In order to participate in the Erasmus Mundus EMLex programme, students have to submit an application (see section 4 for requirements). A maximum of 30 study places (scholarship holders, non-scholarship holders) are available per year. The application deadline for an Erasmus Mundus scholarship for Intake 2025/26 is 3rd February 2025.

If you do not receive a scholarship and still wish to study the EMLex, the Consortium can, under certain conditions, help you to pay the tuition fees, which would mean that you would only have to pay an enrolment fee of €2000 (the full tuition fees amount to €4000). These fees will cover any costs incurred during your studies. Should you be shortlisted for these reduced tuition fees, the consortium would contact you after the application period (around April).

There are approx. 20 scholarships available for the 2025/2026 intake. Intake 2025/2026 begins in September or October 2025, depending on the home university.

Scholarship holders receive a pro-rata payment totalling 1400 euros/month for the entire duration of the study programme (maximum 24 months), which is used to cover travel expenses, visa and residence permit applications, and the installation and living costs. The scholarship also includes participation costs for the EMJMD-EMLex.

These participation costs cover all additional costs which occur during your studies. They particularly include tuition fees, health insurance, library costs, administrative costs, cultural events.

Application period

The application period for an EMJMD scholarship in the 2025/26 intake will be open up until and including 3rd February 2025.

Prerequisites and admission

These conditions apply to both Erasmus Mundus students with and without a scholarship (self-financing basis).

4.1. Degree

Applicants must have a Higher Educational Institution (HEI) degree in the area of

• (Computational/Applied) Linguistics
• (Foreign) Languages
• Translation
• Communication / Media
• Book Studies / Library and Information Science
• or other relevant disciplines, subject to the consent of and the approval by the Consortium’s admission committee.

If your HEI degree is still in progress, you may nevertheless submit an application. The restriction in this case will be that the HEI degree certificate is available before the start of the EMLex study course.

4.2. Language requirements

Competences in textual reception that enable the students to understand texts in their field of studies and to take an active part in specialist discussions are absolutely necessary for a successful participation in the EMJMD-EMLex master programme. Instruction languages are English and German as lectures will always be held in one of these languages. Evidence of the required knowledge must be provided in the form of language certificates.

Please note:

You must have sufficient text reception skills in both languages. You must have very good text production skills in one of the two languages (at least B2). 

You must provide proof of these competence levels for both languages. The language certificates must not be older than two years.

The following certificates are valid as proof of the necessary language skills:

Proficiency in German (for non-native speakers) must be certified by one of the following institutions for at least the given level (equivalent to B1 // B2):

• onSet-Deutsch (former “OnDaF”). This test can be taken at a licensed test centre in your country.
• Goethe-Institut: Zertifikat B1, grade at least ‘gut’ // Zertifikat B2, grade at least ‘gut’
• Österreich-Institut: ÖSD-Zertifikat B1, grade at least ‘gut’ // Zertifikat B2, grade at least ‘gut’
• TestDaF
• German studies bachelor's degree (or comparable degree) from one of the universities of the EMLex programme

Proficiency in English (for non-native speakers) must be certified by one of the following institutions for at least the given level (equivalent to B1 // B2):

• onSet-Englisch This test can be taken at a licensed test center in your country.
• British Council (IELTS): 4.5 – 5 // 5.5 – 6.5
• Trinity (ISE Foundation): ISE I // ISE II
• TOEFL iBT: at least 42 // at least 72
• Cambridge: Preliminary Certificate // First, Advanced or Proficiency Certificate
• English studies / Anglistik Bachelor degree (or comparable degree) from one of the universities in the EMLex programme

4.3. Selection criteria

All applications are first subjected to a formal incoming inspection, which checks the following eligibility criteria:

1. having met the application deadline
2. completeness of the application
3. proof of the necessary language proficiency
4. completion of a first HEI degree (see “degree” section above)

All applications that meet the eligibility criteria mentioned under section 4.1. and 4.2. are then assessed against the following selection criteria:

• Grade and quality of HEI degree(s)
• Motivation letter
• Competence in linguistic analysis
• Lexicographic/terminographic knowledge and experience
• Language proficiency

4.4. Deadline and procedure

Application period

The application period for an EMJMD scholarship in the 2025/26 intake will be open up until and including 3rd February 2025.

