FAQ

Erasmus Mundus Master´s Degree in Women´s and Gender Studies - GEMMA - is a postgraduate program that consists of two years of study (120 ECTS) at two chosen centres out of the seven prestigious European universities that participate in the Consortium. One will be your Home University, where you start and complete the first year of study, and the second will be your Mobility University, where you complete your compulsory mobility period in the third semester (second year of study). The minimum number of credits to be acquired during the mobility semester is 30 ECTS. You also have the possibility of spending the time devoted to thesis writing (fourth semester) at the Mobility University.

The call for applications for the Erasmus Mundus scholarships for third country /partner country students (17th edition, 2023-2025) is now CLOSED. Results will be announced by email during the month of April.

The second call for applications for self-funded students is now OPEN and it will be available until Friday 14 th of April 2023, 2 pm (Granada local time)

Erasmus Mundus scholarships are offered as part of the worldwide cooperation and mobility programme in the field of higher education Erasmus+, funded and managed by the European Commission. Scholarships offered in GEMMA belong to Action 1 strand of Erasmus+ (Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees - EMJMD), and are destined to cover some of the expenses students incur throughout their study period. Each scholarship is strictly linked to a placement in the programme and can only be offered for the entire duration of GEMMA, which is two years.

Scholarships are assigned by the European Commission to candidates chosen by the GEMMA Selection Committee on the basis of CVs, academic merit, motivation, recommendations, language skills, etc. One person can only get one Erasmus Mundus scholarship in their lifetime. Students who have been scholarship holder of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship, are not eligible to apply for Erasmus Mundus. Those students, who have benefitted from the Erasmus LLP mobility grant before, are still eligible to apply for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship, provided it is not within the same study programme.

The scholarship covers tuition fees (at both universities), health insurance and part of the living expenses during the two years of study in GEMMA (including the preparation and presentation/defense of the final thesis in the last six months). For more information about the expenses covered by the scholarship please see page 96 of the new 2019 Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

PARTNER COUNTRY scholarships can be awarded to students selected by the GEMMA Consortium who come from a partner country (Non EU) other than a Programme country and who are not residents nor have carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) in a Programme country (EU) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years.  You can also find the current definitions of Partner and Programme countries on pages 22-24 of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

Partner country scholarships can be awarded to Partner Country students selected by the GEMMA Consortium who come from a country other than a Programme country and who are not residents nor have carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) in a Programme country for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years. Please see footnote 97 on page 116 of the new Erasmus+ Programme Guide (pdf). You can also find the current definitions of Partner and Programme countries on pages 22-24 of the new Erasmus+ Programme Guide (pdf).

Scholarship candidates must have already obtained a higher education degree and haven't benefitted from an Erasmus Mundus scholarship previously.

If you decide to participate in GEMMA without the Erasmus Mundus scholarship, the tuition fees are currently 2.100 € for European students and 5.500 € for Third Country students, per academic year. Attention: this amount covers administrative fees and participation costs only. The cost of the final diploma and/or transcript of records is not included and it may vary from one university to another depending on the local rules in this regard.

The fees can be paid in two installments, but always before December of each academic year (the exact date depends on the specific administrative calendar at the University of Granada which is the institution in charge of the enrollment and fee payment.

The real participation costs for an academic year amount to 4.500 € for Programme Country students and 9.000 € for Partner Country students. However, the GEMMA Consortium offers a fee waiver to self-financed students of 2.400 € and 3.500 €, respectively. Therefore, the final tuition fees for self-financed students are the result of the difference between the real participation costs and the contribution of the Consortium.

NOTICE: In case you received external funding from non-GEMMA sources (for instance, Spanish Ministry scholarship or any other), you will be compelled to pay the difference between the amount received and the above-mentioned participation costs.

GEMMA is an interdisciplinary programme, and therefore previous education in Women´s and Gender Studies is not a necessary condition for participation.

