During the Scholarship: Life as an Erasmus Mundus Nomad

The Reality of Moving Every Semester

The Erasmus Mundus marketing materials call it “international mobility.” Alumni call it something closer to “organised chaos.” The defining feature of this programme — studying in 2 to 4 different countries over 1 to 2 years — is both its greatest strength and its most demanding challenge.

“Too short to feel like living somewhere properly, too long to feel like a tourist.” — how Erasmus Mundus students commonly describe each 4-month stay

That line appears again and again in alumni reflections, and it captures something essential. Four months is enough time to learn the bus routes, find a favourite café, memorise the walk to campus and start feeling like you belong somewhere. It is not enough time to truly settle. Just when you start to feel comfortable — when you've figured out the grocery store layout, when the barista knows your order, when you stop needing Google Maps — it's time to pack everything into a suitcase and do it all over again in a different country. As one 2024 alumni survey put it: “Home becomes a suitcase with few personal objects, always ready for the next move.”

Here's what a typical semester transition looks like in practice. In the final weeks of one semester, you're simultaneously finishing exams, closing your bank account, cancelling your phone plan, cleaning your apartment for the deposit return, packing your life into bags and trying to say goodbye to people you've grown close to. Then you board a budget airline to a new country where you need to find an apartment, register with the city, open a new bank account, get a new phone plan, sort out your residence paperwork and start attending classes at a university with a completely different academic culture — all within the first two weeks.

It is exhausting. It is also, according to nearly every alumni account we've read, one of the most transformative experiences of their lives. But you should go in with your eyes open.

Managing Academics Across Different University Systems

This is one of the less-discussed challenges. Every European country has its own academic culture, grading system, teaching style and expectations. Moving between them every semester means constantly adapting to new norms.

Grading systems vary wildly

In the Netherlands, a 7/10 is considered good. In Italy, 28/30 is solid. In Germany, 1.0 is the best (lower is better). In France, anything above 14/20 is excellent. Your transcript will contain grades from multiple systems, and converting them is a headache you'll face when applying for jobs or PhDs later.

Teaching styles differ drastically

Scandinavian universities emphasise group work, flat hierarchies and independent learning. Southern European institutions may lean toward lecture-based teaching with formal professor–student dynamics. Some professors expect you to call them by first name; others expect “Professor Doctor.” Adapting every semester is mentally taxing but teaches you incredible flexibility.

Assessment methods change

One semester you might have continuous assessment with weekly assignments. The next, a single final exam worth 100% of your grade. Some universities use oral exams (common in Germany and Italy); others rely on project-based assessment. You have to learn the rules of a new game every four months.

Administrative systems are separate

Each university has its own student portal, email system, library access, course registration process and IT helpdesk. You'll accumulate 3–4 different student IDs, email addresses and logins. Keeping track of which university's system you need for which task requires a spreadsheet and patience.

Making Friends and Losing Them Every 4 Months

This is the part that hits harder than most people expect. You arrive in a new city surrounded by strangers, and within weeks you form the kind of intense bonds that usually take years — because everyone is going through the same disorienting experience together. You study together, cook together, explore the city together and lean on each other through the bureaucratic nightmares.

Then the semester ends. Some of your friends move to the same next destination; many don't. Your cohort splinters across different mobility tracks. The people who understood your daily reality — who knew the specific frustration of trying to open a bank account in a language you don't speak — are suddenly in a different time zone.

You'll start the cycle again in the next country. The friendships do accumulate: by the end of the programme you'll have genuine connections across dozens of countries. But the repeated goodbyes take a toll that the programme brochure conveniently leaves out.

What alumni recommend

• Invest in the friendships early. Don't hold back because you know it's temporary. The depth of these connections is part of what makes the programme special.
• Create rituals with your cohort: weekly dinners, group study sessions, weekend trips. These become the memories you'll talk about for decades.
• Stay connected after you separate. The WhatsApp group, regular video calls, visiting each other — these friendships can last if you invest in maintaining them.
• Don't neglect friendships back home. It's easy to be consumed by the Erasmus Mundus bubble and forget that people at home are living their lives without you.

Language Barriers in Daily Life

Your courses are in English. Your daily life is not. Many international students find language barriers in their host country stressful. For Erasmus Mundus students, this stress multiplies because you face it in a new language every few months.

In the Netherlands or Scandinavia, most people speak excellent English, and you can get by without learning Dutch or Swedish (though locals appreciate the effort). In France, Spain or Italy, daily life without some knowledge of the local language is genuinely difficult. Try opening a bank account in rural France with only English. Try explaining a medical issue to a pharmacist in a small Italian town. Try reading your rental contract in German legal language.

