Erasmus Mundus Scholarship: How Joint Masters Funding Works

What is the Erasmus Mundus scholarship and who runs it?

The European Union funds Erasmus Mundus Scholarships. They go only to students from EU and non-EU countries who have been accepted into an Erasmus Mundus Joint Programme, and they support Master's or Doctorate level study. The host institutions are the European universities and institutions that take part in approved Erasmus Mundus Action Joint Programmes.

That structure matters for your application. There is no single central form. Each joint programme is run by a consortium of universities, and that consortium decides who gets in and who is put forward for funding. The EU sets the framework and the funding rules; the programme does the selection.

Erasmus Mundus is often confused with the wider Erasmus+ exchange scheme. Erasmus+ exchanges let you spend part of a degree abroad. An Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters is a whole degree built across several universities, with a scholarship attached for accepted students.

Erasmus Mundus catalogue: how to find a joint programme

The Erasmus Mundus catalogue is the official list of approved joint programmes. Our listing on Erasmus Mundus Scholarships for International Students records that scholarships support about 116 Masters courses and 29 Joint Doctorate courses. Subject areas include Agriculture and Veterinary, Engineering, Manufacture and Construction, Health and Welfare, Humanities and Arts, Science, Mathematics and Computing, and Social Sciences, Business and Law.

Use the catalogue to shortlist by subject, not by country. A joint programme moves you between universities, so the country you start in is only part of the picture. Once you have three or four programmes in mind, go to each programme's own website, because that is where the course content, structure, scholarship amounts and application procedure are published.

You can also browse our own filtered list of Erasmus Mundus openings to see which rounds are live now.

Who qualifies for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship?

The EU listing splits applicants into two groups.

• Category A scholarships are for nationals of any country other than the European Union Member States and Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein taken together.
• Category B scholarships are for nationals of the European Union Member States, or of Switzerland, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein.

Scholarships for non-EU students are higher than for EU students. Beyond nationality, each Erasmus Mundus Joint Programme sets its own selection criteria and admission procedures, so a degree subject requirement, a minimum grade or an English test score can sit on top of the category rules. Students and scholars should contact the consortium offering the Master's or Doctoral programme for details.

Individual programmes sometimes add a residence test. In the International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD) Scholarships, a Partner Country applicant must not be a national or resident of the listed countries and must not have carried out their main activity there for more than a total of 12 months over the last 5 years.

What does the scholarship pay?

The programme provides full-time scholarships and/or fellowships. They cover a monthly allowance, participation costs, travel and insurance costs. The amount varies by level of study, length of study and the scholar's nationality, and non-EU scholarships are higher than EU ones.

Programmes publish their own breakdown, and the figures differ a lot. Two examples from our listings show the range.

Treat every figure as programme-specific and round-specific. The official page for your chosen programme carries the current amount.

Deadlines and the application timeline

Deadlines are set by each joint programme, not by a single EU calendar. Our listing on Erasmus Mundus Scholarships for International Students notes that the deadline varies depending on the programme but falls around December to January. That is the window to plan around.

The practical timeline runs backwards from that date:

1. Shortlist programmes from the catalogue, checking subject fit and the countries involved.
2. Read each programme's own admission and scholarship page, including any category or residence rules.
3. Book your English test early if the programme requires one, so the score arrives before the deadline.
4. Request transcripts and degree documents from your university well in advance.
5. Submit the programme application and any separate scholarship form before the deadline.

Some programmes close much earlier than the December to January window. The EMJMD ACES/ACES+ listing, for example, shows a February deadline in its round, and the Media Arts Cultures listing shows a January date. Always confirm the current date on the programme site.

How to apply step by step

1. Pick your programmes. Use the Erasmus Mundus catalogue and filter by subject. Keep three to five options, since each has its own form.
2. Check your category. Confirm whether you fall under Category A or Category B, or under a programme's own Partner and Programme Country definitions.
3. Read the programme's admission page. Note the degree subject requirement, minimum grade, English test and any residence rule.
4. Prepare documents. Degree certificate, transcripts, English test evidence and identification are the common set. Some programmes ask for a motivation letter or references.
5. Write the motivation letter for that programme. A motivation letter for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship should explain why this consortium and this combination of universities fit your plans, not why you want funding in general.
6. Complete every required form. Where a programme asks for two forms, send both together. EMJMD ACES/ACES+ asks for a UHI form and an ACES form, sent as a single PDF.
7. Submit before the deadline and keep proof. Save the confirmation email and a copy of what you sent.

