TROPIMUNDO is an EC-funded and excellence-labebeled Erasmus Mundus Masters Course in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems, that aim to bring together expert Higher Education Institutes (HEI), with long-standing worldwide expertise in tropical rainforests and woodlands and in tropical coastal ecosystems. TROPIMUNDO students are able to concentrate on botany, zoology and integrative ecosystem approaches in institutions worldwide in 2 Master years, of which an entire semester is spent in the tropics. Specialization is possible on the evolution of tropical flora and vegetation, on faunistic assemblages, on informatics tools to treat and manage biodiversity data and databases (biogeographical, genetical, geographical information systems) including the management and conservation of historic collections such as herbarium sheets, on the study of diversity, dynamics and evolution of tropical and subtropical ecosystems (with a focus on four related systems, namely tropical rainforests and woodlands, mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs, including the interactions between flora, fauna, man and the environment within and between each of these adjacent ecosystems), on conservation and restoration ecology of natural habitats and their biodiversity including competences in sustainable management and governance of biodiversity, and finally, on tropical ethnobotany, exploitation and valorization of natural resources and conservation of traditional ecological knowledge.
CORE VALUES
Unique mobility programme worldwide, including a unique set of threatened ecosystems
- Study, research and field courses in Amazonian, African, Asian and/or Australian wet tropics
- Intensive contact with different cultures and languages
DEGREE
While aiming at a joint Master degree, students are awarded a multiple degree depending on which European institutes were visited. In addition, each student will receive a Europass Certificate signed by all participating higher education institutes involved. Find more information on the academic learning outcome
BASIC STUDENT REQUIREMENTS
- An internationally accepted Bachelor’s degree (i.e. the equivalent of 180 ECTS) with a major in Biology, Natural Sciences, Environmental Sciences, or equivalent from an accredited university.
- Students must be able to demonstrate proficiency in English or English + French. More information on language requirements can be found in the Online Information and Application Module.
- A personal evaluation of the applications will be done by a selection committee
- In the 1st and 3rd semester basic and specialised extra-curricular language courses are offered based on actual trajectory needs.
TRAJECTORY IN 4 SEMESTERS
The consortium is composed of 5 institutes in Programme Countries (largely European) and 4 higher education institutes in Partner Countries (largely non-European). In a first semester, students start at a European institute of their choice to acquire similar competences. In a second semester field experience and courses will take place in a university in a non-EU country. This includes hands-on experience in 1 or 2 tropical sites. The third semester will cover a specialisation in a European university, different from the first one. Courses vary at this semester. In the fourth semester students return to where they started out for their thesis research. Every trajectory of 4 semesters constitutes a unique combination of courses and expertises. In-depth information available:
TUITION FEES
Tuition fees are 8,000 EUR per year for students from Partner countries (largely outside Europe) and 4,000 EUR per year for students from Programme countries (largely European). They are to be paid to the coordinating institute. The tuition fees include consortium enrolment fees and the insurance cost. The tuition fees do not include costs related to visa and preparatory documents, accommodation, additional insurance costs, living expenses and travel and transportation costs. However, EC-funded students have additional cost coverage. Find more information here.
SCHOLARSHIPS
TROPIMUNDO Candidates can also apply for an EC scholarship, which is however limited by a number of criteria.
APPLYING FOR TROPIMUNDO
The following information sections are extracted from the online Information and Application Module.