Freemovers

Participation Conditions

• Studying on an accredited full-time or combined MU study programme.
• The programme is open to students at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level. At the time of submitting the application the student must have completed at least the first semester of bachelor’s studies.
• A condition of participation is compatibility of the study programme at MU with the selected foreign university. The home faculty must confirm to the student that the completed course will be recognised as part of the study plan.
• The student must demonstrate knowledge of the foreign language in which they will study. This does not apply to PhD students, as long as English is the language of the placement.
• The student must transfer from abroad 20 ECTS per semester, in the case to short-term preparation of the dissertation the number of credits can be lower, but the student must fulfil the study requirements of the home faculty.
• It is possible to travel with this grant once during bachelor’s, once during master’s and once during doctoral studies. If there is a lack of suitable applicants this grant can be offered repeatedly.
• The grant is not available for studies in the country of origin/permanent residence of the student.
• The grant is not intended for extended placements which began as part of another programme (e.g. Erasmus+, CEEPUS, etc.)
• This programme requires of MU students that after completion of their placement that they submit an application for the recognition of courses/credits from the foreign placement; you can find further information here.
• The student must add all the documents requested before the start of foreign studies and after their completion, and their non-provision will be taken as not fulfilling the conditions for the award of a grant.
• Studies at the MU home faculty must not be interrupted or ended throughout the whole period of drawing the grant.

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Financial Conditions

• The grant is only allocated to physical mobility in a foreign country, not to online mobility.
• The monthly scholarship rate can be up to CZK 16,000. Account shall be taken of the financial cost of the placement, any material or financial support provided by the receiving institution or by a third party, such as free accommodation or food, other scholarships, etc. Any other support provided or requested for the placement shall be indicated by the student in the application form. If he/she receives it later, it is necessary to inform the CZS programme coordinator immediately via e-mail.
• The grant is not intended to cover all the costs associated with studying abroad, it assumes the student will also pay part.
• The grant is given or a minimum of a month and a maximum of a semester. If you are going for a shorter period request a Special Grant for Short-term Mobility.
• It is not possible to have another grant for the same placement from EU sources (e.g. Erasmus+) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
• In justified cases it is not out of the question to gain a grant from the stipendiary fund of the faculty, region, foundations, etc. to make up part of the costs. The student has a duty to inform the CZS of the gaining of additional support. If the student has gained another grant or has applied for one, they should give information in the application on its amount, attach a summary of anticipated costs and a justification of the request for a further grant.
• The specific amount of the grant is set according to the specific amount of time spent at the foreign university and depending on the possibilities of the project budget. If you are not going for a period of complete months, the level of the grant for the last incomplete month is calculated as follows:
  • 1 to 7 days: zero financial support
  • 8 to 20 days: 1/2 financial support for a month
  • 21 to 30 days: full financial support for a month
• The project for mobility support for the given calendar year is approved in January or February, so if you want to go for the spring semester, you have to be aware that we will be able to guarantee the amount of your grant only after the approval of the project
• The student is responsible for arranging accommodation, insurance, the visa, etc.
• On request we issue the accepted student with confirmation of the amount of the grant.
• The grant will be transferred to the bank account of the student entered into the IS MU. A decision on the provision of the grant will be sent to you by e-mail.
• We caution outgoing students that are also employees that it is not possible to claim travel expenses from the employer at the same time for the given foreign studies.
• The scholarship may be paid only in the calendar year in which the mobility takes place.
• Students departing for the autumn semester may be awarded the scholarship for January only at the end of January or later (i.e. after approval of funds) if they do not terminate or interrupt their studies at MU in the meantime. There is no automatic entitlement to this scholarship.

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List of Deadlines

• To support placements in the calendar year 2023, you must apply by 15 December 2022.

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Application

Application to the foreign university:

Those who are interested must first contact their preferred foreign institution (the central foreign department of the school and/or faculty/department) and agree the conditions for entry. Take into account all the prerequisites of studies and life abroad, including the possible duty to pay tuition fees.

To apply use the form of the receiving school, if it exists (posted on the pages of the foreign department). If there is no information for incoming students on the pages of the school outside of exchange programmes, then write an e-mail to the foreign department of the chosen school (do not forget the basic information: what you want to study, how long and in what period).

Application for the grant programme Freemovers at the CZS:

The application is submitted electronically and if the Learning Agreement has not been signed yet, you need to print the application and hand it in with the signature of the authorised person from the faculty.

The application form does not have to be completed in English. For names, addresses, etc. use diacritical marks where needed. In the year column give the actual year of study at MU.

