Awarding Body: European Commission
Institution: Selected institutions who are part of the Erasmuc Mundus Joint Programmes Fellowships
Level / course of study: Masters / PhD
Website: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/index_en.php

Erasmus Mundus (2009-2013) is a programme run by the European Commission that contributes to the human resources, international understanding and cooperation between the European Union and Third Countries. The programme does this by providing support to higher education institutions of Third Countries through three actions, of which Action 1 is conducted in the form of joint programmes at postgraduate level. Erasmus Mundus Action 1 offers scholarships for Master’s and doctorate programmes to students of any national.

Scholarships are provided to students of Third Countries and Europe, who have been selected to study their Master’s or doctorates in one of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes. Fellowships are also available for academics who wish to conduct research or carry out teaching assignments as part of the programmes. More than €450mil has been allocated for scholarships between 2009 and 2013.

Eligibility criteria:

The programme is open to students, academic staff, researchers and teachers of any national from any part of the world so long as they have interest in higher education and research.

Applicants outside of the EU are eligible for Category A scholarships which is awarded to third-country applicants who have not studied, trained or worked for more than a total of 12 months in any EU country (except for doctoral students who joined the EMMC programme previously). Scholars are not allowed to hold another community grant while pursuing the Master’s studies under Erasmus Mundus.

Candidates must have applied to and have been accepted by an EMMC consortium before applying for the scholarship. Scholars for the EMMS must spend the course of their study in at least two consortium partner countries that is different from where the scholars obtained their first degree. For scholars under the EMJD, they are to spend a maximum of 6 months or one semester doing research or fieldwork in consortium partner countries.

Scholars under the Erasmus Mundus programme must also commit themselves to activities carried out under the Master’s course as well as in promoting the Erasmus Mundus Programme in general.

Award benefits:

For Master’s students, the scholarship covers

·               €4000 for a one year EM Master’s Course; €8000 for courses exceeding one year

·               €1000 monthly allowance

·               €4000 per semester for administrative costs, tuition fees, insurance.

·               Travel costs are also included.

The amount of the scholarships for students in Category A (non-EU) ranges between €16,000 for a one-year EM Master’s Course and €48,000 for a two-year course, with a threshold of €4000 per academic semester.

For students pursuing doctorates, the scholarship covers

·               €7500 for a three-year doctoral fellowship covering travel costs, installation and others

·               €300 per month for non-laboratory based programmes or €600 for laboratory-based programmes

·               A monthly living allowance lasting 36 months at €2800 per month for employment contract and €1400 for a stipend.

The amount of the doctoral fellowship for students in Category A (non-EU) ranges between €61,200 to €129,900

Application procedures: 

Applicants must submit their application to the relevant Consortium of Universities which delivers the Erasmus Mundus course. You are advised to consult the website of the programmes that interest you to locate the details concerning course content and structure, scholarship amounts and application processes. Doctoral candidates can apply for scholarships or fellowships of up to a maximum of three different joint programmes only. For the full lists of courses or joint programmes offering the scholarship, please visit the website.