Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Scholarship 2027: Fully Funded Master’s in Europe

There is no other master’s scholarship quite like Erasmus Mundus. A normal scholarship sends you to one university in one country. An Erasmus Mundus Joint Master sends you to a consortium — a team of universities in different countries that have designed a single degree together — and requires you to study in at least two countries along the way. You might spend your first semester in Sweden, your second in Spain, and your thesis semester in the Netherlands or with an associated partner on another continent, graduating with either a joint degree or multiple degrees from the institutions where you studied. For the strongest applicants, the European Union funds the whole experience: no tuition or participation costs charged to scholarship holders, and a scholarship of €1,400 per month for the duration of the programme, up to 24 months — a maximum of €33,600 in living support alone.

The scholarship is part of Erasmus+, the European Union’s programme for education, training, youth and sport, and it is open to students from all over the world. There is no nationality quota for applying, no requirement to have studied in Europe before, and no central application form: you apply directly to the consortium running the joint master you want, and the consortium selects its scholarship holders as part of admission. More than two hundred joint masters are listed in the official Erasmus Mundus Catalogue, spanning everything from astrophysics and marine biology to public health, data science, law, journalism, sustainable energy and migration studies. That breadth — and the fact that most application windows run from October to January for courses starting the following autumn — makes planning the central skill. This guide gives you the verified funding figures, the real eligibility rules, a step-by-step application method, and the strategic choices that separate funded scholars from the much larger pool of admitted but unfunded students. You can survey the wider landscape in our scholarships directory and our overview of studying in Europe, but for Erasmus Mundus itself, the catalogue and each consortium’s website are the sources that count.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters 2027 at a Glance

One clarification prevents a common misunderstanding: the €1,400 is a single, all-in monthly scholarship. Older guides break Erasmus funding into separate travel, installation and subsistence lines with different amounts for different student categories — that architecture belongs to earlier programme generations. Under the current Erasmus+ design described on the official Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters page, the student scholarship is calculated at €1,400 per month for a maximum of 24 months, and it is meant to contribute to your travel, visa, installation and living costs as one pot. Separately, the EU grants the consortium a per-student contribution towards the costs of enrolling and hosting you, which is why the consortium cannot then charge you tuition or compulsory participation fees as a scholarship holder.

How a Joint Master Actually Works

Each Erasmus Mundus Joint Master is designed and delivered by an international consortium of at least three higher education institutions from three different countries, of which at least two must be EU Member States or third countries associated to Erasmus+. Many consortia are larger — four to seven universities is common — and most include associated partners such as companies, research institutes, non-governmental organisations and public bodies that host internships, provide guest teaching or supervise applied thesis work.

As a student, you follow a published mobility track. Some programmes fix the sequence for everyone; others let you choose specialisation paths that determine which universities you attend in later semesters. You will enrol in, and be assessed under, the rules of each institution in turn, usually with a joint selection committee, a joint or multiple diploma at the end, and a single cohort of classmates who move with you. That cohort is part of the education: a typical class of twenty to thirty students may contain fifteen nationalities, and group projects are deliberately cross-cultural. Graduates receive either one joint degree issued on behalf of the consortium or multiple national degrees from the institutions where they completed study periods — the catalogue entry and programme website state which model applies, and both are fully recognised degrees, not certificates of attendance.

The mandatory mobility is also the main lifestyle commitment. You will relocate internationally at least once, usually twice, during a one- or two-year degree: new residence registrations, new bank accounts, new housing hunts, in some cases new residence permits. Scholars consistently describe this as the most rewarding and the most administratively demanding part of the experience. If you have dependants, a business, or a job you hope to pause, plan for mobility from the start rather than treating it as an optional exchange semester.

Eligibility: Who Can Apply

A degree, or a degree in progress

The core academic requirement is a first higher education degree — a bachelor’s or equivalent, typically at least 180 ECTS or the national equivalent outside Europe — or to be in your final year of bachelor studies and to graduate before the joint master begins. Individual consortia set the detailed entry requirements on top of that baseline: a degree in a specific discipline or a defined set of subjects, a minimum grade or GPA threshold in some programmes, prerequisite credits in methods or mathematics for technical degrees, and in professionally oriented programmes, relevant work or internship experience. There is no EU-wide minimum GPA and no EU-wide list of accepted degree subjects; both live on the programme’s own website.

