Higher education funding

Erasmus+ is the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport, which runs from 2014 to 2020. Through Erasmus+, UK higher education institutions (HEIs) can access funding for life-changing international opportunities:

  • Students can study or undertake a traineeship abroad, to develop new skills, gain international experience and boost their employability
  • Academic and professional staff can teach or train abroad, to develop professional practice, build relationships with international peers, and gain fresh ideas
  • UK HEIs can collaborate with international HEIs, enterprises and other partners, to drive innovation and excellence in higher education.

From 2014 to 2017, 951 Erasmus+ grants were awarded to UK HEIs, worth around €295 million in total. Over the same period, UK HEIs were partners in over 330 grants worth around €230 million, for projects led by organisations in other countries. See Funding results for more information.

In 2019, over €85 million in funding is proposed specifically for UK HEIs. UK HEIs can also apply for additional funding streams (called ‘centralised’ activities), managed by the European Commission’s Executive Agency. Find out more below.

Available funding

UK HEIs can access funding for one or more of the following activities. These activities are ‘decentralised’, which means you apply to the Erasmus+ UK National Agency via this website:

You can also apply for one or more of the following ‘centralised’ funding activities, via the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. Find out more via the links below, or read our Higher education centralised actions summary (366 KB).

  • Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees: Delivery of joint Master degrees with international HEIs, including funding for student scholarships
  • Erasmus+ Master Degree Loans: Support for Masters students with their living and tuition costs
  • Capacity building in the field of higher education: Supporting the modernisation, accessibility and internationalisation of higher education in eligible partner countries
  • Knowledge Alliances: Bringing HEIs and businesses together for transnational projects to strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity, stimulate entrepreneurial skills, and facilitate the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge
  • European Universities Initiative: Supporting innovative and structural international cooperation models between HEIs in Europe - to transform the quality and competitiveness of higher education and to promote European values and identity
  • Jean Monnet Activities: Activities to promote excellence in teaching and research in the field of European Union studies
  • Sport actions: Not-for-profit European sport events, plus collaborative partnerships to support good governance in sport, tackle cross-border threats to the integrity of sport and support increased participation in, and equal access to sport for all

To apply for funding, your institution must hold an Erasmus Charter For Higher Education (ECHE).

You can access all the deadlines for decentralised and centralised activities on our 'Funding deadlines' webpage. 

Who should I contact?

If you have any questions about this activity, please contact the British Council by email or telephone: 0292 092 4311.