The application is made up of the following documents:

• letter of acceptance (or e-mail, or some other proof of acceptance) confirming that you have been accepted for a physical stay at a foreign university (i.e. that it is not online mobility). Alternatively, this confirmation can be provided later by e-mail.
• motivational letter in Czech/Slovak or English
• a copy of proof of knowledge of the language in which you will study (this does not apply to language students):
  • the results of language examinations at MU (the results of language exams at MU will be recognised based on Academic Records in IS, other documents are voluntary)
  • confirmation from the MU Language Centre (Language Proficiency Report)
  • results of international examinations (e.g. for English FCE, CAE or TOEFL)
  • if you have no English language certification you can take a test at the CZS, further information here
  • a record of results from previous studies in the given foreign language is also recognised (e.g. if you have already studied abroad as part of Erasmus)
  • a student, who is in the first semester of study and who previously studied at a different school attaches the Transcript of Records or the supplement to the diploma from the preceding studies.
• Learning Agreement (voluntary)

The completed application has to be:

• Printed, signed by you and by the authorized person from your faculty, who will confirm with signature that the faculty agrees with your departure and is willing to recognize the credits obtained. You can find detailed information on recognition here.
• Submit the signed application in electronic or paper form to the coordinator at CZS no later than by the closest working day that follows the online application deadline
• In the case that you already have a signed Learning Agreement (required subsequently before departure and before awarding the scholarship), the signature of an authorised academic staff member at the faculty is not necessary, so do not print the application. Instead, send the Learning Agreement by e-mail to the CZS coordinator, or insert it on your scholarship application or your Records of the Stay Abroad in IS
• If you send the application by post at the last minute, at the same time send an e-mail informing of this to the CZS coordinator.

Criteria for the selection of candidates

• the formal correctness of the submitted application
• residency at a top university according to the QS World University Rankings (up to TOP 500)
• content of the placement: a motivational essay in Czech/Slovenian or English
• priority is given to students of master's and bachelor's programmes
• priority is given to students who are going for a placement abroad for the first time
• school grades
• impossibility to use another programme (e.g. Erasmus+ programme, faculty scholarships, DZS offers, etc.)

The student will be notified about the result by email within approximately one month. The result will be in the ISOIS application database.

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Before Departure

• Organise the Learning Agreement (LA), even in the case of a research placement:
  • The guide to completing the Learning Agreement you can find in the section here.
  • Research is also considered to be studies. If the student goes as a Freemover on the research placement, they complete the Learning Agreement, in which as a course is given “Preparation of diploma/dissertation work”. If the aim of the placement is research for the dissertation, it is necessary to find abroad a supervisor who will confirm your LA. It is also necessary to bring from the foreign institution a confirmation of activities at the target institution and their results (or that the placement took place in accordance with the Learning Agreement). Your faculty at MU will award credits after your return.
  • Keep the original/partial original of the LA, after your return you may be asked to submit it. One signature from the foreign university will suffice.
• To document a short-term foreign placement in IS, go to the section “internship and stays” and upload the Learning Agreement. From the foreign party one signature is sufficient. From the “programme” columns select “freemover”.
• Organise health insurance for the complete time off the stay abroad including the journey there and back, in EU countries, etc. we recommend additional insurance, further information here.
• Request a grant. For the physical transfer of the grant onto the account it is necessary to submit an electronic application for a grant, the specific link in IS will be provided to you by the CZS coordinator if you accepted into the programme.
  • In the request give the precise anticipated start and end dates of study abroad (not the stay) in the freemover programme. Follow the academic calendar of the target school and the information in the letter of acceptance.
  • We will process the application within a month. The promised scholarship will most likely be awarded to you all at once, or gradually by more decisions on awarding the scholarship.
  • The grant is usually paid into the account as a lump sum (e.g. for the whole semester, provided it falls within one calendar year). After receiving the request we pay the grants in bulk around the 20^th day in the month (in July and August the payment can be made at other times due to the holidays).

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While Abroad

• If there are changes in the Learning Agreement, note them in the form for changes to the Learning Agreement (Changes section) and upload to the IS within one month of starting studies.
• At the end of studies at the foreign school have signed the Confirmation of Studies Abroad and agree the handing over the Transcript of Records; some schools send it by post while others hand it over in person.
• Research is considered to be studies and so it is required to bring back a Transcript of Records, at least in the form of a confirmation of activities (or a confirmation that the placement took place in accordance with the Learning Agreement).

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After Return

• The recognition of foreign studies is fully within the competence of individual faculties/departments/institutes. 
• After completion of studies abroad the student must submit a request for recognition of courses/credits from the foreign placement. Further information can be found here.
• Part of the request for recognition is the following documents, which the student uploads to the IS:
  • Confirmation of Studies Abroad (which you can find in the section Documents)
  • Transcript of Records (which you can find in the section Documents).
• Within 6 weeks of completing the study placement the student must fill in the final report from the placement, which will help those that follow you. The report is completed online in the IS OIS application (select Final Reports in the Programme section). 
• The reports of students who were abroad as part of this programme are available only in Czech in the CZS database (final reports up to 2018) and in IS OIS (final reports from 2019).

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