Open to all nationalities — with two structural rules

Erasmus Mundus scholarships are open worldwide, and the European Commission actively funds additional scholarships for students from targeted regions. Two rules shape the competition. First, students who have already received an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters scholarship in the past are not eligible for a second one. Second, consortia operate under a geographic balance principle: as a rule, no more than 10% of the scholarships in a project should go to students of the same nationality, so an exceptional applicant from a heavily represented country competes partly against compatriots. Neither rule requires any action from you beyond honesty — but both explain why admission statistics vary sharply by programme and year, and why choosing less saturated programmes can be a rational strategy.

Language, residence and programme-specific conditions

Most joint masters teach in English, and consortia set their own English thresholds — IELTS, TOEFL or equivalent scores, or a medium-of-instruction letter where accepted. Programmes taught partly in French, German, Spanish or another language state their own requirements. There is no central Erasmus language test. Your country of residence at enrolment matters for mobility design: your study periods must take you to at least two countries different from your residence country, and if you have lived in a programme country for more than 12 months in the previous five years, some consortia classify you differently for scholarship budgeting — check the FAQ of your chosen programme if that describes you. Finally, many consortia limit how many Erasmus Mundus programmes you may apply to in one cycle or require you to declare parallel applications; the commonly applied ceiling in recent cycles has been three programmes per applicant per intake, but the binding rule is the one published by each consortium and in the current Erasmus+ guidance — read it before submitting a fourth application anywhere.

Benefits and Coverage in Detail

What does €1,400 a month buy in practice? In most university cities in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Czechia, the Baltic states and much of France and Germany outside the most expensive capitals, it covers a room in shared housing, food, local transport, study materials and a modest social life, with the initial month’s costs — deposit, travel, residence paperwork — absorbed because the scholarship is explicitly intended to include installation and travel. In high-cost locations such as Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Stockholm, the same amount requires deliberate budgeting and shared housing, and consortia will tell you so in their student handbooks. The scholarship is tax treatment and banking setup will vary by host country; your consortium’s student agreement — the contract you sign before enrolment — sets out the payment schedule, the conditions for continued payment, and what happens if you withdraw or fail a study period. Read it before you sign, not after.

Non-scholarship places exist on most programmes: admitted students who are not offered funding may enrol as self-funded or with other grants, paying the participation costs the consortium publishes. If you receive an admission offer without a scholarship, or a place on the reserve list, treat the consortium’s stated costs and the living costs of every mobility city — not just the first — as your planning basis. Our tools section, including budgeting and cost-of-living resources, can help you model that honestly.

Finding Your Programmes: Fields and the Catalogue

All funded joint masters are listed in the Erasmus Mundus Catalogue, maintained by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and linked from the official Erasmus+ website. The catalogue is searchable by field of study, country and keyword, and each entry links to the programme’s own website, where admission requirements, deadlines, curricula and scholarship details live. In the most recent catalogue updates, more than two hundred programmes were listed, with dozens of newly selected projects joining for the 2027 intake — which is why any printed list ages quickly and why this guide deliberately teaches you to fish in the catalogue rather than handing you a stale selection.

The field coverage is genuinely broad. You will find joint masters in engineering and technology (including renewable energy, robotics and space systems), computer and data sciences, environmental and life sciences, agriculture and food systems, public health and biomedical sciences, economics and business, law and governance, social sciences and migration, education, journalism and media, cultural heritage, tourism, sports science, and interdisciplinary programmes on sustainability and climate that did not exist five years ago. When shortlisting, apply three filters in order. First, academic fit: does your degree and transcript satisfy the stated prerequisites, including specific subjects? Second, curriculum fit: do the mobility tracks and specialisations match the career or research direction your motivation letter will claim? Third, strategic fit: how many scholarships does the consortium typically award, how competitive was the previous intake, and do the deadlines allow a complete, careful application? Most applicants are best served by applying to two or three programmes they fit well rather than scattering a generic file across the maximum allowed.

While comparing programmes, cross-check the universities involved in our universities directory and the rankings section — not because Erasmus Mundus selection uses rankings (it does not), but because you will live and study at those institutions, and their cities, facilities and research strengths shape your two years.

