Students Application Form Guidelines

Version 26/10/2016

Students Application Form Guidelines

ERASMUS MUNDUS MASTERS COURSE Crossways in Cultural Narratives

Application deadlines: Fee scholarship application: from 20th October 2016 to 20th January 2017 Without fee scholarship application: from 20th October 2016 to 20th May 2017

1. Introduction – Type of application/ student a) Category A (non-European) or Category B (European) student -

Category A student: students who come from a country other than a Programme country1 and who are neither residents of these countries nor have carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in these countries.

-

Category B student: students who do not fulfil the Category A criteria defined above.

b) Fee scholarships for non-European applicants Fee scholarships are attributed to the three best candidates. The fee scholarship covers the payment of the annual registration fees.

1

"Programme Countries" 28 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom EFTA and Candidate Countries: Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Turkey The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)

Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

1

2. Online Application procedure In order to apply for a place in the Erasmus Mundus Master Crossways in Cultural Narratives you need to submit an on-line application form available from the link below: https://crossways.univ-perp.fr/candidature/ Please choose between: Student Scholarship Application (If you are non-European applicants and you want to apply for the fee scholarship) or Student Non-Scholarship Application (if you are European/non-European students and you don’t apply for the fee scholarship) - they have different application deadlines. You need to create an account by clicking on “Register”. Once your account is created, you will receive a message to the indicated email address. Click on the link provided in order to confirm your email address. After confirming your email address you will receive a second email with your username and password. They will be your identifiers to access your application form (file repository area). There is no need to send hard copies. The on-line validation is sufficient. Do not forget to fill in your mobility path and to click on 'submit your application' once you have finalised it. As we usually face a high number of validations of applications for scholarships when approaching the deadline, we advise you to complete your application for scholarships until 19 January to avoid any technical issues. A first ranking will be established after the closure of the first call for applications (20 January). If your application is not retained for a fee scholarship at that stage, it will still be valid as an application without fee scholarship. You will receive a reply on your application at the same time as students selected for scholarships and you will not need to apply for the second selection committee (20 May deadline): see the timing for feedbacks on applications on the last page of this document.

2

Table 1 - Application process

Applications for fee scholarships (deadline: 20 January)

Regular applications without feescholarships (deadline: 20 May)

Selection of candidates by the Crossways selection committee: mid-February and end May

Eligible students with fee scholarships

Eligible students without fee scholarships (reserve list *)

Validation of scholarships by the European Commission: early May

Students with fee scholarships

Students without fee scholarships

* Students applying in January do not need to re-apply in May. In case of a student refuses his/her fee scholarship, the next one on the reserve list will be proposed that fee scholarship. This happens very rarely.

3. Overall assessment criteria The selection committee should be able to assess your overall skills as well as written abilities in particular through academic papers as indicated below. Therefore, you should choose your mobility path accordingly and provide academic papers preferably in the two main languages of the universities you are applying for (generally the languages for your first and second universities).

Table 2- Criteria used for the selection of candidates

Profile of the student Academic Papers Academic references Degrees & Certificates Language skills Letter of motivation

15 points 30 points 10 points 20 points 15 points 10 points

3

4. Personal details - First name Your first name is the name by which people address you on an everyday basis, for example Claire, John etc. - Last name Your surname is your official family name, for example Jones, Smith etc. It is imperative that you fill in this part of the form correctly in order to avoid any confusion regarding your name on official registration documents within the European Union and the Crossways consortium.

- Email address Write a valid email address where you would like to be informed of the selection results.

You need to fill all required details before going to another section. After that you will need to click on “Save and Continue” in order to register the entered data.

- Permanent postal address for correspondence In this section you should provide a fixed, long-term address, such as that of your parents, to which we can send any official documents. Please do not write down the address of your current university residence as that is only temporary. - Telephone number Please include the international dialling code, for example +33….for France or +44…for the United Kingdom. - Date of Birth Note that date of birth is indicated in American date format: month/day/year. - Nationality If you have several nationalities, please choose one nationality as applicant (first nationality). Write your chosen nationality in the space marked “First nationality” and the nationality you have not chosen in the space marked “Second nationality”.

Kindly e-mail the administrative co-ordinator immediately should any changes to your personal details occur: [email protected]

4

5. Only for Category A students (non-European). Periods spent in Europe Please provide information relating to any stay within the European Union, Norway, Lichtenstein, Iceland, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia including dates and the nature of your visit, for example tourism, studies, work experience etc.2 Remember that if you have lived for more than 12 months in the last five years in a European country, you will be considered as Category B applicant (see section 1). You should use the template “Periods spent in Europe – Declaration on honour” available at the same address as these guidelines.