The Selection Committee is formed by GEMMA representatives from all participating universities, specialists in various fields of study. The Committee evaluates applications from any discipline and the assessment carried out includes different merits, such as academic records, motivation, plan of study, past and future professional career plans, and so on.

This said, however, previous experience in the field of Women´s and Gender Studies will be considered by the Committee to be an additional merit, which increases the final evaluation score of the candidate.

The required languages will vary depending on the mobility route that you wish to complete. In the selection process you are encouraged to indicate your preference for 2 out of 7 GEMMA universities where you want to study: one will be your Home University (where you will spend the 1st year of your study) and the other will be your Mobility University (where you will spend the 2nd year). GEMMA partner universities differ in the language of instruction and that is why you need to take the language criteria into consideration when applying.

The languages of instruction used in the universities that form the GEMMA Consortium are:

• Granada – Spanish in the first year (Home) and English and Spanish in the second year (Mobility) (Spanish is not compulsory during the second year -Mobility- in Granada).
• Oviedo - Spanish in the first year (Home) and English in the second year (Mobility).
• Bologna – Italian and English.
• CEU, York, Utrecht and Lodz - English.

It is mandatory to provide language certificates (or other official documents proving your language ability) for both the Home and the Mobility University language of instruction. If both universities teach in English, only the English certificate (or any official document proving your proficiency in English) is necessary.

Language certificates must be submitted together with all other documents at the time of submitting the application. If you wish to submit certificates with international recognition, such as IELTS, *TOEFL, etc., it is your responsibility to make sure that you can have the results ready before the deadline for applications. The selection Committee has established recommended scores for language certificates: IELTS: 6.5; *TOEFL (Internet Based): 93; Cambridge Certificates: CAE: B grade, CPE: C grade. Applications with lower scores will also be considered, provided that the candidate can demonstrate their mastery of the language in question.

If you do not have any recognized language certificate of the language required, you can provide a transcript of records from a period of study completed in this language, or some other document, as long as it is issued by an academic institution. A certification from your university stating that English is the language of instruction can also be accepted as a valid proof of your English proficiency. For more details, you can check the “admissions” section of each university of the Consortium. In the case that the language required is you mother tongue, you will only need to provide a sworn declaration as proof. 

Applications for participation in the GEMMA programme, in both calls for applications (with scholarships and without scholarships), should be submitted online through the GEMMA website. You will need to submit a single application, which will be managed by the GEMMA Consortium.

Please note that it is not necessary that you request a placement at the universities of your choice separately.

The application form, which will become available when the application period is open, should be filled out and submitted online. All other required documents (originals or official and certified copies) should be scanned and attached to it according to the instructions. The required documents in the indicated order are:

1. Current resume or CV

2. Bachelor´s Degree (Diploma)

3. Official academic records (transcript)

4. Average grade certificate

5. Language certificate for chosen Home University

6. Language certificate for chosen Mobility University

7. Copy of passport

8. Motivation letter

9. Recommendation letters (*An automated email will be sent to the two professionals you indicate as authors of your recommendation letters, with a link enabling them to attach the letters to your application.)

10. Other documents (courses, seminars etc., not compulsory but recommended)

No. Please note that the application will be submitted exclusively online. All required documents (except for recommendation letters), originals or official and certified copies, should be scanned and attached to the online application form, and therefore you need to have your language certificate ready before the deadline.

If the results are not delivered to you by that date, you should attach to your application a pdf printout of your score from the internet database (for example the TOEFL database).

Yes, you may submit your application to GEMMA without the BA diploma, provided that your degree will be issued before the beginning of our academic year. In this case you should attach a declaration of the estimated graduation date, signed by yourself. You must also submit the average grade certificate from your current study programme.

Please note that it is necessary for you to have your BA diploma in order to begin and officially enroll in the GEMMA programme.

The average grade certificate is a document which reflects your average grade throughout the course of your Bachelor studies. This document is necessary for the Selection Committee to be able to compare your records with those of other applicants. Some universities include the grade average on the official transcripts of records. If this is not the case for your transcript, you should request from your university a separate document which specifies the average grade. In exceptional cases, you may calculate it and indicate it in a declaration signed by yourself.