How to Apply, Step by Step

1. Start in the official catalogue. Go to the Erasmus Mundus Catalogue via the official Erasmus+ page and longlist programmes in your field. Record each programme’s website, deadline, and scholarship application method in one tracking sheet.
2. Read each programme website completely. Note the admission criteria, required documents, language evidence accepted, reference format, whether the scholarship application is integrated into admission or a separate form, and the exact deadline with its time zone.
3. Check your eligibility against the fine print. Degree subject and level, graduation date, prior Erasmus Mundus funding, residence history and programme-specific prerequisites. Email the consortium coordinator about genuine ambiguities — they expect such questions before the deadline, not after.
4. Prepare your core documents once, then tailor. Transcript, degree certificate or final-year statement, CV, motivation letter, references and language scores form the core; each programme then receives a tailored version, especially the motivation letter.
5. Apply directly to each consortium by its own deadline. Most windows fall between October and January for a start the following autumn. There is no central portal and no application to the European Commission. In most cases you indicate, inside the programme’s application, that you wish to be considered for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship — do not skip that step if it appears as a checkbox or separate form.
6. Attend an interview if shortlisted. Many consortia interview top-ranked candidates by video call, testing subject knowledge, motivation, mobility readiness and communication skills.
7. Receive one of three outcomes. Admission with a scholarship, admission without a scholarship (or a reserve-list place for funding), or rejection. Consortia notify according to their own published schedules, commonly in spring.
8. Sign the student agreement and begin visa and mobility planning. You will need residence permits for each study country in sequence; consortia guide scholars through this, but passport validity and document preparation are your responsibility.

Required Documents

Exact lists belong to each consortium, but competitive applications almost always include the following. Begin collecting them in September, before windows open: certified copies and translations, in particular, take longer than applicants expect.

• Completed online application form for the programme, with scholarship consideration explicitly indicated where required.
• Degree certificate and complete academic transcripts; if you are in your final year, an official statement of expected graduation.
• Curriculum vitae — many consortia request the Europass format; follow the programme’s instruction where given.
• Motivation letter or statement of purpose tailored to that programme’s curriculum and mobility track.
• Two letters of recommendation, usually academic, uploaded or sent in the format the consortium specifies.
• Proof of English (or other teaching language) proficiency meeting the programme’s threshold, unless formally waived for your profile.
• Passport copy and, where requested, proof of current country of residence — some consortia ask for a residence certificate or utility evidence to establish mobility eligibility.
• Any programme-specific items: portfolios for design and media programmes, writing samples for journalism and policy programmes, or proof of work experience for professional masters.

Deadlines and Timeline

The dates above describe the standard rhythm confirmed on the official Erasmus+ pages: in most cases, applications are submitted between October and January for courses starting the following academic year. They are not a promise for any individual programme. A consortium may open in September and close in November, or run a second round for remaining places without scholarship funding. The only deadline that matters is the one on your programme’s website for the intake you want — screenshot it, calendar it, and submit days early, because consortium portals are busiest, and slowest, in their final 48 hours.

Selection Criteria and How to Improve Your Chances

Each consortium runs its own selection, but the evaluation logic is consistent: academic quality and fit, motivation quality, and supporting evidence such as experience and references, usually scored and ranked to produce a main scholarship list and a reserve list. Because the scholarship rides on the admission ranking, there is no separate trick for funding — the strongest applications win both.

Four improvements have outsized effect. First, demonstrate curriculum-level fit: name modules, tracks, thesis themes or consortium research groups, and connect them to your prior study and your next career step. Reviewers can tell within a paragraph whether you have read the curriculum or only the programme title. Second, make your academic record legible: if your grading system is unfamiliar, ensure your transcript is accompanied by an official grading scale or ranking statement where your university provides one, so a committee in another continent can place your results accurately. Third, treat references as evidence, not decoration: choose referees who taught or supervised you recently and can comment on specific work, and brief them on the programme. Fourth, address mobility honestly: committees fund students who understand they will move countries mid-degree, and a motivation letter that discusses only the first university quietly undermines itself.

Applicants from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Indonesia and other countries with large applicant pools should also consider portfolio balance: applying to one ultra-competitive flagship programme is a lottery ticket, while a set of two or three well-fitted programmes — including newer projects in the catalogue, which must fill scholarship cohorts and sometimes receive fewer applications in their first intakes — materially improves expected outcomes. None of this guarantees funding; it converts a gamble into a strategy. Browse related funding routes in our guides section so your Erasmus applications sit inside a broader, sensible plan.