6. Language skills Please list your language skills starting by the languages of the consortium: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, and Spanish. You must possess a near-native (level B2, at least), degree-level command of TWO of these Crossways Consortium Languages: – together with a basic knowledge of, or a willingness to acquire, a THIRD Crossways Consortium language.

2

You will need to attach a declaration certifying you have not lived in a Programme Country for more than 12 months in the last 5 years, if this is the case. If you have lived in a Programme country for such a period, you will need to provide a certificate of your stays in a Programme country.

5

Table 3 – Language skills

At least 2 languages of the consortium with at least a level B2 Language#1

English

Language#2

Please provide information regarding your language abilities, indicating the level that you have in each language according to

French

the Common European Framework of Reference: Learning, Italian

Teaching, Assessment, from A1 to C2 (see Annex 1 and FAQs document)

Portuguese Spanish

Application file

Academic paper #1

Academic paper #2 *

International language certificate #1 **

International language certificate #2 **

Notes: * Or in language #1 if you have no academic paper in language #2 ** Please include any relevant document proving your level such as international language certificates (CLES, DELF, DELE, IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC among others).

Your degree can be a proof of your language skills only if language is the main field of study of your degree. For example, if you graduate in French Literature or French Studies, then your degree will be sufficient to prove your skills in French to us. Otherwise you need to provide us with an internationally acknowledged test certificate.

Kindly note that - The universities of Guelph, Sheffield and St Andrews require a higher level of competence in English even if this is your third language. Please read carefully the language requirements information

on

the

Crossways

website:

http://www.munduscrossways.eu/struttura.asp?cerca=studying_08. - You are required to provide certified proof of language abilities in the form of official certificates and/or university transcripts. - Official certificates and/or university transcripts will not be required if your mother tongue is one of the languages of the consortium (for example, you are Brazilian and your mother tongue is Portuguese – Please indicate this in the application tab for language skills though).

6

7. Education Please provide information regarding the university qualifications that you have obtained up to now. Status If the degree is not awarded yet, please, note that you are required to send your degree Diploma before starting the Masters programme. Ranking Ranking out of how many students. For example: 5/20. If your university does not use this ranking system, please, write your grade point average (GPA) over the total, i.e.: 15/20 in France or 7.5/10 in Spain.

8. Academic papers Please note that academic papers are quite important in your application as well. They are meant both to attest your language and written (production) skills. An academic paper is an essay, a dissertation or any kind of written work you produced during your studies. It can be published or unpublished. It should preferably be related to the fields of the program (i.e., cultural narratives, literature, visual arts, history of ideas, media studies, philosophy, humanities…). This work will give us an overview of your academic level. You might include a description of the context in which the papers were written in the front page. In such a case, a form is available on the Crossways website. You might attach it to your academic paper: see http://www.munduscrossways.eu/struttura.asp?cerca=admission_08

9. References You need to provide a minimum of two reference letters and a maximum of three. Write contact and professional details of referees in section “References” of the application form. Your references should come from professors / senior academics who have taught you at university level and who have been fully informed about the Crossways in Cultural Narratives master programme. The referees must write a comprehensive letter of reference for you and send it to [email protected]. You might also send the reference letter yourself but with copy to your referees as well. If your referee cannot send the letter by email, it may be sent as a hard copy to the Consortium’s administrator. In such a case, please let us know before the deadline for applications that such a letter is expected.

7

Please note that reference letters not bearing a signature, contact details and logo from the institution and not sent from an institutional email address will not be considered.

10. Work experience Please indicate if you have any work experience or not. Please note that if you accidentally clicked “yes” but you wanted to click “no”, you will need to fill the section, click on save and continue. Only after that will you be able to delete this information.

11. Mobility track: in which universities do you wish to study? Please indicate in which universities you wish to study for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd and 4th semesters. -

Semesters 2 & 3 will be spent in the same “Home University” and semesters 1 & 4 will be spent in two different universities. Acceptable:

-

Semester 1:

Universidad Iberoamericana de Ciudad de México

Semesters 2 & 3:

Perpignan

Semester 4:

Bergamo

Please, note that you cannot choose Universidad Iberoamericana de México or Universidad Nacional de Entre Rios as your “home University”.

