Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Public Health in Disasters

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Public Health in Disasters ( EMJMDPHIDis organized by a consortium of three European universities (Universidad de Oviedo, Karolinska Institutet and University of Nicosia) with the collaboration of other associated centres and institutions outside the European Union.

Objectives

The aim of the master programme is to, through knowledge, experience and research build capacities that will reduce disaster risks and contribute to better and more targeted public health based relief following disasters. The Master has the following four objectives:

  1. To increase the knowledge and understanding of the disaster phenomenon, its different contextual aspects, impacts and public health consequences.
  2. To increase the knowledge and understanding of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) and to increase skills and abilities for implementing the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Strategy.
  3. To ensure skills and abilities to analyse potential effects of disasters and of the strategies and methods to deliver public health response to avert these effects.
  4. To ensure skills and ability to design, implement and evaluate research on disasters.
Learning outcomes

The objectives of the EMJMDPHID have been designed to achieve general and specific learning outcomes. General learning outcomes are listed below. Specific learning outcomes for each EMJMDPHID module are shown in the section on academic structure.

The EMJMDPHID generic learning outcomes of EMJMDPHID encompass a series of capacities that will allow the student to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the role of Public Health in disaster situations, including both a broad command of the field and a deeper knowledge of specific areas, together with insight into current research and development work and to demonstrate deeper methodological knowledge related to their chosen study track:

  • Capacity to integrate knowledge and to analyse, evaluate and manage the different public health aspects of disaster events at a local and global levels, even when limited information is available.
  • Capacity to describe, analyse and evaluate the environmental, social, cultural, economic, legal and organisational aspects influencing vulnerabilities and capacities to face disasters.
  • Capacity to work theoretically and practically in the processes of disaster management (disaster risk reduction, response, and recovery) and relate their interconnections, particularly in the field of the Public Health aspects of the disasters.
  • Capacity to manage the Public Health aspects of the disasters.
  • Capacity to obtain, analyse, and communicate information on risks, relief needs and lessons learned from earlier disasters in order to formulate strategies for mitigation in future scenarios with the ability to clearly present and discuss their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments behind them.
  • Capacity to design and perform research on the different aspects of the emergencies and disaster events while demonstrating insight into the potential and limitations of science, its role in society and people’s responsibility for how it is used.
  • Capacity to analyse and evaluate research work on the field of emergencies and disaster while demonstrating insight into the potential and limitations of science, its role in society and people’s responsibility for how it is used.
Admission process and criteria

The EMJMDPHID shall make available a maximum of 20 places for highly qualified students and candidates from any country are welcome to apply to it. EMJMDPHID consortium has adopted a single admission procedure, which is administered and managed online.

Selected applicants (proposed for a scholarship, put on the reserve list, or enrolled on a self paying basis) data may be used for the purposes of evaluating the Erasmus Mundus Programme and will be made available to the Agency, the EM National Structures, the EU Delegations and the Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association, acting as stakeholders of the programme.

Student admission criteria

To be eligible for the EMJMDPHID master programme the applicant must be holder of a recognized primary degree in areas related to Health, Management and Administration or Social Sciences (a minimum of three years’ study at a university and of a minimum of 180 ECTS, or equivalent according to the regulations in the country of origin and to the European regulations).

The applicant academic record will preferably include studies in the following topics:

  • Basic concepts in public health and epidemiological methods
  • Introduction and basic principles in health sociology, psychology or economics
  • Law and bioethics
  • Special topics in public health and population sciences
  • General approaches in public health, health promotion and health systems
  • Principles of statistics
  • General and financial management
  • Environmental health

English Proficiency

Applicants must have a good command in English. Applicants must prove a C1 English level (IELTS (minimum score of 6.0 with at least 5.0 point in each section); TOEFL (paper based) at least 575 points with 4.0 in the writing section; TOEFL (IBT) 79 points with at least 17 points in every section). 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, to be assessed by Academic Committee.

Application procedures

Candidates must fill in the online application that can be accessed at the web-site and upload all supporting documents in digital form, including the relevant certificates and transcripts of previous studies. No original official documents need to be sent at application. Upon admission to the programme, pre-selected candidates must send in certified hard copies of the supporting documents by recommended mail stamped before the registration deadline. Only complete applications will be assessed. Incomplete applications may be rejected without further notification. A complete application consists of:

  • Personal information about the applicant – family name, name, date of birth, place of birth, nationality (2), address, sex, recent identity photo;
  • Passport copy, as proof of nationality
  • Diploma and transcripts (diploma supplement or list of the subjects taken during the study and correspondent marks) of their previous studies fulfilling the EMJMDPHID admission criteria. The diploma and transcripts must be original, certified documents, scanned and attached to the online application form. Applicants must provide a calculation of the average mark of the university degree that may grant them access to the Master course. Marks must be translated to a 0 to 100 scale using the adequate proportionality.
  • Syllabus or description of the courses taken in the fields of Health, Logistics, Sociology related to the programme.
  • English language certificate to prove proficiency as stated in the EMJMDPHID admission criteria, as stated in section 7.1
  • Other language certificates in foreign languages
  • Motivation letter – this letter should present the applicant’s motivation to enrol the Master course, preferred study track and mobility, the competencies and skills he / she would like to achieve, future perspectives and aspirations after the Master course, etc.
  • CV with information about relevant experience and professional training. The list of past work placements should be well documented. The CV must specify the position held, main responsibilities and how long it lasted. Documentation of relevant courses, workshops, seminars etc can also be included.
  • Letter of reference – minimum 2 letters, preferably one letter from an academic viewpoint and one from an employer. Reference letters must be written in English and must be signed / stamped.
  • Certificate of residence. The place of residence should be verified on the basis of the provision of:
    • A residence certificate issued in accordance with the candidate’s municipality normal registration rules;
    • A certificate from the candidate’s place of work, study or training issued by the employer or institution in question.