Common Mistakes

• Looking for a central application. There is none. Applying only through unofficial agent portals, or emailing the European Commission, achieves nothing; the consortium decides.
• Missing the scholarship tick-box or separate scholarship form inside an otherwise complete admission application — admitted, but never considered for funding.
• Submitting one generic motivation letter to several consortia. Committees compare notes within their own files, and a letter praising the wrong city’s university ends the discussion.
• Assuming the January window fits every programme. Several strong programmes close scholarship applications in November or December.
• Ignoring the mobility rule. Planning to study only in your country of residence, or misunderstanding that at least two countries different from your residence are required, creates ineligible study plans.
• Paying agents who claim they can secure the scholarship. The European Commission warns about frauds around EU scholarships; applications are free and decided on merit by consortia. No intermediary can sell you a place.
• Underestimating self-funded offers. Accepting an unfunded place without costing every mobility city, participation fees and insurance leads to mid-degree financial crises and withdrawals.
• Weak document hygiene: uncertified scans where certified copies are required, expired language scores, or referees who miss the upload deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Erasmus Mundus scholarship for 2027?

€1,400 per month for the duration of your joint master, up to a maximum of 24 months — up to €33,600 in total. The amount is intended to cover your travel, visa, installation and subsistence costs. Separately, scholarship holders are not charged tuition or mandatory participation costs, because the EU funds the consortium for institutional costs.

Can I apply if I am still finishing my bachelor’s degree?

Yes. You may apply in your final year, provided you graduate before the joint master begins. You will typically submit a transcript to date and an official statement of expected graduation, then provide the final certificate when it is issued.

How many Erasmus Mundus programmes can I apply to?

Consortia and the current Erasmus+ guidance govern this, and in recent cycles applicants have commonly been limited to three programmes per intake. Because rules and consortium declarations differ, read each programme’s instructions and the current guidance before applying, and prioritise fit over volume in any case.

Do I need IELTS for every programme?

There is no central Erasmus language requirement. Each consortium sets its own: many require IELTS or TOEFL at a stated level, some accept a medium-of-instruction certificate, and programmes taught in other languages set their own tests. The programme website is the only reliable source for your case.

Is there an age limit or a work experience requirement?

There is no EU-level age limit for Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters. Work experience is not required by the EU either, though individual programmes — especially professional and executive-style masters — may require or reward it in their own criteria.

Can I work part-time during the programme?

Your residence permit in each host country governs part-time work, and rules differ across Europe. The scholarship is designed to cover subsistence without employment, and the intensive, mobile curriculum leaves limited time; treat any permitted part-time work as a supplement, never as part of your core budget plan.

What happens if I am admitted but not given a scholarship?

You may be placed on a reserve list — if a funded candidate declines, the consortium offers the scholarship to the next ranked candidate — or you may enrol self-funded at the published participation cost if you can finance it. Both outcomes are common; neither obliges you to accept, and declining an unfunded offer does not harm future applications.

Can I stay in Europe after graduating?

Many European countries offer post-study residence options for graduates of their universities, each with its own conditions and deadlines. Erasmus Mundus itself does not grant a right to remain, and your multi-country path means you should research the post-study rules of the country where you finish your degree early in your second year.

Sources and Verification

The funding model, scholarship amount, mobility requirement and application route in this guide were verified against the European Commission’s official Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters page on erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu, which states that scholarships are calculated at €1,400 per month for up to 24 months, that students study in at least two countries, and that applications are submitted directly to the consortium running each programme, typically between October and January for the following academic year. Programme availability and deadlines must be confirmed in the official Erasmus Mundus Catalogue maintained by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and on each consortium’s own website.

Disclaimer: StudyGraduate is an independent information portal, not an agency and not part of the European Union or Erasmus+. Programme lists, deadlines, language thresholds and scholarship numbers change with every intake and are set by each consortium. Always confirm details on the official Erasmus+ website, the Erasmus Mundus Catalogue and your chosen programme’s website before applying. Nothing in this article promises or implies selection, admission, funding or visa approval; all decisions rest with the consortia and the competent authorities.