Study Mobility - Courses, ECTs

The mobility window is a designated period, typically one semester, built into the curriculum, during which students can study abroad while ensuring that, upon returning, they seamlessly continue their studies as if they had stayed at their home institution. 

This allows students to spend a semester at a foreign university without facing common mobility-related challenges, such as delays in graduation or the burden of completing domestic courses simultaneously. 

When recognising credits earned abroad within a mobility window, course content comparisons are either not required or handled more flexibly. 

From the 2021/22 academic year, mobility windows have been integrated into the curriculum of several degree programmes, with plans to introduce them in additional programmes in the future. These newly introduced mobility windows primarily apply to students who started their studies in 2021/22. 

For details on the mobility window semester for each programme, please click on the link. 

During the application process, students should already check the language of instruction and apply accordingly. After nomination, the host university will also inform the student about the available courses and their language of instruction. 

If, at this stage, it turns out that there are not enough courses in a language the student is proficient in, they should contact the faculty’s international office for further guidance. 

This situation is very rare and difficult to resolve, so it is crucial to choose a university where the student has adequate language proficiency in the language of instruction. 

During the Erasmus+ study mobility, students are required to complete a minimum of 20 ECTs. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the partial or full repayment of the Erasmus+ scholarship. 

To avoid this previously mentioned risk of repayment, we strongly recommend registering for more than 20 ECTs at the host university, in order to ensure the fulfilment of the minimum 20 ECTs requirement. 

If the student is unable to complete the mandatory minimum of 20 credits, they will need to repay a proportion of their scholarship based on the number of credits not completed. The calculation is done by dividing the total scholarship amount by 20 credits and then multiplying it by the number of unearned credits. 

For example, if the student earned only 18 credits, they would need to repay 270 EUR from a 2700 EUR scholarship: 
(2700 EUR / 20 credits) * 2 unearned credits = 270 EUR. 

It is important to note that in this case, the credits of the host university’s course must be taken into account. 

If the amount of the Erasmus+ scholarship to be reimbursed is covered by the remaining 10% of the scholarship that has not yet been disbursed, this amount will be deducted accordingly. If the remaining 10% is not sufficient to cover the amount to be reimbursed, the student will be responsible for paying the outstanding balance. 

Regarding the payment: 

Students may request an instalment payment plan. To do so, please contact your faculty international coordinator. 

If the student was unable to complete the required 20 ECTs due to justifiable reasons, they have the option to submit a request for exemption. The request should be addressed to the Vice Dean for International Affairs and sent to the email address nkdh@tatk.elte.hu in the form of an official application, signed or authenticated in PDF format. There is no official template for the exemption request, but the student should clearly describe the justifiable reasons and, if possible, attach the Transcript of Records issued by the host institution to the email. 

Failure to repay the scholarship will result in the student not being allowed to take their final exams! 

In the During the mobility Learning Agreement, the student must indicate the courses they managed to register for at the host university. For the successful programme director’s approval of the During the mobility LA, as well as the subsequent successful credit transfer process, it is recommended that if there are any changes to the list of courses the student wants to have recognised as curricular courses (i.e., compulsory or compulsory elective courses), they should consult with their programme director during the course registration process.   

You can find the contact details of the programme directors at the following link: BA/BSc programme directors; MA/MSc programme directors 

If you wish to take courses from a different faculty at the host university, please contact the international coordinator at the host institution for guidance or check the university's website or the course registration guide for exchange students. 

Yes, if your programme director has approved it during the Before the mobility or During the mobility Learning Agreement process. 

You can find the contact details of the programme directors at the following link: BA/BSc programme directors; MA/MSc programme directors 

If the student intends to take compulsory credits according to their curriculum at ELTE during the semester of the mobility, they must consult with their programme director regarding the uniquely tailored study arrangement before the mobility period.  