The GEMMA Selection Committee requires you to submit two letters of recommendation from two professionals who have taught you or worked with you. When filling out your application form, you will need to provide us with the contact details of the two authors of your letters. The system will send an automated email to each person, with a link enabling them to attach the letters, signed and stamped, to your application. You will receive email confirmation each time a letter is uploaded to your application.

The letters should indicate the professional or academic relationship between yourself and the author of the letter of recommendation and reflect on the applicant's academic and general suitability to undertake the proposed course of study. The letters of recommendation should specifically include the following information:

How long the author has known the applicant and in what capacity. The nature and class of degree already obtained or expected to be obtained prior to the commencement of the course. How the applicant's achievements compare to those of her/his peers. For applicants who hold professional qualifications or have professional experience, how these qualifications and/or experience contribute to the applicant's eligibility. The applicant's general suitability for graduate study, including any distinct strengths or weaknesses.

Please remember that both letters MUST BE submitted before the established deadline. The system will generate links which will be valid until a specific absolute deadline for uploading the letters.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure that the deadlines are met by both authors, therefore we highly recommend submitting the application sufficiently in advance.

If the supporting (official) documents, certificates or letters have been issued in a language other than one of the Consortium languages (Spanish, English and Italian), you should enclose the corresponding legalized or sworn translation.

The rules for recognition of BA diplomas can vary between the universities that form the GEMMA Consortium, therefore we recommend that you visit the “admissions” sections of the universities that you wish to include in your mobility route. In order to enrol at the University of Granada, for example, students need to provide The Hague Apostille or an official legalization for all diplomas that were issued in countries from outside of the European Higher Education Area. If the diploma was issued in a country belonging to the EHEA, only an official translation will be necessary (unless the diploma was issued in English, French, Portuguese, Italian or Spanish). If you need more information about the validation and/or international recognition of degrees and certificates, please visit the website of the School for Postgraduate Studies of the University of Granada and specifically the section “How to enrol at the University of Granada: Master's Degree”.

It is not necessary to send hard copies of your documents by post – the application should be submitted online exclusively. Only in the case that you are selected for a scholarship, will you be requested to provide hard copies of your documents (originals or certified official copies), which ought to be the same as the ones you uploaded online. Successful candidates will be informed on how to proceed. We recommend that you check out the expiration date of your passport or identity card.

In the selection process you are encouraged to indicate your preference for 2 universities where you want to study: Home University and Mobility University. Students can start at any of the European consortium institutions and all mobility paths are available providing they involve institutions from two different European countries (thus excluding Granada-Oviedo/Oviedo-Granada).

Please note that the Selection Committee will make every effort to respect the candidates´ preferences as much as possible. However, due to the high number of applications to our programme, there exists a possibility that you will be offered a different mobility route than the one you originally requested.

Yes, the motivation letter should contain your answers to the following questions:

1. Please refer to those aspects in your academic and professional background that you consider most relevant.

2. Explain your previous experience (academic, professional, vocational) in women’s and gender issues.

3. Briefly explain why you are interested in being accepted in the GEMMA program.

4. Explain how you consider that your studies in this Master’s program will contribute to your present or future professional career.

It is not compulsory to stick to the template provided in our web; however, we encourage you to cover the aspects that are collected there. Of course, you can cover other aspects you find interesting and important. Regarding the limit of words, there is none, but we suggest writing between a page and one-and-a-half page.

No, if all the information appears in one document, you can attach it only once. 

In this case you should attach a self-declaration in which you provide the different titles of the  courses that you have studied and the grades you got in each of them. You should also provide the mathematical formula used to calculate the average score of your degree, and the information regarding the type of evaluation followed in your institution or university. 

If you haven´t found the answer you are looking for or you still have doubts, please contact us at @email.

We wish you all the best in the selection process.