How to Apply for the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme

What the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme funds

The Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme is an EU-funded program, run by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), not a program administered directly by the African Union Commission despite its Africa-wide framing. It funds mobility between African universities within consortia: master's and doctoral student mobility, short-term or full-degree, plus traineeship mobility for enrolled students and mobility grants for university staff.

The current phase runs from 2022 to 2027, with new consortia selected in rounds through the period.

Who qualifies

To apply for a student mobility grant, you need to be a national of, and resident in, an African country. For master's or doctoral mobility, you need to already be registered or admitted at a higher education institution established in Africa, or hold a university degree from one. For traineeship mobility, you need to be enrolled in a bachelor's, master's or PhD program at one of the African institutions participating in a selected Intra-Africa consortium.

You do not apply as an individual straight to the AU or the EU. You apply to a specific consortium, a grouping of African, and sometimes European, universities that won funding to run mobility exchanges in a defined subject area or region.

Step 1: find an active consortium in your field

Check the EACEA Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme page for the list of selected consortia from recent selection rounds. Each consortium groups universities around shared priority areas aligned with the EU's Global Gateway strategy for Africa: climate and energy, transport, digital, health, and education and research. Pick the consortium whose member universities and subject focus match what you want to study.

Step 2: check that consortium's own call and deadline

Each consortium runs its own application process, timeline and required documents, set independently of the others. Visit the specific consortium's website, not the EACEA page itself, for its current call for applications, eligible mobility types (full degree, short-term exchange, traineeship), and closing date.

Step 3: prepare your application documents

• Academic transcripts and degree certificates from your current or most recent institution.

• Proof of admission or registration status at an African higher education institution, or your prior degree certificate if applying for full-degree mobility.

• A motivation statement connecting your study or research plan to the consortium's priority sector.

• Language certificate if the host institution requires one for its language of instruction.

• Passport and standard identification documents.

Step 4: apply directly to the consortium coordinator

Submit your application through the channel the consortium specifies, usually an online form hosted on the coordinating university's website. Selection is competitive and handled by the consortium's own academic committee, not by EACEA or the AU directly.

Step 5: after selection

If selected, the consortium coordinates your mobility grant, covering elements like travel, a monthly allowance and insurance depending on the consortium's specific grant terms, alongside your academic enrollment agreement between your home and host institution. Confirm visa requirements for your host country early, processing time varies and mobility windows are fixed.