A student who wishes to submit a uniquely tailored study arrangement request to the Study and Credit Transfer Committee (TKB) should electronically send via the Neptun system to the Faculty's Academic Registrar’s Office, addressed to the Study and Credit Transfer Committee (TKB). The request must be submitted using a form specifically designed for this purpose, which can be obtained from the relevant Academic Registrar at the Academic Registrar's Office (TH). Further details are provided in Section 74 of the Academic Regulations for Students. 

You can find the contact details of the programme directors at the following link: BA/BSc programme directors; MA/MSc programme directors.

Yes, however, during the credit transfer process, the earned credits will be recognised as elective. 

The recognition of credits earned during the Erasmus+ programme is a multi-phase process. Its goal is to ensure that the courses listed in the Learning Agreement, both those completed abroad and those to be recognized at ELTE, are recorded in the Neptun system in accordance with its requirements, paired accordingly. This process is only relevant for students who have successfully applied and travelled abroad for their mobility. There are no administrative tasks at the time of application. 

The Learning Agreement (LA) is submitted via the Mobility-Online system for study mobility. The student is responsible for filling out the document and obtaining signatures from both the home institution’s programme director and the Erasmus+ coordinator at the host institution. 

• The "Before the Mobility" section of the LA must be completed before departure. During this phase, the student consults with their programme director to determine which home institution courses they wish to substitute with courses taken abroad. 
• The "During the Mobility" section is completed after the start of the Erasmus semester, once the host university’s course registration period ends. At this point, students finalise which courses they will take abroad and confirm with their programme director which home institution courses these will replace. Submission deadlines: November 30 for the fall semester and April 30 for the spring semester. 

Additionally, students must complete the Preliminary Credit Recognition Form in Neptun to request the recognition of their foreign courses. Unlike the LA, this form does not require the host institution’s signature. Submission deadlines: November 15 for the fall semester and April 15 for the spring semester. 

This form, similar to the LA, lists both the courses completed abroad and those to be recognized at ELTE. However, unlike the LA, it explicitly pairs foreign courses with their equivalent ELTE courses, as required by Neptun’s credit recording system. 

Each row of the form must include: 

• Course details from the host institution (code, name, credits). 
• The corresponding ELTE course details (code, name, credits) for required courses 
• If a course will be recognised as an elective, students should enter the foreign course details but leave the ELTE course code blank, writing "elective course" in the name field and entering the foreign course’s credit value in the credit field 

At the bottom of the form, students must sum up both the total credits earned abroad and those being recognised at ELTE. Any difference should be recorded as elective credits in the bottom-right cell. This ensures that even if an exact match for every course is not found, students still receive credit for their completed coursework. Credits earned abroad do not count towards ELTE’s credit exceedance! 

Once finalised, the form is submitted via Neptun to the programme director, who may approve or reject it. If rejected, the student must submit a revised version. To avoid issues, it is recommended that students adhere to the agreements made during the LA approval process. If uncertainties arise, students should consult their programme director before submitting the request. 

Final recognition takes place in the semester following the mobility. Students must upload the Transcript of Records (ToR) issued by their host university and the Credit Transfer Request via Neptun. Based on these documents, the Academic Registrar’s Office will officially record the earned credits in Neptun, either as curricular or as elective credits. 

The submission deadline for these documents will be specified in a notification from the Academic Registrar’s Office. 

• For students planning to take their final exam, the ToR and Credit Transfer Request must be submitted at least three working days before their final exam date. 
• For all other students, the deadline is the end of the examination period. 

Important: Students must submit their transcript and complete the credit recognition process before taking their final exam—failure to do so will prevent them from taking the exam! 

The Preliminary Credit Recognition Form and the Credit Transfer Request can be found in Neptun under the Administration/Requests menu. 

After the successful completion of the credit transfer process, the academic registrar of the programme will record the credits obtained abroad in the Neptun system by the end of the semester following the mobility at the latest. 

• For fall semester mobility, the credits will be recorded by the end of the spring semester of the same academic year 
• For spring semester mobility, the credits will be recorded by the end of the fall semester of the next academic year 

Exception: If the student wishes to take the final exam in the mobility semester! 
In this case, the foreign-earned credits must be recorded before graduation. Therefore, the student must submit the necessary documents (Transcript of Records (ToR) and Credit Transfer Request) on time. 

