Erasmus Mundus (Geospatial Technologies) Scholarships

Overview

Geographic Information is a rapidly growing economical sector: it is suggested, that 80 % of all decisions in Economy and Politics have a spatial relation. The goal of the Masters program in Geospatial Technologies is to form specialists able to carry out a wide variety of geospatial projects in industry and academics.

The Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies qualifies for a professional career in the following domains:

Private sector: GI applications and consulting in the domains of regional planning, landscape planning, financial services industry, energy providing industry, transportation, agriculture and forestry, and retailing/marketing;
Research: Applied sciences at universities and other research institutions;
Public sector: GI applications and consulting in local and regional administrations, especially in cadastre and different types of planning (e.g., regional, traffic, ecology).

The Master's program targets holders of a Bachelor's degree with a qualification in application areas of Geographic Information (GI), e.g., environmental planning, regional planning, geography, logistics, transportation, marketing, energy provision, computer science.

The international Masters program (Master of Science, M.Sc.) in Geospatial Technologies is a cooperation of:

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU), Institute for Geoinformatics (ifgi), Münster, Germany.
Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Castellón, Dept. Lenguajes y Sistemas Informaticos (LSI), Castellón, Spain.
Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação (ISEGI), Lisboa, Portugal,

Eligibility Requirements

Students
All applicants applying as a student for the Master's Program in Geospatial Technologies will be assessed against the following formal admission criteria:

In an evaluation procedure, up to 32 students will be admitted each year (fall/winter semester), half of them starting at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and half at the Universitat Jaume I, Castellón. The overall entry requirements are defined by the respective national laws for Higher Education in Spain and Portugal.
A requirement for admission is an adequate Bachelor degree of six semesters full time (= 180 ECTS credit points) or more, as recognized by the partner universities in Germany, Portugal, or Spain, for admission to graduate studies. The Master's Program in Geospatial Technologies is recommended to students with relevant degrees in application areas of geographic information. In case of uncertainty, the Examination board or Masters Program coordinator decides about relevance.
Fulfilling 150 ECTS credit points in an ongoing Bachelor program is NOT sufficient to apply for an Erasmus Mundus grant as third-country or Window student. For EU students applying for a scholarship, 150 credits can be accepted for a preliminary approval, if the Bachelor diploma is provided until July 15 of the respective year. For other students – not applying for a scholarship – on the basis of an individual evalution 150 credits can be accepted for a preliminary approval, if the Bachelor diploma is provided at the time of enrolment.
The study program is in English language. Therefore, a TOEFL certificate (minimum 500 points, paper-based), or equivalent, is required. Equivalent can be a certificate from other institutions such as IELTS (academics), a previous Bachelor's or Master's program entirely taught in English (to be documented), or English as mother tongue.
Students will have to apply in fully compliance to the admission procedure published at http://www.mastergeotech.info
- Submission within deadlines
- Parallel application: online via application system, and sending original documents by mail (post-stamped within deadline and to be received one week later at latest)
- Completeness of personal information
- Completeness and correctness of supporting documents:
  - Online application form - to be printed and signed for the paper version to be sent by mail
  - Bachelor diploma including a grade transcript of records, certified (translated to English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French) copy (additonally Masters or other diplomas, if applicable)
  - if English is not the mother tongue: English language proof – (TOEFL, score > 500, paper-based (or equivalent, see above), certified (translated to English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French) copy
  - Motivation letter
  - European format CV (see template)
  - Recommentation letters (minimum of 2)
  - Proof of nationality (certified copy of passport)
  - Passport photo
  - List with reference names
  - Other

Scholars
All applicants applying as a scholar will be assessed against the following formal admission criteria:

