EMJM PHID is a two-year, 120 ECTS joint master degree in public health in disaster situations, sponsored by the European Union. It is coordinated by the Department of Medicine of the Universidad de Oviedo in Spain, with Global Disaster Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Department of Primary Care and Population Health at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus.
The class moves country by semester. Semester one in Oviedo covers the core elements of disasters, semester two at Karolinska covers the public health response and internships, semester three in Nicosia covers epidemiology and research in disasters, and semester four is the master’s thesis at a partner or associated institution the student chooses.
Teaching is in English and the programme takes graduates of health, management and administration, law, and social or technical sciences. The stated aims run from the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction through decision-making across risk reduction, response and recovery, to designing and evaluating research on the health effects of disasters. The consortium also works with associated universities and institutions around the world, which is where many thesis placements sit.
Benefits & funding
- Erasmus Mundus scholarship of €1,400 per month for the whole programme, to a maximum of 24 months; the number of scholarships is set yearly.
- Scholarship holders must stay enrolled full time and cannot hold other EU funding at the same time.
- A student who studies in their own country must complete at least two other physical mobility periods of 30 ECTS each, one of them in a Member State, to keep the full allowance.
- 25 full fee waivers in total across the programme’s four intakes, covering tuition, full insurance and the other mandatory costs of taking part.
- Course insurance covers every Erasmus Mundus student at no further cost.
- Self-funded route for European students: €2,250 per semester, €9,000 for the full programme.
- Self-funded route for third-country students: €4,500 per semester, €18,000 for the full programme; half is paid at enrolment and half before 31 December.
- Each partner university runs a student support office for housing, enrolment, registration, tuition and social fees, and visa questions.
Eligibility
- Candidates from any country are welcome to apply.
- An undergraduate or Bachelor’s degree from an institution recognised in the country where it operates, with at least three years of university study and at least 180 ECTS or the equivalent.
- Degrees in health, management and administration, law, or social or technical sciences are considered.
- English at C1 on the CEFR: IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and at least 6.0 in every other element; TOEFL iBT 79 with at least 20 in writing; or paper-based TOEFL 550.
- Native speakers from the UK, Ireland, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada are exempt where their schooling was in English; a degree taught in English needs a certificate to count.
- An applicant with more than one nationality must decide at application stage which single nationality they apply under.
- That choice sets the track: Programme Country covers nationals of the EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Turkey and, on the programme’s own list, the UK, and anyone who has lived or carried out their main activity in those countries for more than 12 months over the past five years. Everyone else, Switzerland and the Western Balkans included, is a Partner Country candidate.
- The file needs a passport copy, certified diploma and transcripts, the average mark recalculated on a 0–100 scale, course syllabuses, language certificates, a CV, a certificate of residence, a motivation letter of at most 250 words, and at least two reference letters, signed and stamped, preferably one academic and one from an employer.
- Every application document must be in English.
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Application process
- 1Application procedure information is published from 1 October each year.
- 2Submit the online application with scanned supporting documents by 31 December; no originals are sent at this stage.
- 3The consortium pre-screens each file for formal completeness and basic eligibility.
- 4Complete files are scored on academic track record (30%) and professional and research experience (30%).
- 5Only the best-ranked candidates are called to a personal interview in English, by videoconference, scored 0 to 10 and worth 40%.
- 6The Academic Committee ranks and selects; the European Commission approves the scholarship awards.
- 7Applicants are notified by email between 15 and 31 March, with information on how to appeal.
- 8Admitted candidates confirm the scholarship by 20 June, post certified hard copies stamped before the registration deadline, and self-paying students pay the first tuition instalment; enrolment closes 31 July.
Program timeline
application procedure information published
1 October
application deadline
31 December
selection and personal interviews
January–February
candidates notified by email
15–31 March
enrolment opens
1 June
deadline to confirm acceptance of the scholarship
20 June
enrolment documentation due
30 June
reserve list confirmation and documentation
1–15 July
enrolment closes
31 July
September
semester one starts in Oviedo; thesis defences follow in July two years later