The ToR and Credit Transfer Request must be submitted at least three working days before the student's final exam date. It is essential to present the transcript and have the foreign courses recognized before the final exam—without this, the student cannot take the final exam! 

After the mobility, a smooth credit transfer process is ensured by the pre-credit transfer procedures. 

This process is guaranteed by: 

1. The student's prior consultations with the programme director regarding the Learning Agreement, followed by the programme director's approval of both the Before the Mobility and During the Mobility sections of the Learning Agreement. 
2. The approval of the Preliminary Credit Recognition Form submitted by the student in Neptun. 

Once these steps are completed, the only remaining condition for credit recognition is the student's successful completion of the courses at the host university. 
If the student has successfully completed the courses, and they are listed in the officially issued Transcript of Records (ToR) by the host institution, the courses and credits earned during the mobility will be recorded in Neptun. 

Students can find the number of credits of the home institution courses in their programme curriculum (for BA/BSc programmes and MA/MSc programmes). 

If the student wishes to have a course completed at the host university recognised as a curricular course (compulsory or compulsory elective) with prior approval from their programme director, the credits stated in the curriculum must be taken into account. 

If the credits of the foreign course exceeds that of the ELTE course, the difference in credit values will be recognised as elective credits. 

If the student wants to recognise a course completed at the host university as an elective, the credits of the foreign course will be recorded during the credit transfer process. 

According to the Learning Agreement approved by the programme director, if the credits of a course completed at the host university is lower than the credits of the course the student wishes to have recognised at ELTE, the course will be transferred and recorded in Neptun with the credits specified in the curriculum in order for the student to be exempt from completing the course at the home institution. 

If the credits of a course completed at the host university exceeds the credits of the corresponding course in the home institution’s curriculum, the credits specified in the curriculum will be transferred. The difference in credits between the course completed at the host university and the corresponding course in the home institution’s curriculum will be recorded as elective credits in Neptun. 

An important guideline to follow is that, on one hand, all credits earned during the mobility should be transferred, and on the other hand, credits earned during mobility do not count toward exceeding the credit limit. 

Please refer to the program curricula for each degree type at the following links: BA/BSc programs; MA/MSc programs. 

You can find the contact details of the programme directors at the following link: BA/BSc programme directors; MA/MSc programme directors 

In case the course taken at the host university cannot be recognised as a compulsory or compulsory elective course according to the curriculum, it will be recognised as an elective course. 

Please refer to the program curricula for each degree type at the following links: BA/BSc programs; MA/MSc programs. 

You can find the contact details of the programme directors at the following link: BA/BSc programme directors; MA/MSc programme directors 

No. According to the legal provisions, the semester of a study abroad mobility does not have to be considered for the purposes of academic reallocation, and the provisions of the Academic Regulations for Students also exempt from reallocation the authorisation for uniquely tailored study arrangement. (See Art. 48 (2) of ANHE and Section 41/B. (6) of the Academic Regulations for Students (ARS)). 

It may occur that the academic calendar of the Erasmus+ host institution differs from ELTE’s academic calendar. For example, at German universities, it is often the case that both the study period and the exam period start and end later than what is customary at ELTE. In such cases, it is crucial that the student register their next semester in the Neptun system according to ELTE's registration period, even if they are still completing their previous semester's mobility. The student must also register for their courses during the registration period and notify all their professors by email about their absence. 

No. Credits earned during mobility do not count towards ELTE’s credit exceedance. In the Neptun Education System, the place for recording the course units completed at the partner institution during the study abroad mobility is the so-called special index row. The student does not have to register to these courses, but if they did, the courses must be removed based on the LA. This ensures that these courses are not counted as course enrolments beyond the scope of the option under Art. 49 (2a) of Act CCIV of 2011 on National Higher Education (hereinafter: ANHE).