Erasmus Mundus (AFEPA) Scholarships for International Students

Overview

The European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis aims at providing a high quality education in designing and assessing public policies targeted to the agricultural and food sector as well as the rural environment. This European Master responds to the increasing need to better understand and anticipate the various and often complex socio-economic and environmental effects of these policies either in a functioning market economy as in the European Union or in economies in a development or transition phase. The European Master offers a two-year academic curriculum with integrated and advanced theoretical, methodological and empirical courses in economics and quantitative methods as well as in agricultural, food and environmental sciences, agricultural and trade policy, environmental and natural resource policy, rural development policy and agribusiness management and market analysis. To connect theory and methodology to practice, a problem solving project is developed and presented as a master thesis at the end of the two-year curriculum.

The European Master is jointly organised by five leading European educational and research institutions: the Corvinius University of Budapest (CUB) in Hungary, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Sweden, the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn (UBonn) in Germany, the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Belgium and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Spain. These five partner universities are recognised worldwide for the quality of their educational programme and scientific achievements in agricultural, environmental and economic sciences. The required 120 ECTS credit points are structured into three blocks: a minimum of two semesters of studies (55 ECTS) at a first partner university, as well as two semesters of studies (60 ECTS) at a second partner university, and two joint summer schools (5 ECTS) at partner universities. The language of instruction and examination is English for most of the courses in three partner universities while it is either French at UCL or Spanish at UPC for most of the courses. The Master degree is awarded as a double degree from the two home and host universities.


This European Master is accessible to candidates holding a bachelor degree or a recognized equivalent academic degree with a minimum of 180 ECTS or 3 years university study from an accredited institution, with sufficient undergraduate training in economics and agricultural or environmental sciences, with an excellent scholastic average, and with fluency in English but also French or Spanish if attending either UCL or UPC respectively.

Recipients of this European Master are qualified to understand the fundamentals of public policies oriented to the agricultural and food sector, rural areas and natural resources, develop and use quantitative methods to perform rigorous socio-economic and environmental assessment of these public policies, and provide sound and relevant policy recommendations for a more sustainable development of this sector and rural areas. They are qualified to take responsibilities in international, national and regional agencies, non-governmental organisations, consultancy firms, professional organisations and private companies.

Main area: Social sciences (including economics), cultural sciences
Second area: Agricultural and forestry sciences
Third area: Geography, earth and environmental studies

At the end of the course, graduated students will be awarded a double degree.

Admission criteria

To be admitted to the European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis candidates need to have a Bachelor degree or an equivalent academic degree of minimum three years of undergraduate study corresponding to 180 ECTS. Students in their final year of their Bachelor degree may be admitted in the Master programme on the condition that their Bachelor degree is awarded before they enrol the programme. All candidates also need to have followed courses in mathematics, statistics and economics as well as agricultural, food and environmental sciences at least at an introductory level. This implies that applications from candidates that have not followed courses of both economics and natural sciences at the introductory level will not considered for admission. Candidates must agree to complete the academic curriculum in two consecutive academic years and to the terms in the study contract as specified by the AFEPA consortium.

Candidates from English speaking countries must provide an official letter from their university from which they graduated attesting that English is the media of instruction. All other candidates will have to provide evidence that they master English at a level corresponding to the minimum scores on one of the following tests. Please not that we have to receive an applicant's language certificate directly from the testing institutions. We do not accept copies of originals. So applicants should contact the respective test center again and have them send a copy to the AFEPA coordinating institution, the Catholic University of Louvain. (Applicants have to mention to the testing institution the specific code for the Catholic University of Louvain, which are (to be added soon) for TOEFL and (to be added soon) for IELTS):

- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): at least 575 on the Paper-based Test (PBT) or 90 on the Internet-based Test (IBT).
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS): an overall band IELTS score of at least 6.5, and no section below 5.5.
- A test deemed equivalent by the AFEPA Management Board (if you want to submit test results oither than from the TOEFL or IELTS tests please obtain our confirmation of that particular test prior to sending your application package).

Candidates who choose to study at UCL and UPC also need to prove that their command of French and Spanish, respectively, is sufficient for them to participate in courses at these two institutions. If French and Spanish are neither their mother tongue nor the language of their past study, it is advised that these candidates obtain the B1 threshold level of the Common European Framework of Reference, i.e., they can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. For French, it corresponds to the DELF B1 level and for Spanish to the DELE “inicial” level (B1).

Candidates can apply for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship except those who have already benfited from an Erasmus Mundus Master Course scholarship or are benefiting from another European Community grant while pursuing their Erasmus Mundus master studies.

Student scholarships

• Erasmus Mundus scholarships for non-European students (Category A)

The Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union awards a limited number of individual scholarships to non-European applicants to the European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis. When non-European candidates apply for admission to the AFEPA European Master, they can also apply for this scholarship programme using the same application form. If non-European candidates applying for this scholarship programme are admitted to the AFEPA European Master but are not offered an Erasmus Mundus scholarship, then admitted candidates cover the tuition fees and all other expenses with funding from an alternative scholarship programme or private sources.

For a non-European applicant, the scholarship amounts to:

a total contribution to travel, installation and any other type of costs	€ 8,000
a contribution to cover the tuiton fees of the European Master	€ 3,000 per semester
a monthly allowance	€ 1,000 per month

Following the 2009-13 Erasmus Mundus programme guide, without prejudice to high academic standards, no more than two of the applicants selected for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship should have the same nationality to ensure geographical diversity scholarship holders.