Please Note: If you are selected for a scholarship, placed on the reserve list or enrolled as a self-funded student, your data may be used for purposes of evaluating the Erasmus Mundus Programmes by funding agencies.

Application procedure

1. Fill out the application form digitally.
2. Upload the application form along with the following documents to https://emlex.eu.usc.gal/web/apply/form

   (1) Application form

   (2) Motivation letter (2 pages max., in English or German). The letter should include the following aspects:

   (a) Explain the reasons why you wish to study the EMLex Master Programme, express your expectations and your own contribution. In addition, you should state what you plan to do with the EMLex master degree.

   (b) Report on your experiences with scientific or practical lexicography that you have already made and why you have an interest in lexicography.

   (c) Explain your choice of the preferred home university (while your preferences* will be taken into account as far as possible, the final decision will be made so as to best fit your study needs).

   (d) Answer the following question: Which lexicographic project would you like to realize in your home country if you had the chance to do so?

    (3) Certificate of HEI degree(s)

    (4) Transcript of academic records

    (5) Language certificates 

    (6) Copy of your identity document

3. Pay attention to the following requirements:

• All documents must be submitted in PDF format.
• The files must not exceed 10 MB in total (if the document is larger, you may have to compress it).
• The name of the file should correspond to the following pattern: your name [surname first] + EMLex application

Note:

• PDF files which do not have the requested name, are incomplete or too big will not be considered!
• If your original documents are in a language other than English or German, please also submit certified translations. Please note that we cannot return any documents that you send us.
• The 2025/26 intake cannot be started in France, as the joint EMLex summer semester 2026 will take place at Université de Lorraine. 

4.5. Selection

If you are selected for a scholarship, you will have to accept the offer within ten days after the approval notification. If you do not meet the deadline, you are no longer entitled to receive the EMJMD-EMLex scholarship. After accepting the scholarship you can enroll in the university which you have been assigned as your home university. We will try to assign the university of your first choice to you.

If you are selected as a self-funded student, you will have to accept the study offer and payment conditions within ten days after the approval notification.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The University of Santiago de Compostela organises the application procedure. However, the USC is a home university in the same sense as the consortium partners in Braga, Budapest, Hildesheim, Tbilisi, Nancy, Rome and Erlangen. 

4.6. Appeal procedure

If you have not been selected for a scholarship and believe that your application has not gone through the selection process correctly, you can initiate an appeal procedure. 

Before submitting an appeal, please check carefully whether

• you observed the application deadline;
• you followed the application procedure;
• you submitted the documents required for a complete application.

If the above conditions are met, and you have reasons to believe that a mistake has been made during the selection procedure you may submit an appeal. An appeal request must be made in writing and meet the following requirements:

• It must be sent as a letter to the EMLex Coordinator (Prof. Dr. Domínguez Vázquez).
• You must clearly state the reasons for the appeal.The appeal must be sent within 7 working days after receiving the notification of non-selection.
• The appeal must be sent by e-mail to emlex-erasmus.mundus@usc.gal
• The subject line of the appeal request e-mail must contain the text “EMLex non-selection appeal” and the last name of the candidate.

You will be contacted as soon as a decision has been made.

Note: A candidate may appeal ONLY on the grounds of defective or unfair procedure. The appeal procedure is concerned with how the application was handled in the evaluation and eligibility-checking process. It does not automatically lead to a re-evaluation of the application. Please note that new information or clarifications that should have been in the application will not be taken into consideration.

If there are still places available after the allocation of study places in the Erasmus Mundus-EMLex programme, you can apply to some universities. In the EMLex programme, the semester abroad is financed via the Erasmus+ programme. This means that the semester abroad is partially funded. All other benefits of the Erasmus Mundus programme (including exemption from local tuition fees, health insurance, free teaching materials, special cultural events) are not included in the study programme. You can only study at two different universities in total, i.e. you will spend the 1st, 3rd and 4th semesters at the same university.