UK rejoining Erasmus+ in 2027: what it means for this year's Turing Scheme applicants
By Muntasir • Published Jul 12, 2026 • Updated Aug 08, 2026 • Study Abroad, Study in Europe, Erasmus & Exchange, Education News & Policy
The UK will associate with Erasmus+ from the 2027-28 academic year, so 2026-27 is the Turing Scheme's final cycle. Apply for Turing now if you want funding for a placement in 2026-27.
📩 Turing Scheme 2026-27 provider application deadline: 16 March 2026.
🎓 UK association with Erasmus+ starts in academic year 2027-28.
Turing has funded over 200,000 UK students since it launched in 2021.
Erasmus+ targets 100,000 UK participants in its first year back.
💶 UK funding for Erasmus+ association is reported at 570 million pounds in year one, rising past 800 million pounds later.
What changed in December 2025
The UK and the EU agreed in December 2025 that the UK will associate with Erasmus+ from the 2027-28 academic year. This ends years of running the domestic Turing Scheme as a replacement for the EU's flagship exchange program. The UK left Erasmus+ after Brexit and launched Turing in 2021 to fund outbound placements for UK students, without the reciprocal exchanges Erasmus+ offers.
The agreement forms part of a broader reset in UK-EU relations covering education alongside other areas of cooperation. For students and universities specifically, it answers a question that had been open since 2021: whether the UK would return to Europe's main exchange program or keep running its own scheme indefinitely.
A Department for Education official said the move will build on the Turing Scheme's success while strengthening ties with the EU. UK funding for Erasmus+ association is reported at around 570 million pounds in the first year, rising above 800 million pounds a year once the program runs at full scale.
Turing Scheme's last cycle: 2026-27
The 2026-27 academic year is confirmed as Turing's final cycle before the switch to Erasmus+. UK schools, colleges and universities remain eligible to apply for funding for placements running in 2026-27, with a provider application deadline of 16 March 2026 according to official government guidance . Your own university or college often sets an earlier internal deadline, so check with your international office directly.
Turing funds study placements, work placements and traineeships abroad for students at UK schools, colleges and universities, typically lasting from a few weeks up to a full academic year. Schools, further education providers and higher education providers all remain eligible to apply for this final round, in the same way they have since the scheme launched.
Government investment in Turing has dropped from 110 million pounds at launch to 78 million pounds for this final year, and total support since 2021 has reached over 200,000 UK students on placements abroad.
How Erasmus+ will differ from Turing
Erasmus+ works both ways. EU students come to the UK and UK students go to EU countries, both funded through the same program. Turing only funded UK students going outward, though it covered non-EU destinations too, which gave universities wider geographic reach for the years it ran.
| Feature | Turing Scheme (2021-2027) | Erasmus+ association (from 2027-28) |
|---|---|---|
| Direction of funding | UK students going abroad only | Two way, UK and EU students both funded |
| Geographic reach | Worldwide destinations | Mainly EU and associated countries |
| UK government cost | 78 million pounds (2026-27) | Reported at 570 million pounds and above in year one |
| Participants supported | Over 200,000 since 2021 | 100,000 targeted in year one |
The government's target for the first year back in Erasmus+ is 100,000 participants, a wider figure than any single Turing year because it counts apprentices, further education students and adult learners alongside university students, not university students alone.
Where Turing worked and where it struggled
Sector commentary cited by Times Higher Education credits Turing with widening participation in study and work placements abroad beyond the students who traditionally used Erasmus+, partly because it did not require a partner university to send a student back in return. The same commentary points to cumbersome administration and inconsistent application processes as recurring complaints from universities running the scheme.
Those administrative problems, combined with a funding pot that shrank each year, are part of why universities pushed for closer alignment with Erasmus+ rather than a permanent standalone UK scheme.
What this means if you're an EU student
If you study at a university in an EU country and want a funded exchange placement in the UK, Turing does not help you. It only funds UK students going outward, so there is no equivalent UK-funded inbound scheme in 2026-27. Check whether your own university runs a bilateral exchange agreement with a UK partner and funds it through its own Erasmus+ allocation or a national mobility budget instead.
From 2027-28, once the UK formally associates with Erasmus+, EU students will have a funded route into UK universities through the same program that already sends you to other EU countries. Until then, a UK exchange placement depends on what your home university has arranged directly with a UK partner institution.
What to do if you're applying now
If your placement or exchange year falls in 2026-27, apply through Turing before your university's internal deadline, which often falls earlier than the 16 March 2026 government cutoff. Do not wait for Erasmus+, since it will not fund mobility until the 2027-28 academic year.
If your exchange year is 2027-28 or later, ask your international office how your university plans to transition. Partnerships and paperwork will move from Turing's system to the EU's Erasmus+ processes over the next two years, and application timelines for Erasmus+ typically run earlier in the academic year than Turing's did.
Keep your existing Turing paperwork on file even after you finish a placement. Universities will likely need historical mobility records during the handover to Erasmus+, and a gap in documentation could slow down credit recognition for your time abroad.