-

Kindly note that you may not attend both the University of St Andrews and the University of Sheffield. The following example of a mobility track would, Rejected:

Acceptable:

-

Semester 1:

Sheffield

Semesters 2 & 3:

Nova de Lisboa

Semester 4:

St Andrews

Semester 1:

Sheffield

Semesters 2 & 3:

Santiago

Semester 4:

Guelph

Please also be informed that you cannot choose two English-speaking institutions within the same academic year. The following example of a mobility track would, therefore, be Rejected:

Semester 1:

Sheffield

Semesters 2 & 3:

Guelph

Semester 4:

Santiago

8

-

IMPORTANT. If you have provided only two language certificates, and you expect to learn a third one during Master course, you must choose third language University ONLY for your 4th semester. For example: if you have provided certificate of French and English and you would like to learn Spanish, the following pathway would be Acceptable:

Semester 1:

Sheffield

Semesters 2 & 3:

Perpignan

Semester 4:

Santiago

Your mobility track involves 3 of the 10 universities of the Consortium. Students spend the 2nd and 3rd semesters in the SAME University, and the 1st and 4th semesters in TWO other universities of the Consortium. Your mobility track must correspond to the courses offered and to your linguistic skills. Main criteria for the choice of the mobility track

Objectives

Language requirements Courses details and pathways

Mobility restrictions

SEMESTER 1

SEMESTER 2 & 3

SEMESTER 4

University 1

University 2 (home university)

University 3

In Semester 1, you are trained in theoretical approaches and research methods, and in the acquisition or development of a third language ("subtexts").

Semester 2 is devoted to the study of literature and the arts, and in particular to the interactions between different textual and artistic practices ("texts").

Semester 4 is chiefly devoted to the writing of the final dissertation; the teaching modules are more specialised, and reflect the area of expertise of each institution.

Language #1 or #2

Language #1 or #2

Semester 3 opens out to the wider question of the relations between the arts and other aspects of society: history, culture, politics, language ("contexts").

Language #3

See http://www.munduscrossways.eu/struttura.asp?cerca=studying_03 and http://www.munduscrossways.eu/struttura.asp?cerca=studying_07 1. Students may not choose a mobility track comprising both St Andrews and Sheffield 2. Students may not spend the same academic year in both Canada (Guelph) and the UK (St Andrews/ Sheffield) 3. Entre Ríos and Iberoamericana cannot be chosen as Home Universities. Students may not study in both 4. Fee scholarship students from outside Europe must study in Europe

9

12. Survey Please, let us know how you learnt about CWCN Erasmus Mundus Master. You can choose several options if applicable

13. Required documents to upload 1. Passport or identity card (or ID card for Europeans only): We need the page(s) with your photo and nationality as well as expiration date. 2. Letter of motivation. Up to two pages, preferably in your Crossways “Home University” language3 or in English. 3. Academic paper. You must send two academic papers. The papers must be at least 2 pages long and up to 20 pages. They must be written in Consortium languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or Polish), and at least one must be written in your 3

Crossways “Home University” language (2nd and 3rd semester) . 4. Diploma(s) of your official degree(s) in your national language. You must upload an English translation of your official degree(s), if written in another language than those of the Consortium (EN, IT, PT, ES, FR, PL). You can upload this document on “optional documents” section. 5. Transcripts of records of your most recent or highest-level university studies. You must upload an English translation of your transcript of records, if written in another language than those of the Consortium (EN, IT, PT, ES, FR, PL). You can upload this document on “optional documents” section. 6. At least two official language certificates. Your degree can be a proof of your language skills only if language is the main field of study of your degree. For example, if you graduate in French Literature or French Studies, then your degree will be sufficient to prove your skills in French to us. Otherwise you need to provide us with an internationally acknowledged test certificate. You do not need to send a language certificate if it is your mother tongue or if you have a language university Diploma. However, some countries have stricter rules: please consult the ‘language regulations’ page of the Crossways website. 7. Only for non Europeans: a declaration (letter written and signed by yourself) certifying you have not lived in Europe (European Union + Iceland+Norway+Lichtenstein+Former 3

Please note that for Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan you can send documents in French, Spanish or Italian. And for Universidade Nova de Lisboa you can send documents in Portuguese and English. Check FAQs document to know what exactly an academic paper is.

10

Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia+Turkey) for more than 12 months in the last 5 years, if this is the case. Otherwise, proof of your stay in Europe if you have lived in Europe for more than 12 months in the last 5 years. Please use the template available at http://www.munduscrossways.eu/struttura.asp?cerca=admission_08 8. Reference letter. Up to three and at least two. They must be sent by your professors to the email address [email protected]. 9. Optional language certificate. If you want to upload more than two certificates of languages.

14. Application Submission Once you have filled the form and uploaded the required documents, you can submit and validate your application. For that you need to click on your ID name on the top on the left and to click on “validate”. Please check that all data and documents are correct as you will not be able to modify your application after submitting it.

15. Student Selection results 

Fee scholarship results are communicated by beginning of March.



Non-scholarship results are communicated by the beginning of June.

You will be contacted directly by email.

11