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ERASMUS MUNDUS
EUROPEAN MASTERS
PROGRAMME
Erasmus Mundus is a co-operation and mobility
programme in the field of higher education aiming at enhancing
quality in European higher education and promoting intercultural
understanding through co-operation with third-countries.
The programme is intended to strengthen European
co-operation and international links in higher education by
supporting high-quality European Masters Courses, by enabling
students and visiting scholars from around the world to engage in
postgraduate study at European universities, as well as by
encouraging the outgoing mobility of European students and scholars
towards third-countries.
Erasmus Mundus programme
- supports Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses of outstanding
academic quality
- provides grants for graduate students from third-countries to
follow these Masters Courses
- supports partnerships between Erasmus Mundus Masters consortia
and higher education institutions in third-countries.
- supports European co-operation projects which aim at improving
the brand image, visibility and accessibility of European higher
education.
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| Context
The decision establishing the Erasmus Mundus programme
was adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 5 December
2003 (Decision No 2317/2003/EC). The programme covers the 2004 -
2008 period and has a budget (EU 25) of € 230 million.
The programme provides a response to the challenges of
globalisation faced by European higher education today, in
particular the need to adapt education systems to the demands of the
knowledge society, to enhance the attractiveness and visibility of
European higher education world-wide and to stimulate the process of
convergence of degree structures across Europe. These themes are
central to national reform processes in higher education going on in
Member States. |
| Programme Objectives
The Erasmus Mundus programme's overall aim is to
enhance the quality of European higher education by fostering
co-operation with third countries in order to improve the
development of human resources and to promote dialogue and
understanding between peoples and cultures.
The programme's specific objectives
are:
- to promote a quality offer in higher education with a distinct
European added value, attractive both within the European Union
and beyond its borders;
- to encourage and enable highly qualified graduates and
scholars from all over the world to obtain qualifications and/or
experience in the European Union;
- to develop more structured co-operation between European Union
and third-country institutions and greater European Union outgoing
mobility as part of European study programmes;
- to improve accessibility and enhance the profile and
visibility of higher education in the European Union.
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Summary Description of the Programme Actions
| Action
1 |
Erasmus Mundus Masters
Courses: The Commission selects
top-quality Masters Courses of one to two years offered by a
group of higher education institutions called the "consortium"
which consists of a minimum of three higher education
institutions coming from three different Member States.
Masters Courses must exist and be operational at application
stage. They are selected for a period of five years. Selected
Masters Courses will be open to the participation of
third-country graduate students and scholars (see Action 2),
involve mobility between the institutions of the consortium
and will lead to the award of a recognised double, multiple or
joint degree. Neither undergraduate nor doctoral studies are
eligible for Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses. |
| Action
2 |
Scholarships: The Commission grants scholarships to highly
qualified third-country graduate students and scholars in
order for them to participate in the selected Erasmus Mundus
Masters Courses. Students and scholars must apply to Erasmus
Mundus Masters consortia. If they are accepted to participate
in the Masters Courses, Erasmus Mundus consortia apply to the
Commission for scholarships. Scholarships are paid through the
Erasmus Mundus Masters consortia. |
| Action
3 |
Partnerships: The Commission will support partnerships between
Erasmus Mundus Masters consortia and third-country
universities with a view to allowing graduate students and
scholars who are residents in the EU and who participate in
the Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses to spend a short period of
time at the third-country partner universities as part of the
Masters Course. |
| Action
4 |
Enhancing attractiveness:
The Commission supports European
co-operation projects which aim at improving the brand image,
visibility and accessibility of European higher education or
which deal with the international dimension of quality
assurance, credit recognition, mutual recognition of
qualifications with third countries, curriculum development
and mobility. | |
Participating Countries
- The 25 current and new EU Member States
- The candidate countries for accession to the EU
- The countries of the European Economic Area/European Free
Trade Association
- All the other countries of the world (third-countries)
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Who can Benefit
- Higher education institutions
- Students having obtained a first degree awarded by a higher
education institution
- Scholars and professionals who lecture or conduce research
- Staff directly involved in higher education
- Other public or private bodies active in the field of higher
education (only for Action 4, see description)
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Implementation
- Higher Education Institutions will submit proposals to the
European Commission in response to calls published in the Official
Journal and the webside.
- Students and scholars who wish to participate in an Erasmus
Mundus Masters Course (with or without a scholarship) must apply
directly to the selected Erasmus Mundus Masters Consortia
- The Erasmus Mundus programme will be implemented as of the
academic year 2004/2005.
Call for proposals relating to the academic year
2005/2006
The call for proposals for the academic year 2005/2006
refers to Actions 1, 2 and 3. The deadline for Action 1 is 31st October, 2004 and for Actions 2
and 3 is the 31st March,
2005.
See call for proposals relating to the academic year
2005/2006: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/mundus/call_en.html
More information on the programme, calls for
proposals, guidelines and application forms are available at the
webpage for Erasmus Mundus programme:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/mundus/index_en.html |
