Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027: Fully Funded Master’s in Public Policy

The Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 is one of the most generous fully funded master’s scholarships in Europe for students aiming at a career in public policy, government, or international development. It pays €1,400 a month for two years, waives your tuition fees entirely, and lets you study at two universities in two European countries — Vienna and Barcelona, Vienna and York, The Hague and Barcelona, or The Hague and York.

That combination of money, mobility, and a joint degree from two respected universities is rare: most fully funded scholarships cover one university in one country.

The Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 is open to applicants from both inside and outside the European Union, and applications for the 2027 intake opened on 1 September 2026. One date matters most: if you want the scholarship, apply by 1 December 2026 at 23:59 CET. Miss it and the funding is gone for this intake, even though self-funded applications stay open for months afterwards. This guide explains what it covers, who can apply, which tracks you can choose, and how to apply step by step.

If you are comparing funded master’s options, our guide to fully funded scholarships compares Erasmus Mundus awards with other major schemes.

What the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 Covers

The Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EMJM) scholarship, funded through the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. It pays €1,400 per month for 24 months — a maximum of €33,600 — plus a full tuition-fee waiver.

The scholarship also covers travel, visa, installation, and subsistence costs under the EMJM rules. That matters: a joint master’s means moving countries halfway through, and flights, a new visa, and setting up in a second city can cost thousands of euros.

There is no separate scholarship application. Inside the main application form, you simply indicate that you want to be considered for financial aid — the same form, the same documents, and the same assessment. There is no second deadline to remember and no extra essay for the funding itself. Your academic application is your scholarship application.

Two costs are not covered, so budget for both: the Year 1 study visit (about €600–€1,000) and the Year 2 winter school. Neither is covered by the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027, so plan for them in advance.

The Four Universities and Four Mobility Tracks of the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027

Mundus MAPP — the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Public Policy — is a two-year, full-time, in-person programme delivered by four European universities: Central European University Private University (CEU PU) in Vienna, Austria; the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague, Netherlands; the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) in Barcelona, Spain; and the University of York in the United Kingdom. Together they offer a breadth of teaching no single university could match.

Students on the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 study at two of the four, following one of four mobility tracks, and you choose your track when you apply. Each track pairs a first-year university with a second-year university and a specialisation:

• CEU–IBEI — Global Public Policy: Year 1 in Vienna (CEU PU), Year 2 in Barcelona (IBEI).
• CEU–York — European Public Policy: Year 1 in Vienna (CEU PU), Year 2 in York (University of York).
• ISS–IBEI — Political Economy and Development: Year 1 in The Hague (ISS), Year 2 in Barcelona (IBEI).
• ISS–York — Governance and Development: Year 1 in The Hague (ISS), Year 2 in York (University of York).

Choose your track by specialisation and by where you want to live: global policy points to CEU–IBEI, European institutions to CEU–York, and development to the ISS tracks — political economy through ISS–IBEI, governance through ISS–York. Think about where you want to work after graduation before you pick.

Whatever track you choose, you graduate with a joint Master of Arts in Public Policy awarded by the two institutions you attended. Employers see a qualification backed by two universities in two countries — experience that signals adaptability across different policy systems and carries real weight in international organisations and development.

Who Can Apply

First, your degree background: you need a Bachelor’s degree in the social sciences or humanities, such as political science, economics, sociology, international relations, or law. Graduates in the natural sciences and engineering are not eligible, and this rule is applied strictly — a degree in engineering, physics, chemistry, or biology will not qualify, however strong your grades may be.

The second requirement for the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 is academic performance: a minimum GPA of 3.17 out of 4.0, or the equivalent in your own system — for UK applicants, an upper second-class degree (2:1). Other grading scales are assessed for equivalence.

The third requirement is English: the programme is taught entirely in English, so you must show you can study at postgraduate level in the language. The accepted scores are IELTS 7.0, TOEFL iBT 95, PTE 76, or Duolingo 130. Duolingo is accepted for general admission, but students on Netherlands-based tracks may need a different English test for Dutch visa requirements, so check Dutch visa rules before relying on Duolingo alone for an ISS track.

Two further rules apply. To be considered for the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027, you must not already have received an Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters scholarship: previous EMJM recipients are not eligible for another under the current funding rules. The programme is open to applicants from both inside and outside the EU, so nationality does not affect whether you can apply — although it does affect which self-funded deadline applies to you.

The 1 December 2026 Deadline Is the Real Deadline

Deadlines are where strong applications most often fail, and this programme has three of them — but only one matters if you want funding. The financial-aid deadline — for everyone who wants the scholarship — is 1 December 2026 at 23:59 CET. That is also the early deadline for self-funded applicants. If you want the scholarship, this is your deadline: there is no extension and no second chance for funding in this intake.

The other two deadlines are for self-funded applicants only. Self-funded applicants living outside the EU or EEA have until 15 April 2027; those living inside the EU or EEA have until 1 July 2027. Those later dates can mislead anyone hoping for funding, so ignore them unless you are certain you can pay for the programme yourself.

If you want funding, the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 has only one deadline that matters: 1 December 2026. Missing it does not mean you cannot study on the programme — it means you cannot be considered for the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 in this intake, and you would need to fund the degree yourself or wait for a future intake. Test results and references take time to arrange, so treat mid-November as your personal deadline.

First-round decisions, including the EMJM scholarship results, are published in the applicant portal on 14 April 2027. Apply by 1 December 2026 and you will know the outcome by mid-April, with time to plan your move to Europe. If you are tracking several December deadlines, our list of scholarships closing in December 2026 will help you prioritise.

How to Apply Step by Step

One rule catches people out every year: admissions are administered centrally by CEU PU, and the four partners assess applications jointly. You cannot apply through York, ISS, or IBEI directly — an application sent anywhere except the CEU portal will not be considered.

Follow these steps to apply:

1. Check your eligibility first: a Bachelor’s degree in the social sciences or humanities, a GPA of at least 3.17 out of 4.0 or its equivalent, and an English score at the required level. Sort out any gap before you start the form.
2. Choose your mobility track. Pick one of the four tracks based on the specialisation and countries that suit you best. You may only apply to one track.
3. Gather your documents: degree certificate and transcripts, English test results, CV, and references. Give your referees plenty of notice.
4. Go to the official Mundus MAPP website at https://www.mundusmapp.org and follow the link to the CEU application portal. Applications for the 2027 intake opened on 1 September 2026.
5. Complete the online form and indicate inside it that you want to be considered for financial aid. That is how you apply for the scholarship — there is no separate form.
6. Submit before 1 December 2026 at 23:59 CET if you want funding. Do not leave it to the final hours: a late application is a rejected application.

Your application for the Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 goes through the CEU portal from start to finish, and the four partners assess your file jointly — so your application is read by academics from more than one university, and your track choice is weighed alongside your background and motivation.

Before you submit your Mundus MAPP Scholarship 2027 application, double-check three things: the right mobility track, the financial-aid box ticked, and every document uploaded correctly. Those checks take five minutes. If you are also considering other Erasmus Mundus programmes, our guide to the EMMIR Erasmus Mundus scholarship covers another fully funded joint master’s with a different focus and timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply early, choose your track with care, and tick the financial-aid box. For this intake, a fully funded two-year master’s across two European countries starts with one deadline: 1 December 2026.