The master program is in English language. Therefore, a TOEFL certificate (minimum 500 points, paper-based), or equivalent, is required.
Scholars will have to apply in fully compliance to the admission procedure published at http://www.mastergeotech.info
- Submission within deadlines (telephone interviews via Skype for pre-selected candidates in January/February)
- Parallel application: online via application system, and sending original documents by mail
- Completeness of personal information
- Completeness and correctness of supporting documents:
  - Online application form - to be printed and signed for the paper version to be sent by mail
  - Bachelor, Master, and – if applicable - doctorate diploma including grade transcript of records (translated to English, Spanish, Portuguese,or French) copy
  - 2-page Master/doctorate thesis outline
  - Proof of experiences in teaching, certified (translated to English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French) copy
  - Proof of experiences in research, certified (translated to English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French) copy
  - Motivation letter
  - European format CV (see template)
  - Recommentation letters (minimum of 2)
  - Proof of nationality (certified copy of passport)
  - Passport photo
  - List with reference names
  - Other

Erasmus Mundus Scholarships

In 2012, the following grants are open for application (exact numbers to be confirmed):

~5 financial contributions to EU students (in this context nationals or residents (> 1 year) from EU Member States and EEA-EFTA countries).

~1 full scholarship each to students from the three “Windows” (a. Western Balkans and Turkey, b. Tunesia and Egypt, c. "Eastern Neighbourhood Countries" (i.e. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine).

~7 full scholarships to third country students (other nationals or residents than above).

~2 scholarships for third country scholars (visiting researchers), starting ~ September 1, 2012, either in Lisbon, Portugal, or Castellón, Spain.

Please notice that applicants may not apply to more than three Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses in the same year and may not have received an Erasmus Mundus grant before.

Erasmus Mundus scholarships for third country students and students from the "Windows":

Scholarships for the three-semesters Erasmus Mundus Masters Course are (numbers to be confirmed):

Contribution to travel, installation and all other types of costs, 2 x 4.000 €, 8.000 € in total

Monthly allowances of 1.000 € per month, 18.000 € in total

Coverage of tution fees of 3.500 € per semester, 10.500 € in total

Insurance package, i.e., health insurance.

The scholarship is a full scholarship, meant to cover ALL costs (e.g., tuition fees, travelling, visa costs, accommodation, living expenses, etc.). There will be no further funding.

The study program requires that students provide appropriate laptop computers. Those students granted by the Erasmus Mundus programm who do not possess an appropriate laptop must buy one from the ERASMUS scholarship before starting the study program. If necessary, UJI and ISEGI can facilitate the procurement.

Erasmus Mundus financial contributions for EU students: Financial contributions for the three-semesters Erasmus Mundus Masters Course are

Monthly allowances of 500 € per month, 9.000 € in total

Coverage of tution fees of 1.500 € per semester, 4.500 € in total

Insurance package, i.e., health insurance.

The study program requires that students provide appropriate laptop computers. Those students granted by the Erasmus Mundus programm who do not possess an appropriate laptop (>= Pentium 4) must buy one from the ERASMUS scholarship before starting the study program. If necessary, UJI and ISEGI can facilitate the procurement.
Erasmus Mundus scholarships for third country scholars:
Scholarships for visiting scholars (4 months) are 14.400 € in total (numbers to be confirmed), distributed in periodic payments. The scholarship is a lump sum, meant to cover ALL costs (e.g., travelling, visa costs, accommodation, living expenses, health insurance, etc.). Visiting scholars apply for one of the universities with the following requirements and tasks:

Universidade Nova de Lisbon, ISEGI (beginning/mid September - beginning/mid December 2012, exact dates to be confirmed): Requirement: M.Sc. or PhD in Geoinformatics or similar. Tasks: Teaching, assist with the supervision of Masters projects

Universitat Jaume I (beginning/mid September - beginning/mid December 2012, exact dates to be confirmed): Requirement: M.Sc. or PhD in Geoinformatics or similar. Tasks: Teaching, assist with the supervision of Masters projects.

Application Submissions

Please send your application to that university where you are intending to start the Master's program or your job as a scholar:

Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação
Mrs Olivia Fernandes
Campus de Campolide
1070-312 Lisboa
Portugal

Universitat Jaume I
Department of Computer Languages and Systems (LSI)
Prof. Dr. Joaquín Huerta
Avenida Vicent Sos Baynat s/n
12071 Castellón
Spain

The application requires personal information as well as supporting documents. For a complete list, see the formal requirements and the online application system.

