As I wrote in the previous post, I got the full-ride opportunity to attend graduate school in 3 European universities, thanks to a program called Erasmus Mundus, sponsored by the European Union.
I first learned about Erasmus Mundus from an old friend of mine who had already been in one of the programs. We were roommates for about a year, over a decade ago. We remained best friends and kept in touch even after she moved out of the country after that year.
One day, she told me that she was going to graduate school in Spain through a program called Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree. I read about it and found out that Erasmus Mundus is a wonderful program that is known for having a unique interdisciplinary structure. With the wide variety of majors available, it is easy to find a program that suits your profession or area of study. Erasmus Mundus allows you to travel to European countries while you are in graduate school, with the system that you will live in a different country each semester. It is a well-recognized program with a history regardless of how little-known it is in the US.
When I heard about the program, I had known that I wanted to live and travel in Europe for a year or two to see architecture. Of course, I became interested in the program. I graduated with my bachelor's in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic. At the time, it seemed to be a good time to go to graduate school with the raising unemployment rate and the overall social instability where I lived. I had already set a goal that I would get to Europe before the age of 30, so I was going to stick to my plan!
I was not afraid of leaving my country regardless of having a place to live, a car, friends, and a job. I was ready for this opportunity. My question was how my old roommate was able to afford the program. It must be quite expensive to go to Europe as an international student. I naturally wondered how she was managing all that alone, so I asked. She told me she was able to receive a full-ride scholarship from the organization, which covers her tuition, travel, and living expenses. It was eye-opening because I had thought studying abroad in Europe was something only possible for those who had enough funds, even with a scholarship. It had never crossed my mind that there would be an opportunity to study there, practically, for free.
This is truly a great opportunity. Their scholarship is merit-based, so everyone has the opportunity to apply. It seems that the program is quite famous in developing countries and in/around Europe, rather than in the US or Japan where they have their own comparable programs.
One can apply for up to 3 programs per year in Erasmus Mundus, so I applied for 3 programs: ARCHMAT, SMACCs, and BIM A+. The architectural conservation program that I also wanted to apply for (TEMA+) was not available for application this year due to the pandemic. I chose a program that was as close as possible to what I wanted to do. Any of the programs would have been fine since they were all related to architecture, but my first choice was ARCHMAT due to my interest in the historic conservation of buildings. In the end, I was accepted into all three programs and ultimately chose to do ARCHMAT.
Enough about my history? In the next post, I would like to write about the application procedure in hopes to help those who need guidance in the process.
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