Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in International Master in Rural Development

Brief description:

The joint International Master in Rural Development (IMRD), part of the European Erasmus Mundus program, offers the opportunity to study the European vision on rural development in its diversity of approaches and applications, on a scholarship provided by the European Union for Non-EU and EU students.

The objective is to train specialists in integrated rural development, focused on socio-economic and institutional aspects, not only from the European Union but also from developed, developing and transition countries outside the European Union through a 2 year master program (120 ECTS) jointly organized by seven European leading institutes in agricultural economics and rural development.

The methodology consists of a combination of basic and specialized training in technical, economic and social sciences, a case study of one month, an individual master thesis and a high extent of student and scholar mobility.

Host Institution(s):

The Master program is offered by Ghent University (Belgium), Agrocampus Ouest (France), Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), the University of Cordoba (Spain), in collaboration with Wageningen University (The Netherlands), the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovakia) and the University of Pisa (Italy). As of 2010-2011 these will be joined by universities in China, Ecuador, India and South Africa.

Field of study:

International MSc in Rural Development

Number of Awards:

The Erasmus Mundus (EM) program of the European Commission offers a limited number of Erasmus Mundus scholarships for non-European and European students to join IMRD each year .

Target group:

Non-EU and EU students from developing/emerging countries

Scholarship value/inclusions:

The Erasmus Mundus scholarship covers the tuition fee and an additional amount is withheld for the administrative costs of the programme (registration, enrolment, subscription, administrative support, access to all faculty and university services, the organisation of the case study, the organisation of the thesis defence, etc.) and other expenditures directly linked to the organisation of the course. All other costs (travel to Europe, rent of accomodation, food, study materials, etc.) are at charge of the student. The remainder of the scholarship is paid to the student in monthly instalments. Payment of the scholarship starts after the arrival in Europe.

Eligibility:

The International MSc in Rural Development offers admission to applicants who appear to have the highest potential for graduate study and who, with the benefit of a graduate education, are the most likely to contribute substantially to their academic or professional fields through teaching, research, or professional practice.

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

1. Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years with good overall scores (at least a second class or equivalent, preferably higher) from a university or recognized equivalent. Candidates are expected to have basic science training (demonstrable in the transcripts) in the following fields: (1) mathematics and/or statistics, (2) agronomy and/or biology and/or environmental sciences and (3) social sciences and/or rural development. Candidates who cannot present a combined training of these fields will be evaluated on their aptitude, based on experience and knowledge of these fields, as demonstrated by CV or other evidence.

2. Sufficient language knowledge proven by language certificates. The applicant must be proficient in the language of the course or training programme, i.e. English. Command of the English language is a very important criterion for admission. With the exception of those who have a diploma (Secondary Education, Academic Bachelor Degree, Master Degree) issued by an institution officially recognized by the Flemish Government, applicants must be able to prove their proficiency in English. See the language section on the left.

Applicants generally have a Bachelor’s degree or a recognized equivalent academic degree of minimum 3 years study in bioscience engineering or agricultural sciences (preferably agricultural economics), in combination with knowledge in environmental sciences, economics, sociology and rural development studies.

Admission decisions are based on a combination of factors, including academic degrees and records, the statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, test scores, language skills and relevant work experience, if any. We also consider the appropriateness of your goals to the IMRD programme. In addition, consideration may be given to how your background and life experience would contribute significantly to an educationally beneficial mix of students.

Selection Criteria:

There are some restrictions and conditions for the composition of the group of top applicants that IMRD can short-list to EACEA. These conditions and restrictions change each year. The IMRD consortium shall always – without prejudice to the respect of high academic standards – respect the following basic criteria from EACEA in order to ensure a geographical balance when selecting third-country students:

• no more than 25% of the selected third-country students should come from the same country.

• no more than 10% of the selected third-country students should come from the same institution.

Application instructions:

The application for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship does not need to be done separately. When you apply in the first application round (generally between September and December of the year preceding the start of the academic year), you can indicate that you also apply for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship.

For Academic Year 2011-2013, the deadline of applications is 31 December 2010.

It is important to read the how-to apply page and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Contact information:

To contact the program’s European partner institutes, click here.
For a description on how to reach the program secretariat, click here.

Website:

Official Scholarship Website: http://www.imrd.ugent.be/index.asp?p=86&a=86

Program and Scholarships FAQs: http://www.imrd.ugent.be/index.asp?p=194&a=194

Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program offers scholarship in different categories also. Specific information for each category can be accessed from below.

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships for Developing Countries
 
Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in Agricultural Development and NRM
 
Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
 
Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in International Master in Rural Development
 
Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management
 
Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis
 
Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in International Humanitarian Action

If you are interested to submit a scholarship offered by Erasmus MundusProgram in to this list please refer to Student Network Contact Page, also make sure to chek our list for European Union Scholarships for Master and Ph.D and visit our Student Network Home Page for daily scholarship offers