All official documents must be included as certified copies both in English or Spanish or Portuguese or French, AND in the original language.

Certification of copies can be performed by the following institutions and persons in Germany, Portugal, or Spain:

County or City Council;

Police Department;

Court Clerk's Office;

Notary Publics,

Parish Offices and Health Insurance Companies

Other institutions, if they have an official seal with a state or provincial coat of arms.

The following institutions are allowed to certify copies in other countries:

German, or Portuguese, or Spanish Embassies and Consulates

Institutions and persons allowed to certify copies in that particular country.

The copies have been properly certified if the stamp of certification includes an official seal and has been signed by the office-holder or functionary. Loose papers must be certified individually. Attention: Copies of certified copies cannot be accepted!

Please note that we will not be able to send back documents to the applicants after the end of the evaluation procedure!

Only for scholars: The applications of scholars for Erasmus Mundus scholarships will be evaluated and pre-selected by the consortium on the basis of the application form and supporting documents. Scholars have to apply for one of the three locations: Lisbon, Castellón, or Münster. Selected applicants will be invited to a personal interview by telephone.

Applications according to the formal requirements have to be submitted in parallel, online via the application system andpaper-based on the same deadline date.

The deadline time for submitting electronic applications is the 18:00 CET (Central European Time = GMT +1) of the deadline date (see the actual deadlines here).

Paper-versions have to be sent by registered mail, post-stamped until the deadline and to be received within one week after the respective deadline at latest!

An early application is recommended especially for applicants from non-European countries due to visa processes.

For sending TOEFL test results through ETS, please use the following TOEFL code number:

Universitat Jaume I: 2375

Instituto Superior De Estatistica e Gestão de Informação-UNL: 6601

VERY IMPORTANT: Experience shows that many of the online applications are received within the last 36 hours before the deadline time. This leads to an extreme overload of the computer servers and Internet access to them, with the possibility of failures. All applicants are advised to submit their application as soon as possible and to avoid the final hours before the deadline.

We will do our very best to prevent failures of the system but it will not accept any kind of responsibility whatsoever with respect to those that were unable to submit their application before the deadline time.

As for the application, first you will have to register as a

EU student applying for an Erasmus Mundus grant, or

Third country student or student from the Western Balkans, Eastern Neighbourhood and Turkey Window applying for an Erasmus Mundus grant, or

Third country scholar applying for an Erasmus Mundus grant, or

Student NOT applying for an Erasmus Mundus grant.

Please click here to proceed to the application system.

Selection Criteria

The applications will be checked regarding the fulfillment of all formal requirements and furthermore the following criteria:

Students
The students’ application will be evaluated by an equal number of representatives of the three partner universities. Evaluation criteria are:

Bachelor degree (grade)
Bachelor degree (relevance of study program)
English language skills
High-level academic achievements
Expertise in GI application areas
Professional or other experience in application areas that can benefit from GI technologies
Motivation for the study program
Social and multi-cultural competencies
Formal aspects of application

Scholars
The application procedure for scholars is the same as for students, apart from additional telephone interviews via Skype, to be performed by the receiving partner with pre-selected applicants. Selection criteria are:

Bachelor degree (grade)
Master degree/doctorate (grade)
Master degree/doctorate (relevance of topic)
English language skills
High-level academic achievements
Experience in GI research, relevant for the scholar program
Experience in GI teaching, relevant for the scholar program
Motivation for the scholar program
Social and multi-cultural competencies
Formal aspects of application
Skype/telephone interview

Application Deadline

Please note that there are different deadlines for your application:

January 15, 2012:

EU students applying for an Erasmus Mundus grant
Third country students or students from the Western Balkans, Eastern Neighbourhood Countries and Turkey Window
Third country scholars applying for an Erasmus Mundus grant

Contact Details

Germany
Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Münster

Weseler Strasse 253, D-48151 Muenster, Germany
ifgi.uni-muenster.de

Dr. Christoph Brox,
broxc (@) uni-muenster.de

- General information about the Master's program and program coordinator at ifgi -