Bureaucracy is always in the local language

Government offices, immigration authorities, housing agencies and utility companies operate in the local language. Even in countries with high English proficiency, official documents and forms are rarely available in English. Many students report spending entire days at government offices, using Google Translate on their phone to navigate forms and conversations with clerks who only speak the local language.

Social isolation is real

When you can't understand the conversations happening around you — on the bus, at the supermarket, between classmates chatting in their native tongue — it creates a layer of isolation that compounds over time. This is especially hard in countries where social groups are less open to outsiders. It's not that people are unfriendly; meaningful connection requires shared language, and four months isn't enough to learn one.

Practical advice: learn the basics of each language before you arrive — even 20 phrases make a difference. “Hello,” “thank you,” “I don't speak [language], do you speak English?” and “Where is the registration office?” will get you surprisingly far. Many universities offer free or cheap language courses for international students. Take them, even if you're only there for one semester.

Setting Up Your Life in Each New Country

Every time you move, you essentially rebuild your daily infrastructure from scratch. Here's the checklist you'll repeat 2 to 4 times during your programme.

The Emotional Toll: Loneliness, Exhaustion and Repeated Culture Shock

We're not going to sugarcoat this. The Erasmus Mundus experience, for all its brilliance, can be emotionally brutal. Alumni surveys and academic research consistently identify several psychological challenges that are unique to multi-country mobility programmes.

Chronic uprooting

Traditional study abroad involves one culture shock. Erasmus Mundus involves 2 to 4. Each move resets your comfort level. Just when you've adapted to one culture's norms — the social cues, the unwritten rules, the daily rhythms — you move somewhere where everything is different. Researchers describe this as “chronic uprooting,” and it's more exhausting than a single, deeper cultural adjustment.

Loneliness in the transition periods

The first two weeks in a new country are often the loneliest. You don't know anyone locally. Your previous friends are in different cities. You're dealing with housing, bureaucratic and academic stress simultaneously. Many students report feeling isolated during these transitions, even if they're generally extroverted. It gets better — but the cycle repeats with every move.

Decision fatigue

You're making hundreds of small decisions constantly: where to eat, how to get around, which phone plan to buy, how to say “excuse me” in a new language, where to find groceries you recognise. These micro-decisions, automatic in your home country, consume mental energy abroad. Multiply this by 3 or 4 countries and it adds up.

Reverse culture shock

After the programme ends, many graduates struggle to readjust to their home country. You've spent two years as a global citizen, and coming back to a single place with a single culture feels limiting. Friends and family may not understand what you've been through. This is common among all study abroad returnees, but particularly intense for Erasmus Mundus alumni who've lived in multiple countries.

The Incredible Growth: Independence, Adaptability and Global Perspective

Now for the other side. Despite everything above — or perhaps because of it — the Erasmus Mundus experience produces something remarkable in the people who go through it. Nearly every alumni account we've read, no matter how honest about the difficulties, concludes with some version of: “I would do it all over again.” The growth is real, and it's not just a line for Instagram captions.

The Erasmus Mundus experience doesn't just change your CV. It changes how you think about home, belonging, comfort and identity. Many alumni describe it as the period that defined who they became as adults. That's a big claim, but when hundreds of people independently say the same thing, it's worth taking seriously.

Building the Erasmus Mundus Alumni Network

The Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA) is the official alumni organisation and one of the more active scholarship alumni networks in the world, open to students and graduates from every continent. EMA provides professional networking, mentoring, advocacy and community events. But the most valuable networking happens organically within your cohort and across programme generations.

Stay active in your programme's alumni group

Most programmes maintain alumni Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups or mailing lists. These are goldmines for job postings, PhD opportunities and field-specific advice. Alumni who graduated 5 or 10 years ago are often in senior positions and willing to help current students and recent graduates.

Attend EMA events

EMA organises annual conferences, regional meetups and online events. They're excellent for meeting alumni from other programmes and expanding your network beyond your cohort. Many alumni report getting job opportunities or collaboration invitations through these events.

Give back when you graduate

Mentor the next cohort. Answer questions on Reddit and forums. Write about your experience. The Erasmus Mundus community is built on people helping people — and the future applicant reading your post might be where you were a year ago.

What to Read Next

Now you know what the journey looks like. If you're still excited — and a little scared — that's the right feeling.