BEd Education Exchange and Erasmus

All BEd students taking either Irish and a Modern Language, or taking two Modern Languages, go abroad on Erasmus exchange in the Spring semester of Stage 3. All students must have passed all core language modules before going on exchange (Ia, Ib, IIa and IIb). If any of these modules are outstanding, the Erasmus exchange will unfortunately not be possible and will take place the following year (instead of going into Stage 4). All students taking two Modern Languages will also undertake a self-financed month-long work placement in their second language.

Students taking Irish and a Modern Language will spend the Autumn semester in the Gaeltacht (30 credits), while those taking two Modern Languages will spend the Autumn semester at UCD, taking cultural modules in their languages (10 in their first language [language of Erasmus exchange], 20 in their second language).

If you started a language as a Beginner, you are going to that country on Erasmus.

Please note that it is your responsibility to have taken and passed 60 credits (12 x 5 credit modules) in your Modern Languages by the end of your degree, in order to fulfil Teaching Council requirements. 

Students will need to have completed 60 credits at Stage 1 (including all core modules), 50 credits in Stage 2 and all language cores in Stage 1 & 2, to take up their place on exchange.

Erasmus applications will open in November and close in January. 

You should all attend the college-specific talk held by UCD Global. It is mandatory for you to watch the online sessions on Application & Budgeting, Exchange Research and your College/Subject-Specific session before you apply for exchange.

For more information on how to apply please see this link:

https://www.ucd.ie/global/learningabroad/exchanges/outboundexchange-students/how/

The Erasmus exchange takes place at different partners in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Latin America (although we do not recommend Latin America for one semester). Students may only apply to approved destinations where their chosen language is also the official language/native tongue of that country. For an up-to-date list of destinations for students on the Bachelor of Education degree programme, please visit the UCD Global website.

The Semester dates differ, depending on the university and country, but broadly speaking, the below holds true:

• End January/start February to May (France, Italy, Portugal, Spain)
• March/April to July/August (Austria, Germany)

During the Spring semester of Stage 3 you will continue to pay UCD tuition fees. You will not have to pay a tuition fee at the Erasmus partner, but you may have to pay some administration costs. You will receive an Erasmus+ Grant (ca. €330 per calendar month, usually paid in 2 installments) depending on the destination. Some countries offer some other/additional form of financial assistance. Additional funding may be available for SUSI grantees and HEAR students. The Erasmus talks offered by Global will provide more information, and there is lots on their website.

It is often a good idea to pick a smaller university / smaller town for your Erasmus semester, as accommodation will be cheaper and there will be fewer English speakers. Each partner only has a fixed number of places, so you will have to give a number of options. It is also a good idea NOT to go with a friend, as you will have a better chance of meeting other students if you are not in a ready-made group from UCD!

You will take a total 30 credits during your exchange semester:

• 15 of these credits will be in modules taught and assessed in the target language at the Erasmus partner
• An additonal 15 credits will be in online modules delivered by UCD:

1. 10 of these credits will  be an online Education module
2.  5 credits will be in an online reflection module run by the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics (for students taking Irish and a Modern Language) OR 5 credits for the  month-long work placement before or after the Erasmus exchanges (for students taking two Modern Languages). 

Modules taught and assessed through English at the Erasmus partner will not be accredited by the Teaching Council of Ireland. 

For the 15 credits at the Erasmus partner, you must take and pass at least 2 cultural modules and 1 language module (level B2 or higher). There may also be a pre-semester language module. As a safety-blanket, you should choose 4 modules in total, in case one proves harder than the others and you do not pass it. Also, some modules will only carry 3 credits, while others will carry more. You will have to run your module choices at the partner university by Dr Siobhán Donovan before you complete the learning agreement. You will also have to copy and paste in the module descriptors and modes of assessment and save them as separate files (for the Teaching Council).

For further information please contact:

(opens in a new window)bed@ucd.ie