Description:
The Erasmus Mundus Master Programme in Evolutionary Biology (MEME) is a two-year research oriented master programme for talented and motivated students who are interested in understanding evolution in all its facets. This multidisciplinary programme will address the driving forces of evolution at all levels of organismal organisation (from cells and individuals to populations and ecosystems), and it will allow students to study all kinds of organisms (microorganisms, plants, animals) in a diversity of habitats (marine as well as terrestrial). As an Erasmus Mundus master, MEME is largely funded by the European Union.
Participating Universities
Four European universities (University of Groningen, Netherlands; Uppsala University, Sweden; Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany; University of Montpellier 2, France) have joined forces with Harvard University (USA) as an associated partner. MEME offers students the opportunity to compose an individual study programme in evolutionary biology by combining elements from the complementary programmes that are already established at the participating universities. Students spend at least a semester at several partner universities, and they will be awarded double degrees for this.
Scholarship
The European Commision will grant a number of scholarships to highly qualified students to participate in the MEME programme. The selection procedure for these scholarships will be carried out by the Admission and Examination Committee of the MEME programme. Each year, a maximum of 18 scholarships will be awarded to participating students; for instance in 2011 there were 9 scholarships for category A students and 8 scholarships for category B students. Because of an EU initiative named “Western Balkans and Turkey Window”, it is now possible to award one additional scholarships to students from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia and Turkey. This scholarship was awarded as a category A scholarships.
Scholarships for both categories of students will cover all participation costs for the MEME programme, including tuition fee, insurance, language courses and summer schools. In addition, scholarships include the following:
-Category A scholarships: A monthly allowance of € 1,000 and a yearly contribution to travel and installation costs of € 4,000.
-Category B scholarships: A monthly allowance of € 500 and a yearly contribution to travel and installation costs of € 1,500.
The EU requires that we maintain a geographical balance of admitted students that receive a scholarship: no more than two students from a single country may receive a scholarship for the MEME programme.
Eligibility
The following general selection criteria will be applied to determine eligibility of a candidate for the MEME programme, as well as eligibility for scholarships:
-Candidates must have completed a BSc in biology or equivalent, or convincingly show that they will obtain such a degree before the
MEME programme starts in September 2012
-Candidates must have sufficient background in evolutionary biology or neighboring disciplines (e.g. ecology or systematics)
-Candidates must have belonged to the top students of their cohort during their BSc
-Candidates must have a strong motivation to pursue a scientific career
-Candidates must be sufficiently proficient in English
Deadline: 15 January 2012
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