Documents and selection: what the consortium looks at

Document lists differ by programme, but the core set is consistent.

• Degree certificate or proof that your degree is completed by the scholarship deadline
• Academic transcripts
• English test evidence, sent as the programme requires
• Identification and, where asked, a residence or nationality declaration
• Motivation letter
• References, if the programme requests them

Selection is run by the consortium. It weighs academic fit with the subject area, the strength of your previous degree and your stated reasons for choosing that joint programme. Where a programme has a fixed number of awards, competition is for those places. IMRD, for instance, states that Erasmus Mundus funding goes to at least the top 15 applicants each year, 3 European students and 12 non-European students, and the Management Board may hand out extra scholarships to applicants from particular regions.

Some programmes also nominate strong applicants for other funding. IMRD puts its strongest applicants forward for Ghent University Top-up Grants, a partial award rather than a full scholarship.

Erasmus Mundus programmes in our listings

These examples show how different the subject areas and host universities can be.

Bioscience and environmental programmes at Ghent University

Scholarships for Faculty of Bioscience Engineering Programmes at University of Ghent covers eligible Master's programmes including AquaH, SINReM, IMSOGLO, Aqua and IMRD. Both the Erasmus Mundus and VLIR-UOS routes cover tuition, travel and a monthly allowance, with the VLIR-UOS allowance stated as €1150. AquaH and SINReM have no intake for 2027-28.

Rural development across five countries

International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD) Scholarships is taught by Ghent University with partners in Slovakia, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. It also runs VLIR-UOS awards for applicants from eligible countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and Ghent University Top-up Grants for OESO-DAC nationals.

Aquaculture, environment and society

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships for Joint Master Degree in AquaCulture, Environment and Society (EMJMD ACES/ACES+) moves students through the UK, Greece and France, ending with an industry-based research project. It asks for a Bachelors degree in a listed science or social science field and English at 6.5 Academic IELTS with at least 6.0 in all four components.

Media arts and culture

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Scholarships in Media Arts Cultures is a 120 ECTS joint Master of Arts coordinated by Danube University Krems, with partners in Denmark, Poland and Hong Kong. It suits graduates of art history, cultural studies, media and communication, fine arts practice, cultural management, museology, computer science or related digital media fields.

For subject-specific alternatives, browse environmental management scholarships, agriculture, forestry and fisheries scholarships or humanities scholarships.

Who it suits and who should look elsewhere

This suits you if you want a Master's or Doctorate taught across more than one European university, you can meet a programme's subject and language requirements, and you are ready to apply to each consortium separately. It also suits applicants who want a full package: participation costs, travel, insurance and a monthly allowance in one award.

Look elsewhere if you want a single application that covers every university in Europe, or you need funding for a degree you have already started at one institution. Erasmus Mundus funding is tied to acceptance on a joint programme. If you are set on one country, compare national schemes through our guides to scholarships in Belgium, scholarships in France or scholarships in Germany.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for a central EU application. The application goes to the joint programme. Start from the catalogue, then the programme site.
• Assuming one deadline fits all. Dates vary by programme and can fall outside the December to January window.
• Ignoring the category rules. Category A and Category B, or Partner and Programme Country, decide which award you can receive.
• Sending one form when two are required. Read the instructions twice and send everything together in the format asked for.
• Reusing a generic motivation letter. Name the consortium, the universities and the modules that fit your plans.
• Leaving the English test late. Scores must reach the programme before the deadline.
• Quoting old figures. Amounts and dates change each round. The official page has the current figure.

Alternatives if you are not awarded a place

Erasmus Mundus is competitive, and a rejection from one consortium says nothing about the next. Apply to several programmes in the same round, since each runs its own selection.

Look at university-linked funding too. The Ghent bioscience listing combines Erasmus Mundus with VLIR-UOS Scholarships and Ghent University Top-up Grants, and IMRD uses the same three routes. National and subject-specific schemes are worth a parallel search: our development studies scholarships, natural sciences scholarships and social sciences scholarships lists cover many of the same fields. For application technique, see our scholarship tips and the full set of guides.