Timing selection of cohort 2021-2023

Please note that there is no Erasmus Mundus scholarships available under the EPOG2.0 programme. However, enrolled students may apply to Erasmus + scholarships.

Admission requirements

The admission requirements are the following:

• A Bachelor’s or equivalent degree (180 ECTS) in economics for the 2-year programme. Candidates who plan to graduate by July 31 will be provisionally accepted and will be required to provide copies of their degree certificates by August 31. For Non-European applicants, the degree must be obtained and sent before the 15^th of July. Students with academic backgrounds other than economics (political science, law, international relations, business administration) may be considered provided applicants can prove they have validated the equivalent of 24 ECTS in economics and 6 ECTS in statistics/econometrics/mathematics.

• A good level in English, in particular minimum and recent test scores with TOEFL (Computerbased: 237; Paper version: 580; Internet version: 92 or above), IELTS (6.5); Cambridge Proficiency Examination (C), Cambridge Advanced English Test (B), CERF (B2). Knowledge of French, Italian or German is not mandatory, but is taken into account. Those students concerned must provide official proof of their language skills (foreign language diploma or DIALANG European test). If you have a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) with a General Test score of at least 450 for verbal reasoning, 4.1 for analytical writing, and 650 for quantitative reasoning, it can be considered a proof of your proficiency in English.
• A clear motivation to engage with heterodox approaches of economics.
• Same requirements for the 1-year programme but with a Master’s or equivalent 4-year degree (minimum 240 ECTS).

Please consider thoroughly the options to which you apply for since the focus of courses, the degrees they lead to, the host institutions and countries differ according to the option and the major.
Please also note that the Option II is not open to applications for the academic year 2020-2022.

Application procedure:

The Application procedure is based on an online submission of:

• Completed application form (online only)
• Full curriculum vitae (most preferably on Europass format, but not mandatorily);
• Scanned copy of at least one relevant diploma.

The scanned copy of an original diploma, with original and official English translation, shall prove successfull completion of a tertiary degree corresponding to at least 180 ECTS (bachelor/master/PhD).

• Proof of English proficiency (see above) except for students from countries where the Bachelor’s is taught in English or English native speakers. Non mandatory proof of French, Italian or German proficiency;
• Statement of purpose (no more than 500 words highlighting the candidate’s reasons for applying to EPOG, any relevant academic and work experience, and future career plans). The statement will also indicate the option(s) you wish to choose (and order of preference);
• Two official recommendation letters (from faculty member or job supervisors) assessing the student’s ability to conduct the EPOG Master’s Course. The reference letter should include: date of issue, name, institution, position, signature, official stamp (if available) and contact details (phone number and email) of the person/institution recommending the student.
• Scanned copy of the passport. The scanned copy of a (valid) passport is to attest the nationality of the student. Applicants with multiple nationalities must provide the copy of the passport corresponding to the nationality they are applying with. Citizens from the EU (only) can use their ID as proof of nationality.
• Document giving details of other funding (e.g. scholarships, with name of funder or awarding authority, and value of award).

All these documents have to be uploaded in the Attachments section of the application form. Please do not send them by email.

Selection criteria and process

Please note first of all that the selection process will be jointly made with the EPOG+ programme (see section The EPOG Family for more details). On the application platform, you will have the opportunity:

• to indicate whether (or not) you are applying to both programmes,
• to rank your preferences between the programmes and their related Majors and Options.

In order to apply for EPOG2.0, you will be redirected to the joint EPOG+/EPOG2 platform. Under “Campaign”, pick “EPOG+”. You will then be able to choose which EPOG2.0 and/or EPOG+ options you want to apply to.

The selection criteria and process as provided to the faculty members examining the files will be the following:

• the criteria will be educational background (15%) as demonstrated by the curriculum vitae (quality and relevance of academic qualification, knowledge in economics and research/professional experience);

• academic records (35%). Candidates’ academic records should have a minimum Grade Point Average for the Bachelor’s degree of at least 75% of the maximum scale. The exceptional situation of excellent students will be assessed on a case by case basis.
• The motivation letter and letters of recommendation (20%);
• and proficiency in English and another language of the partners’ countries (30%).

The coordinator will operate an initial filtering based on minimum requirements, and submit the remaining applications for consideration by the Consortium Committee.

Given the typically very large number of applicants, we engage twenty to twenty-five faculty members across the range of partner institutions to look at the dossiers. For each applicant, two referees from two member institutions are appointed. We consider academic record so far, extra-curricular engagements and interests, background and plans for the future, justification for choosing EPOG, letters of recommendation. In this context special attention is given to the student’s past courses in economics, quantitative methods (e.g., econometrics), and related fields of relevance to our program (e.g., geography, environmental sciences).

For the pre-selected students, a video-conference will be organised. We conduct the Skype interviews in rotating teams of (at least two) faculty members from the two different institutions, with an immediate written evaluation by the interviewers classifying the interviewees either as rejected, possible, or definitely to be recommended. Upon completion of all interviews the selection committee gets together to rank the applicants and decides how to allocate them to an option or sub-option (e.g., IA, IIC, …) on the basis of the three wishes (in order of preference) expressed by the students in their application.  Unanimity of the awarding institutions will be required in order to meet the highest standards.

Regional, gender and social situation will be taken into account in the final selection (i.e., among the best candidates) but will not take precedence over merit, quality and competence. The process will respect the principles of Euraxess “European Charter for Researchers” and the “Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers” including non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, recognition of qualifications, lifelong development and mobility experience. Students with special needs will benefit from extra time for examinations and will benefit from dedicated installations in each partner institution