• Erasmus Mundus scholarships for European students (Category B)

The Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Union awards a limited number of individual sholarships to European applicants to the European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis. When European candidates apply for admission to the AFEPA European Master, they can also apply for this scholarship programme using the same application form. If European candidates applying for this scholarship programme are admitted to the AFEPA European Master but are not offered an Erasmus Mundus scholarship, then admitted candidates cover the tuition fees and all other expenses with funding from an alternative scholarship programme or private sources.

For a European applicant, the scholarship amounts to:

a contribution to the tuiton fees of the European Master	€ 1,500 per semester
a monthly allowance	€ 500 per month

There is no contribution to travel, installation and any other type of costs.

Following the 2009-13 Erasmus Mundus programme guide, without prejudice to high academic standards, no more than two of the applicants selected for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship should have the same nationality to ensure geographical diversity scholarship holders.

Note that Erasmus Mundus considers as European students:

• • students who are nationals from the 27 EU Member States (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, UK, Sweden, Bulgaria, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania);
  • students who are nationals from one of the EEA-EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway);
  • students who have resided or carried out their main activities (studies, work, etc.) for more than 12 months over the past five years (preceding the start of the academic year) in any of the above countries

Erasmus Mundus considers all other students as non-European students.

Admission procedure

The application for programme admission and Erasmus Mundus scholarships for the 2012/13 academic year
is open from September 15th, 2011 until January 10th, 2012. Applicants should keep in mind the closing date,
because it is also the deadline by which the applications has to be sent (post-marked) to the main AFEPA office (address below).

Non-EU and EU Students that want to apply for admission into the AFEPA programme but not for Erasmus Mundus scholarships have until March 31, 2012 and May 31, respectively.

Application and downloadable forms

Below you find two forms that you need in order to apply for the AFEPA programme.

1. The application form: Please fill out the online Application form completely after creating your registering. For registration, click on the "sign up" link and follow the instructions. Once you are sure that you do not want to edit anymore your application form, lock the form using the appropriate function and print it out as a pdf file.
An example of the application form can be found here so that you can anticipate what personal data and texts you are required to fill in.

2. The reference form: Two academic referees of your choice have to fill out a reference form in English, sign it, and save it under the file name ‘RF_CandidateLastName_RefereeLastName.doc’ or ‘RF_CandidateLastName_RefereeLastName.pdf’. They then have to send it as a scanned version to master-afepa@uclouvain.be, send it by regular mail to the address provided below, or hand it back to you in a sealed envelope for inclusion in your application package. The AFEPA-preformatted version of the form is located under the following link: Reference form

3. Sign the application form (filled out and printed under point 1) and post it together with the following necessary documents:

• a certified copy of your passport or identification card
• the officially certified copies of the following academic certificates received by you:
  • school-leaving certificate giving the right of entry to higher education in the candidate’s home country (with individual grades)
  • all university end-of-year exam certificates with individual grades
  • University diploma or degree certificate indicating the final grade(s) and ranking if available
    NB: All certificates must be accompanied by an explanation of the grading system in English. Copies of certificates must be officially certified and submitted preferably on DIN A4 or A5 paper. Copies of documents may be certified as true copies of the originals with a stamp and signature by the university which conferred the degree. Original certificates will not be needed until registration with the AFEPA partner universities. At that time partner universities have to receive original diplomas or degree certificate and original academic transcripts that are being sent directly from the university, from which an applicant graduated.
• language certificates as evidence of English proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, First certificate of English or equivalent, or letter from the university stating that the language of instruction is English). These certificates must be sent directly from the testing institution (see section on language requirements)
• language certificates as evidence of French (e.g., DELF) and Spanish (e.g., DELE) knowledge if you plan to study at UCL and UPC, respectively, and if French and Spanish are neither your mother tongue nor the language of your past study
• a recent photo attached to the paper version of your application form (if you have an electronic version of a photo you can also attach it to the application form on the website before printing)
• proofs of work, training or research experience, if related to the AFEPA domain.
• the two reference forms in the AFEPA preformatted version (see point 2)

To be accepted, the application form and the reference forms have to be written in English in the AFEPA preformatted version. Any incomplete application file will be rejected. Any official document in language different from English, French or Spanish has to be accompanied by a translated version in one of these three languages certified by an official authority.

The address of the central AFEPA coordination office is the following. Please send your complete application package before the applicable deadline.

AFEPA European Master Programme
Economie rurale
Faculté d'ingénierie biologiqu, agronomique et environnementale
Place de la Croix du Sud, 2 bte L7.05.15
Université catholique de Louvain
B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium

Selection process

The selection for admission to the European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis and for scholarships of the Erasmus Mundus Programme is based on academic merit, language skills, professional and volunteer experience, expression of motivation, recommendations, and other credentials (reputation of the school of origin, the referees, etc.) to guarantee the selection of high-quality students. Country of origin and gender are additional criteria that could be used to orient the recruitment towards diversity in geographical cover and balance in gender representation.

It is expected that the successful candidates have succeeded their Bachelor degree with an average equivalence of a A score in the ECTS grading scale and be ranked within the ten top percent of their class. Successful candidates also have to have demonstrated a strong interest in agricultural, environmental and economic sciences. Their letter of motivation, the letters of their referees and their extra-curriculum activities will be thoroughly examined for that purpose.

Contact:

Bruno HENRY DE FRAHAN
Place de la Croix du Sud 2/15
1348 LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE - Belgium
bruno.henrydefrahan@uclouvain.be
http://www.uclouvain.be/afepa.html


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