Intergovernmental Agreements – Selection Process
Each year the Ministry of Education announces a selection process for foreign study or research placements in countries with which the Czech Republic has intergovernmental agreements. Students from all universities in the Czech Republic can apply for these up to two-semester study placements, the selection of students taking place centrally at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
On the basis of these intergovernmental agreements students can study for example in Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Estonia, France, Italy, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Macedonia, Mongolia, Germany, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and Vietnam.
Details of the selection process at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to individual countries and details concerning the deadlines for applications can be found on the pages of the Academic Agency DZS MŠMT (only in Czech).
Aside from the selection process at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports you can also as a student of Masaryk University use a so-called quota, which are allocated to MU as part of the intergovernmental agreement.
Participation Conditions
- All MU students can apply, however students who are not Czech citizens will first need to find out from the embassy of the target country and the DZS what is possible for them. This is not necessary when an EU citizen applies to the EU member state.
- Further information on deadlines and conditions for individual countries can be found on the pages of the Academic Information Agency (only in Czech).
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Financial Conditions
- Students selected for study placements within international agreements gain a grant corresponding to the living costs in the given country. This grant is mostly provided by the education ministry in the host country, or by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.
- At the home university – at CZS MU – it is possible to request the payment of travel costs. It is necessary to be economic in purchasing tickets/air tickets. Payment is only for international travel, i.e. one journey from the Czech Republic to the placement location, or to the capital city of the receiving country (if international travel is so defined in the given international agreement), and back. It is necessary to use available discounts. It is possible to fly from Vienna/Bratislava if the price is not higher than from Prague.
- IMPORTANT:
- Reimbursement can only be made for tickets which the student submits in the calendar year when they were bought. It is not possible to submit tickets bought in a different year for payment.
- The last chance to request reimbursement in the given calendar year is 25 October.
- In extreme cases, if it is not possible to purchase a ticket earlier submit a request for financing of the journey in advance and estimate the price.
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Application
- Those interested complete a “Proposal for Sending” (Návrh na vyslání), which is available for downloading on the pages of the Academic Information Agency (AIA) of The Centre for International Cooperation in Education (DZS) of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and have it confirmed at the foreign department of the MU faculty through which they will be sent.
- The student sends the confirmed document to Prague according to the instructions on the AIA pages, together with the requested appendices.
- In the case that a student is accepted, then they complete the application form in the CZS database here.
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Before Departure
Duties of the student:
- Send to CZS the decision/notification of the allocation of a placement from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports/AIA or the foreign ministry. Send the decision to the CZS within two weeks from obtaining it.
- Complete and sign the form for the Learning Agreement. You can find the guide for completing the LA here (in the section Documents).
- Research is considered to be study. In the LA under courses give “Preparation of diploma/dissertation work”. From the foreign institution it is necessary to bring a confirmation of activities at the target institution and the results (or that the placement took place in accordance with the Learning Agreement). Your faculty at MU will award your credits on your return.
- The MU requires of students that on completion of the placement they submit a request for the recognition of courses/credits from the foreign placement. Further information is available here.
- Before departing abroad it is necessary to document the foreign placement in the IS MU in the section Internships and stays and upload the required documents (a signed Learning Agreement). Before departure it is necessary to upload at least the version with the signatures from the home university. Within a month of starting studies it is necessary to upload the complete LA, where one signature from the foreign school is sufficient.
If the student requests reimbursement of travel costs, this should be done before departure, should that be for the autumn semester or the autumn and spring semester, while in the case of the spring semester or summer school then it should be requested normally after the return. Bring/send to the CZS the following documents:
- Application for a Grant in the original (you can find it in the Documents section)
- Letter of acceptance from the target university
- Confirmation from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports/AIA of the allocation of the placement
- The original ticket, or for a flight the printed ticket, evidence of payment of the air ticket.
- Of course we leave you the original ticket for the journey, but on your return you must submit it.
- If you have more tickets, stick them in chronological order (in the sequence of travel) on white A4 paper and number them. For each ticket write where it is valid, the date of payment and the price and currency.
- The conversion to crowns can be done by the CZS. The CNB exchange rate on the day of payment is used.
- In the case of summer school bring a copy of the certificate of completion of summer school (this also needs to be uploaded to the IS)
The expenses of international travel are paid by the CZS MU in the form of a grant to the student’s account (after approval of the reimbursement by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports).
We send the request for reimbursement to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports quarterly, therefore we request submitting the application by 20 March, 20 June or 25 September, and trips in the autumn semester can be claimed up to 25 October.
The processing of your application can take a longer period.
If after completing the foreign placement you plan to interrupt or end your studies at MU, it is necessary to inform the CZS.
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While Abroad
- After arrival at the host institution the student completes the selection of courses studied. If there is a change in the original Learning Agreement, a Changes to Learning Agreement form is prepared, which is once more signed by at least one representative of the host institution, the student, the authorised person at MU and a representative of the CZS, or the foreign department of the faculty. The student uploads the changes in the Learning Agreement to the IS within one month of entry into the foreign school.
- Before the completion of the foreign placement the student arranges a Confirmation of Studies (you can find it in the Documents section) and also the Transcript of Records (you can find it in the Documents section), or possibly other documents required for the recognition of credits/courses.
- Research is considered to be studies. It is necessary to bring a confirmation of the activities abroad or a document that the placement took place in accordance with the Learning Agreement.
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After Return
Within 15 days of completion of the placement it is necessary:
- To complete the documentation of the foreign placement in the IS MU and upload the two closing documents:
- Confirmation of Studies (you can find it in the Documents section)
- Transcript of Records (you can find it in the Documents section)
- in the case of the summer school certificate of completion
- the closing documents must be uploaded even in the case of a research placement
- After completion of studies abroad the student must submit an application for the recognition of courses/credits from a foreign placement. Further information can be found here.
- Send to the AIA and in copy to the CZS the Final report from the study placement abroad; a template is on the AIA pages. The copy should be sent to the CZS coordinator.
- If a request for reimbursement for travel was not submitted earlier, submit the request for a grant in the original with appendices (see above). Submit to the CZS the original tickets – if they were not submitted earlier.
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