All application documents should be submitted in English. Applicants must provide official translation of any document in other language. Otherwise documents will not be taken into consideration.

It is the full responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary documentation. The applications will be exclusively assessed on the information provided by the applicants in the on-line form which are clearly supported by the supporting documentation. In case of any difference between claimed and documented merits, only the documented merits will be taken into consideration.

Application and Registration Deadlines

The deadline for submitting the application to the EMJMDPHID will be the 31st december each year.

Indicative application and admission calendar.

Application procedure information 1st October
Application submission deadline 31st December
Selection process January – February
Informal notification to candidates on selection process results 15-31 March (aprox)
Official decision on Masters’ accepted students Mid-End May (aprox)
Start of enrolment 1st June (aprox)
Deadline for confirmation on scholarship acceptance 20th June (aprox)
Deadline for completing enrolment documentation* 30th June (aprox)
Confirmation of acceptance deadline for students from the reserved list 1st July
Deadline for completing enrolment documentation for students from the reserve list* 15th July (aprox)
End of enrolment 31st July

* Send the application original documents by post, including the bank receipt of the payment of the first tranche of the tuition fees for students that are not holders of Erasmus Mundus scholarship.

NOTE: Admission process will start the previous year to the commencement of studies. Selection process and Decision will be done the same year of the commencement of studies.

Erasmus Mundus Scholarship

The EMJMDPHID will propose best ranked students to be awarded with individual Erasmus Mundus scholarships according to the student selection criteria approved by the EACEA and the Erasmus Mundus programme guidelines. The number of scholarships will be defined on a yearly basis.

The concession of the scholarship will be subjected to the following limitations:

  • Exclusively full-time enrolment.
  • Not being awarded with other EU grants for the same joint course over the length of the course concerned.
  • No more than three of the students with the same nationality.

Two categories are established:  Partner Country students and Programme Country students

Partner Country students

Students whose nationality is one of the Erasmus+ Partner Countries and who are not residents nor have carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in a Programme Country are considered as Partner Country students; The five-year reference period for this 12-month rule is calculated backwards as from the submission deadline (defined by the consortia) of applying for an EMJMD student scholarship.

Programme Country students

Students whose nationality is one of the Erasmus+ Programme Countries count as Programme Country students.

Please note that, as Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway entered the Erasmus+ Programme as “Programme Counries”, scholarship applicants who are nationals of these countries should be considered as Programme Country students.

Contribution to travel and installation costs

  • € 1,000 per year per scholarship holder resident of a Programme Country for travel costs.
  • € 2,000 per year for travel costs + € 1,000  for installation costs for scholarship holder resident of a Partner Country whose location is situated at less than 4.000 km from the EMJMD coordinating HEI.
  • € 3,000 per year for travel costs + € 1,000  for installation costs for scholarship holder resident of a Partner Country whose location is situated at 4.000 km or more from the EMJMD coordinating HEI.

A contribution to installation costs is offered only to students residents of a Partner Country (1000 € for the entire course). It is an incentive to help covering the additional costs related to the issuing of visas, residence permits, etc. as well as temporary accommodation needs upon arrival in the first Programme hosting HEI. It is the responsibility of the consortium to verify the place of residence of the student candidate. The place of residence should be verifies on the basis of the provision of:

  • A residence certificate issued in accordance with the candidate’s municipality normal registration rules;
  • A certificate from the candidate’s place of work, study or training issued by the employer or institution in question.

Contribution to subsistence costs (for both programme and partner country scholarship holders)

 € 1,000 per month for the entire duration of the EMJMD study programme (24 months maximum). Contribution to subsistence costs must not be given to:

  • Scholarship holders for the EMJMD periods (study/research/placement/thesis preparation) spent in their country of residence
  • Partner Country Scholarship holders for the EMJMD periods exceeding three months (indicatively the equivalent of 15 ECTS credits) spent in any Partner Country.
Scholarship Application

Applicants to the EMJMDPHID Master Programme may also apply for an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship. Students must indicate in the on-line application form if they would like to be considered for an Erasmus Mundus Category A or a Category B scholarship, and they should also indicate their eligibility for these scholarships. According to the European Commission’s rules, candidates are not allowed to apply to more than three (3) Erasmus Mundus Programmes during one admissions cycle.

EMJMDPHID also accepts students on a self-financing basis who pay their tuition fees and cover living costs from private sources or other scholarships. The academic conditions for admissions are the same for all students regardless of sources of funding; therefore the general conditions of eligibility apply to self-financing students as well.

Please note that EMJMDPHID is very competitive: only the highest ranked of the selected applicants will be offered an Erasmus Mundus scholarship. Other accepted applicants will be placed on the reserve list for Erasmus Mundus scholarships. Candidates are strongly encouraged to seek other sources of funding.

Applications will be considered solely on the basis of their academic merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation or any other irrelevant distinction. However, when the basic considerations are equal, the consortium will orient the recruitment towards diversity in geographical cover and balance in gender representation. Moreover, selection rules will be subject to Erasmus Mundus requirements; therefore, a maximum of two candidates from the same country may be proposed to an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship.