European Master in Animal Biodiversity and Genomics (EMABG)

Benefits & funding

• EMJM scholarship: €1,400 per month for 24 months, meant to cover food, accommodation, travel and visa costs.
• Around 15 EMJM scholarships are available per intake.
• A scholarship also covers the EMABG participation costs and student health and liability insurance for both years.
• Without a scholarship, participation costs are €4,500 per year for students from Programme Countries.
• Students from third countries not associated to the Programme pay €10,000 per year on the NMBU-BOKU, NMBU-UGOE and NMBU-APT tracks, and €19,000 per year on the NMBU-SLU and NMBU-WUR tracks.
• Participation costs cover tuition at both host universities, the introduction and summer courses, and the graduation event, but never accommodation.
• Scholarship money is paid after arrival into a European bank account, so the first trip to Norway has to be self-financed.
• The consortium budgets roughly €1,400 per month in living costs over the 24 months.

Eligibility

• Open to applicants of any nationality, economic or social background who meet the admission requirements.
• A BSc of at least 180 ECTS in animal science or an equivalent background covering agricultural sciences, animal production, mathematics or biostatistics, zoology and genetics or genomics.
• Final-year students may apply: graduation by 15 March for non-EU applicants and by 1 July for EU applicants, confirmed in a letter written, signed and stamped by the university.
• Holders of a master’s degree may apply, but the University of Göttingen does not admit a student who already holds a similar master’s, which closes the NMBU-UGOE track for them.
• English, taken within two years of applying: TOEFL iBT 92 with speaking 23, IELTS Academic 7.0 with speaking 6.5, Cambridge CAE 180-210 grade C, or Cambridge CPE 180-230 grade C.
• The test is waived for a bachelor’s or master’s degree taught in English in Australia, Ireland, Canada except Quebec, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States, shown with a passport.
• A previous EMJM scholarship rules out a second one, and a scholarship holder cannot draw the subsistence part in their own country of residence.
• No age limit and no work-experience requirement. Students with disabilities can request exam adjustments and support funding with professional verification.

Application process

1. 1
   Apply through the official EMABG application database run by the central office at BOKU; only complete applications in the required formats are considered.
2. 2
   Upload PDFs: BSc diploma, full transcript with the grading scale, passport page, residence certificate issued within the last 12 months, Europass CV, a clear facial photo, and the English certificate.
3. 3
   Add a letter naming your three preferred study tracks with brief reasoning, and two recommendation letters from professors or employers.
4. 4
   Applicants from China, Mongolia and Vietnam also submit an APS certificate.
5. 5
   Record a 1-2 minute MP4 video of at most 50MB, titled with your application number, explaining why you want to join the programme.
6. 6
   Submit by the deadline for your route: 15 January for EMJM scholarship applicants, 15 February for self-paying applicants from outside the EU, 15 April for EU self-paying applicants.
7. 7
   The selection committee meets in February and results follow in early March; acceptance letters come in April after EACEA verification. A rejected candidate can appeal within 10 days by email to the consortium, which replies within 14 days.

Program timeline

1. Applications open for the third intake

   Sep 15, 2026

2. Deadline for EMJM scholarship applicants

   Jan 15, 2027

3. Selection committee meets

   2027-02

4. Deadline for self-paying applicants from outside the EU

   Feb 15, 2027

5. Results announced

   2027-03

6. Acceptance letters issued after EACEA verification, visa preparation

   2027-04

7. Deadline for EU self-paying applicants

   Apr 15, 2027

8. Programme starts at NMBU in Ås

   2027-08