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Fees and funding

There is never a fee to apply, and your ability to pay plays no part in the academic assessment. Below: the Erasmus Mundus scholarship, and the national routes our self-funded applicants most often use.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Scholarship

Full scholarship, funded by the European Union

The scholarship runs for the full 24 months. It pays your tuition and participation costs in full, including the health and accident insurance the consortium arranges for you. You also receive a contribution to field work, and a monthly allowance of €1,400 for living costs. Open to applicants of any nationality. There are 18 scholarships available for the 2027 intake.

Deadline. The scholarship and the self-funded rounds close on the 15 of January. Applying for a scholarship and being unsuccessful does not exclude you from a self-funded place.

National and sponsor funding routes

The consortium does not administer these schemes and cannot influence their decisions. What we do is issue the conditional admission letter your sponsor needs, normally within ten working days of a decision.

Other funding routes

Many WAVES students are funded by their government, their employer or a foundation, rather than by an Erasmus Mundus scholarship. The consortium does not run these schemes and has no say in their decisions, but we help you prepare everything your sponsor needs.

Government and ministry scholarships.

Many ministries of education, water or environment fund master’s study abroad, often in priority fields such as water management and climate adaptation. They usually fund only universities on an approved list.

Employer and agency sponsorship.

Water authorities, utilities, consultancies and public agencies sometimes sponsor staff for a master’s degree. They often attach a return-of-service agreement.

Foundations and development programmes.

Private foundations, development banks and international organisations offer scholarships for particular regions or fields. Most have their own deadline, which is often earlier than ours.

Student loans.

Some national loan schemes can be used abroad, but only at institutions the scheme recognises. Some also require the whole programme to take place in one country.

Check four things with your sponsor before you apply

  1. Are your universities recognised?
  2. Does it fund study in two countries?
  3. Does it accept a double-degree programme?
  4. Does its timeline fit ours?

Budgeting for two years

Beyond participation costs, plan for accommodation, health insurance, a residence permit fee and one international move between the first and second year. Costs differ markedly between Enschede, Padova and Ljubljana, and each host university publishes its own indicative figures.

Housing

Each partner reserves student housing for incoming WAVES students. Applying early matters more than any other single piece of advice on this page. (Cost of living)

Insurance and permits

Health insurance is compulsory in all three countries. Residence permit fees and processing times differ; the international offices give exact figures on admission.

The move between years

One relocation is built into the programme. Scholarship holders receive a contribution towards travel and installation; self-funded students should budget for it explicitly.

Estimated total cost for self-funded students. Self-funded students pay a tuition fee of €3,000 per year (EU/EEA nationals) or €12,000 per year (non-EU nationals). They also cover their own housing, health insurance, residence permits and travel between the host cities. The host universities give indicative living costs of about €1,300 per month in Enschede, €900–1,000 in Padova and at least €700 in Ljubljana. Across the 24-month programme this averages roughly €1,000 per month, or about €24,000 in total. A self-funded student should therefore plan for about €30,000 (EU/EEA) or €48,000 (non-EU) for the full two-year programme. On top of that, allow about €1,500–2,500 for one-off costs such as housing deposits, residence permits and relocation between countries. These figures are only a guide. Your actual costs depend on your mobility track, your choice of housing and your lifestyle.

Student voice. Two elected student representatives per cohort sit on the Quality Assurance Committee with full speaking and voting rights, and one attends the Joint Programme Board. Representation is a standing item, not an invitation.

Still unsure whether you can afford it?

Ask us. We would rather help you find a funding route than lose a strong candidate to a wrong assumption about cost.

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A JOINT PROGRAMME BY

MSc WAVES

Water Vulnerability Engineering in Spatial Sciences

An Erasmus Mundus Joint Master delivered jointly by the University of Twente, the University of Padova and the University of Ljubljana, with associated partners in Sweden, South Africa, India and Brazil.

Programme

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Contact

University of Twente, Faculty ITC
Hallenweg 8, 7522 NH Enschede
Netherlands

Co-funded by the European Union under Erasmus+ project 101325634. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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