How does Erasmus+ funding work?

Erasmus+ funding works through your school, not through individual teachers: the school applies for a grant from its national agency under a Key Action, KA-122 for short-term projects or KA-121 under an accreditation, and the grant is calculated from fixed EU unit costs. There is no personal application to fill in, because the money never belongs to a person.

That single fact untangles most of the confusion we hear from first-time coordinators. This guide walks through the rest: who applies, what the Key Actions are, how the grant is structured, and when the deadlines fall. For how these routes connect to actual courses and programmes, our Erasmus+ funding pages carry the detail.

Who actually applies for Erasmus+ funding?

The organisation. In programme terms your school is the “applicant” and, once the grant agreement is signed, the “beneficiary”: it drafts the application, signs the agreement, runs the activities and reports to the national agency at the end.¹ Teachers and pupils travel as participants in the school’s project.

The other side of the arrangement is the receiving organisation, the partner abroad that hosts the activity. That is EUTA’s role in Spain. The receiving organisation does not touch your grant; it provides the programme, the mentoring and the documentation your school needs to apply and report.

What are the Erasmus+ Key Actions for schools?

Three codes cover the school sector, and the differences are practical rather than philosophical.

KA-122 is the short-term route. A project runs 6 to 18 months, includes up to 30 participants, and is open to any eligible school without an accreditation. The programme guide itself calls short-term projects the best choice for first-time applicants.¹ A school can receive at most three short-term grants in five years, which is the built-in nudge toward the next route.

KA-121 is the accredited route. A school that holds an Erasmus+ accreditation stops writing project applications and instead requests a budget each year against the multi-year plan approved with its accreditation. No detailed activity list, no participant cap, an annual rhythm.¹

KA-152 covers youth exchanges for young people aged 13 to 30, run with a youth organisation outside the school timetable. Different vocabulary, different paperwork, same national agency.

If your school is weighing the first two against each other, we compare them properly in KA-122 vs KA-121: which Erasmus+ route does your school need?

How is an Erasmus+ grant calculated?

An Erasmus+ grant is calculated from fixed EU unit costs: organisational support per participant, a travel contribution based on distance bands, and individual support per day of the stay. The exact amounts depend on your country’s national agency and the distance you travel, so two schools rarely receive the same figure. Your national agency publishes the current unit-cost tables, and we can help you read them for a specific course.

Two things follow from that structure. First, the application never asks you to invent a budget from scratch; the numbers are derived from who goes where for how long. Second, comparing figures with a school in another country is pointless, because the tables differ by country and distance band. Read your own agency’s tables, not a neighbour’s.

When are the Erasmus+ deadlines?

The main annual round for short-term school projects closes on 19 February at midday Brussels time. Some national agencies open a second round closing on 1 October, but that is their choice, not a guarantee.¹ Accredited schools apply by the same February deadline for their annual budget request.

February sounds far away until you work the timeline backwards. A February application needs school leadership on board, activities chosen and a receiving organisation confirmed before the winter break, which puts the real start of the work in autumn. Projects approved in round one can start between June and December of the same year.¹

What does the money have to be spent on?

On the project you described, delivered to the standard you signed up to. Approved schools commit to the Erasmus+ quality standards, which cover fair participant selection, proper preparation, recognition of learning outcomes and sharing of results.² Reporting at the end documents that the activities happened and what they achieved.

This is less fearsome than it sounds. For a short-term project the evidence is things like participant lists, the agreed learning programme and the Europass documents issued afterwards. A receiving organisation that produces this paperwork as a matter of course removes most of the burden.

How does a school get started?

Start the internal conversation now and aim at the February deadline with time to spare. The working order: get a yes-in-principle from leadership, read your national agency’s pages for current call documents, choose activities that match a real school need, and confirm a receiving organisation early enough that its documentation lands before you write.

When the funding route is the sticking point, our Erasmus+ funding overview breaks down KA-122 and KA-121 page by page, including what each route asks of the school.

Frequently asked questions

What is Erasmus+ funding?

Erasmus+ funding is EU grant money awarded to organisations, including schools, to run learning mobility and cooperation projects abroad. The current programme runs from 2021 to 2027 and schools access it through their national agency.

How much money do you get from an Erasmus+ grant?

An Erasmus+ grant is calculated from fixed EU unit costs, and the exact amounts depend on your country’s national agency, the number of participants and the travel distance, so two schools rarely receive the same figure. Your national agency publishes the current tables.

How do you qualify for an Erasmus+ grant?

Any eligible school can apply through its national agency, either with a short-term KA-122 application or under a KA-121 accreditation. Individual teachers do not apply themselves; the school holds the grant.

What is an Erasmus+ grant spent on?

On the approved project: the travel, the stay and the organisation of the learning activities the school described in its application, delivered in line with the Erasmus+ quality standards and documented in the final report.

Viktor Nyitray has spent more than 15 years managing international study programmes, from Erasmus+ mobility projects to national student subsidy schemes. He has helped thousands of students find the right course, and helped schools secure over €3 million in programme funding along the way.

1. European Commission, Erasmus+ Programme Guide: Mobility for pupils and staff in school education ↩
2. European Commission: Erasmus+ quality standards for mobility projects ↩