Applying to an Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree

I believe that many university students dream of moving abroad after graduating. With me it was no different, even more so because I loved my exchange.

When I decided to apply for a grant for the Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree, I didn't have much of an idea about what the process would be like. So I've decided to share my experience to help those who are interested in the process (and because lots of people have already asked me, so this makes my life easier).

Before doing this, I want to make it clear to everyone that all the information here is related to the application to a masters in Maritime Spatial Planning (Erasmus Mundus Masters Course in Maritime Spatial Planning, that is EMMCMSP). This masters is available in 3 universities in total: Universidad de Sevilla, Universidade dos Açores e Università Iuav di Venezia.

Ok, but before carrying on with the application... what is Erasmus?

Erasmus is a student mobility programme promoted by the European Union and the associated states. The name comes from a Dutch thinker (and exchange student! ), Erasmus from Rotterdam. One curiosity... the name Erasmus means 'lover'... for real!

Source

So... there are lots of categories on the Erasmus mobility programme, and amongst these there is Erasmus Mundus, which offers various masters and doctorate courses. For more information, here's the site.

One detail: you can only register for three courses per year. In my case, I signed up for one only.

Another detail: the application is in English. Everything has to be done in English.

The requirements were:

1. Application Form.
2. Detailed curriculum (at the time I didn't know, but if you need a curriculum model, you can use EUROPASS).
3. Letter of motivation.
4. Two letters of recommendation.
5. Certificate of the completed university course (at the time of the applications I still didn't have mine, so I sent a declaration of the conclusion of my course - translated by a certified translator).
6. Record of the completed university course (also translated).
7. Certificate of proficiency in English (TOEFL, IELTS, etc). The minimum mark was 79 in TOEFL IBT, but the required mark varies for each Erasmus course.
8. Copy of passport.

At the beginning you might feel a bit discouraged about having to organise all of this paperwork. But take a deep breath and plow on. The application is done online on the programme's site http://www.iuav.it/ (open registrations everyone! ).

In the case that you're not European, registration is for category A of grants (B is for European candidates).

Selections (or 'the wait for a miracle')

Warning! The more your academic life is related to your chosen course, the more points you'll get (and the better your chances of being chosen). I submitted my application and waited. To tell the truth, I didn't think any more of it. I didn't want to get my hopes up and then frustrate myself. I applied and I thought 'what will be, will be'.

But curiously, two months afterwards I got in contact with a student on this masters... through LinkedIn. I wanted to be sure (or at least have an idea about what I was putting myself up for hehe). Fortunately, this student was Brazilian (nice people! ) and banished some of my doubts.

I think that a month after the results came out (or, 3 months after the application) my name was there. I had a mix of emotions: happiness and sadness, excitement and apprehension. On the one hand I wanted to shout it out to everyone and on the other hand I didn't want to tell anyone (I don't know, in case something went wrong. People, I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic! ). I think that I was chosen because my academic trajectory complied a lot with the theme of the masters.

Before setting off

After the results came out. Surprise! More documents to organise. Prepare your fund for more translations! As my first choice was Seville, in Spain, this time I had to translated everything into Spanish to apply.

Then, I sent everything to Brasilia to get it legalised by the Ministry of Exterior Relations (so that it was valid outside of Brazil). Thank you to my dear cousin Pedro for his help! And obviously, there's also the visa! One detail is that the University of Seville sent my admission card in English. But the Spanish consulate asked for a version in Spanish. And this meant that there was a bit of a delay. But in the end, if this happens to you, keep connected and send the Spanish version shortly.

And finally... the costs of the transfer etc. How do you do it? Unfortunately, it's not like with the CSF where your grant goes into your account first, like here in Brazil, so that you can buy flights etc. I confess that this left me a bit discouraged. How was I going to buy tickets to Europe and then support myself for a month (or two), without having the grant before I got there?!

Luckily I counted on my family's support (family is everything! ). It was a loan. Because the grant covers the cost of the transfer etc. But it would work with a reimbursement. In the end everything works out!

If you want to study a Masters in the UK, here are the top 10 universities in the UK and many more you can choose from.

And there I was... embarking in the Old Continent direction... once again.

That's all for today. Lots of love!

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