be at least 5 ECTS. Therefore, you cannot get pre-approval for a BIP of 3 ECTS.
Familiarise yourself with your academic regulations
Before you choose to go on a BIP, you should familiarise youself with your academic regulations or consult a student counsellor. Do you have a course, such as an elective, in your academic regulations of 5 ECTS, which you can replace with the BIP?
There may be specific academic requirements for the combination of electives in your degree programme. These requirements must be met, whether you enroll in electives at AU or at another educational institution.
Do you need help?
You can read more about how to apply for pre-approval of a BIP here on your study portal.
If you need help or guidance for pre-approval of a BIP, you should contact your international faculty coordinators, your local student guidance or your study board.
Step 4: Apply for an Erasmus+ grant
You are not guaranteed an Erasmus+ grant as it depends on available funds.
Erasmus+ grants are only awarded to students for BIPs if AU is a partner in the BIP or if the host university is one of the eight Circle U. partners:
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany)
- King's College London (UK)
- Università di Pisa (Italy)
- Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium)
- Université Paris Cité (France)
- Universitetet i Oslo (Norway)
- University of Belgrade (Serbia)
- Universität Wien (Austria).
Application and documentation
You can submit an Erasmus+ grant application from your BIP portal here: https://au.moveon4.de/form/662765f0132670f24f034a0a/eng
After you have submitted your grant application, you will be asked to submit additional documentation:
- Learning agreement
- Grant agreement
- Certificate of attendance
- Transcript of records
- Participant report
- Possible documentation for fewer opportunities top-up (grantsupplement for students with special needs)
- Possible documentation for green travel top-up (grant supplement for students traveling environmentally friendly)
You will receive more information about these documents after you have submitted your grant application.
Step 5: Apply for credit transfer
To transfer your BIP ECTS from your host university to your study program at AU, you must apply for credit transfer. Here, you must attach your transcript of records from the host university.
Read more about credit transfer here on your study portal under the step-by-step guide.
Stay up-to-date on Circle U. offers
Circle U. is always adding new offers and there are many ways to stay up-to-date:
- Find current offers and opportunities on Circle U.’s website
- Subscribe to Circle U.’s newsletter
- Follow Circle U. on LinkedIn or Instagram (simply search for “Circle U.”)
Do you want to get involved with Circle U. at AU?
As a student, you can contribute to Circle U. in two ways.
Become a Circle U. ambassador
You can become part of group of Circle U. ambassadors at AU and help spread the word about Circle U. to your fellow students. As an ambassador, you also get to expand you international network as you become part of a international team of ambassadors from the other member universities.
- Read more about the Circle U. Ambassadors programme
- Contact Sinne Brandt Jakobsen ([email protected]) or Lotte Skovborg ([email protected]) if you want to know more.
Join CUSU - the Circle U. Student Union
You can also become part of CUSU – the Circle U. Student Union.
The aim of CUSU is to give students a common voice in Circle U. and to ensure that their perspectives are fully represented in shaping the future of the alliance. CUSU members are usually from the student organisations.
Facts about Circle U.
Circle U. is a European university alliance founded in 2020 and consisting of Aarhus University and eight other European universities.
The nine universities work together to create international opportunities and make mobility easier and more assessable for students and staff – with a special focus on climate, global health, democracy and AI.
The 8 other Circle U. universities are:
