Understanding the intricate academic choices made by students during international mobility programs like Erasmus+ is critical for truly assessing their impact beyond simple participation rates. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse the academic choices of Agricultural Engineering students from the University of Almería during their Erasmus+ mobility periods, specifically from the 2020-21 to the 2024-25 academic years. By examining students' subject selections, the research seeks to understand the strategic rationale behind their choices, whether to fulfil compulsory degree requirements, to pursue optional specialized subjects, or to work on their Bachelor Thesis. An analytical and quantitative approach was employed, meticulously examining a dataset of over 1000 subjects taken by students during their mobility. For each subject, we recorded the total European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS value, its corresponding academic year within the students' home curriculum (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year), and its character (compulsory, optional, or Bachelor Thesis). This granular, discipline-specific analysis is vital for Agricultural Engineering, a field where curriculum alignment during international mobility can be complex. The analysis reveals significant trends in students' academic decision-making. For instance, the total ECTS accumulated during mobility shows a notable increase from the 2020-21 to the 2024-25 academic year, with a dip in 2023-24. The distribution of ECTS across academic years of the home degree shows a consistently high proportion of ECTS from 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year courses, indicating that students are strategically using their time abroad to complete the core of their degree. Furthermore, the percentage breakdown of subject types reveals the evolving balance between fulfilling core requirements and pursuing specialized or bachelor thesis-related studies. A marked trend shows a decrease in the proportion of optional subjects and an increase in compulsory subjects over the study period. A key finding is the emergence of Bachelor Thesis-related work in the 2024-25 academic year, indicating a new, and vital, trend in how students are using their mobility. This analysis reveals that the preferred subjects for Erasmus+ exchanges are not necessarily the most challenging ones, but rather those that align with common topics across foreign university curriculum. The insights illustrate that students primarily focus on completing compulsory courses to ensure curriculum alignment and timely graduation. The growing trend of students working on their Bachelor Thesis abroad suggests a potential new avenue for academic mobility that universities can better support. These findings have crucial implications for university international offices, advising them to provide more tailored academic guidance. For curriculum developers in Agricultural Engineering, the data can highlight which specific years, or subject types are most frequently pursued abroad, informing potential curriculum enhancements. This also suggests that curriculum developers should consider including mobility-specific optional subjects that do not necessarily coincide with the home university's options but allow students to take courses that are a benchmark at the host institutions instead. Lastly, for students, the study provides a clearer picture of how to best leverage their time abroad to achieve their long-term academic and professional aspirations.

Keywords: Agricultural Engineering, Higher Education, Academic curriculum, Erasmus, ECTS, international mobility.