The European Union is offering Scholarships for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in BIO & Pharmaceutical Materials science in the 2021/22 academic session.
The European Master programme “BIOPHAM (BIO&PHArmaceutical Materials science)” is a two-year (120 ECTS) programme entirely taught in English and jointly operated by the University of Lille (France), the University of Pisa (Italy), the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland) and the Polytechnic University of Catalunya (Spain).
The BIOPHAM Master aims at emerging the new discipline of “pharmaceutical materials science” by offering a very rich education and training programme at the interface between materials science and physics/chemistry of materials and pharmaceutical sciences: disordered and off-equilibrium systems, mechanical behaviour of materials, molecular and soft condensed matter, materials science of drugs, thermodynamics and phase transformations, materials science & pharmaceutical developments, fundamentals of molecular modelling or advanced experimental characterization techniques including instruments available at large scale facilities.
The BIOPHAM Master will help to reduce the severe lack of human resources in the vast research-based pharmaceutical sector including academic centres, big pharma, SME’s, spin‐offs, start‐ups, contract research organizations or drug manufacturers.
The BIOPHAM Master’s course provides all students with various transversal skills such as competencies in entrepreneurship, project management, economic and strategic intelligence, marketing, bibliographical search and synthesis. Students also have opportunities to acquire other soft skills (intercultural communication, research experience and scientific communication, national language of their host universities) enabling them to easily adapt to their future international professional environment.
Worth of Award
The scholarship includes:
- Course fees
- A one-off contribution to travel and installation costs
- A monthly subsistence stipend
Travel and Installation Payment: The amount received by the successful candidates for travel and installation costs is set by the EC and depends on the distance between the candidate’s residence
The successful candidates will receive a €1000 stipend per month – this is only paid when the student is not in their country of residence.
Eligibility
Applicant to BIOPHAM must meet the requirements below
- Academic requirements: Candidates must hold a first higher education Science degree (e.g., Bachelor, Licence,…) or a recognised equivalent level of learning which is appropriate to the BIOPHAM master training programme. Priority will be thus given to first higher education Science degrees in physics, chemistry, physics-chemistry or materials science. Candidates awarded with a First higher education Science degree in related fields such as pharmaceutical sciences or life sciences with excellent academic records can also be considered. However, candidates should provide a very convincing demonstration that they have a strong background in chemistry and/or physics.
- Alternatively, students in their last year of first higher education Science degree (e.g., Bachelor, Licence,…) can produce an official certificate of registration produced by a Higher Education Institute. However, candidates must be awarded by the time of enrolment in BIOPHAM Programme.
- Language proficiency: All courses of the programme are taught in English! All applicants, who are not English native-speakers, must thus attest a B2 English level or equivalent. This can be done in a number of ways, including through an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or IELTS, or through previous upper secondary (high school) or university studies (e.g. a letter attesting English is the medium of instruction of your higher education; a diploma in English Language).
The minimum test scores are: - IELTS: an overall mark of 6.5 and no section below 5.5
- TOEFL: Paper-based: Score of 4.5 (scale 1–6) in written test and a total score of 575. Internet-based: Score of 20 (scale 0–30) in written test and a total score of 90
- Cambridge: CAE, CPE
- TOEIC: 785
How to Apply
- The application form must be filled out 100% in English and all provided documents, including the Curriculum Vitae, must be written 100% in English or translated into English. In such case, provide both original documents and an English translation approved by the university that delivered the original document or by an official translator.
- Fully completed application must be submitted online before the deadline of the related call.
- Incomplete application will not be considered by the consortium (see ‘selection procedure’)
- Only one application will be considered per candidates. If more applications are submitted online, only the last one will be considered, even if incomplete.
- After submission of your application, you will receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt by e-mail (check your spam box if necessary!).
- The online application procedure takes some time so make sure you have plenty of time to do it. Before starting your application, make sure you have all the required documents you will have to attach to your application and in a PDF format
If you meet all requirements and want to apply to BIOPHAM, the following list of documents in a PDF format will have to be attached to the application:
- Copy of your diploma(s) / degree(s) certificate(s) (add an English translation if applicable) or enrolled certificate from your university (for last year students)
- Copy of transcript of records for your whole degree and a grading scale (add an English translation if applicable). If your ranking doesn’t appear on the transcript of records, a letter of your university attesting your ranking in the class
- Copy of official language certificate attesting language skills in English
- Curriculum Vitae using the provided template
- Passport (or valid ID document)
- Proof of current and exact place of residence (see IMPORTANT NOTICE)
- Two recommendation letters (no specific format)
- Declaration of honor
- Other documents you consider relevant for the application (e.g., certificate of employment or internships, etc..)
Deadline: In applying to the BIOPHAM Master program during the first call (from November 30th, 2020 to February 28th (23:59, Brussels’ time), 2021) you automatically apply for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) scholarship.