Erasmus Mundus Masters Impact Entrepreneurship (EMMIE) Scholarship 2026 | Fully Funded

The Erasmus Mundus Master in Impact Entrepreneurship, known as EMMIE, is a fully funded 18-month joint master’s degree spread across three European business schools — in Zagreb, Vilnius, and Liège — for students who want to build entrepreneurial ventures with a genuine social or environmental purpose. The 2026 intake’s application window closed on January 6, 2026, so if you’re reading this now, that specific round is no longer accepting submissions; the cohort admitted through it begins its programme on September 1, 2026, in Croatia.

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This post covers everything about the scholarship — what it funds, who typically qualifies, how the selection actually narrows candidates down, and what to prepare so you’re ready the moment the next application window opens, since EMMIE runs on a predictable annual cycle rather than disappearing between rounds.

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About the Erasmus Mundus Masters Impact Entrepreneurship (EMMIE) Scholarship

EMMIE is one of the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus Joint Master programmes, funded through the Erasmus+ scheme and delivered jointly by three partner institutions rather than a single university. Over 90 ECTS credits and 18 months, students move through three countries in sequence: general management foundations in Zagreb, Croatia; innovation and technology management in Vilnius, Lithuania; and specialised impact-entrepreneurship coursework in Liège, Belgium, where HEC Liège hosts the final semester.

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The degree culminates in a master’s thesis built around a real entrepreneurial project the student designs and pitches, which has to address at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal rather than being a purely theoretical exercise. Graduates leave with three separate master’s degrees — one from each partner institution — plus a joint EMMIE certificate, which is a heavier academic credential than most single-country master’s programmes offer. Because it’s a joint mobility programme rather than a distance or hybrid option, attendance is mandatory and in-person for the entire 18 months; there’s no remote-study version of this scholarship.

Erasmus Mundus Masters Impact Entrepreneurship (EMMIE) Scholarship Summary

Who Typically Qualifies

• You need a completed undergraduate degree worth at least 240 ECTS credits (or the recognised equivalent) before the application deadline — partial degrees or degrees still in progress at the time of applying aren’t accepted.
• Any academic background is eligible. EMMIE doesn’t require a business or management degree going in, which is unusual for an entrepreneurship-focused master’s.
• You must be able to commit to the full 18 months in person, across all three countries, with no option to study remotely or skip a semester.
• English proficiency at B2 minimum is required, with C1 recommended. If your prior degree was taught entirely in English, you’re exempt from submitting a separate TOEFL or IELTS score — Duolingo scores are explicitly not accepted as a substitute.
• If you live in a country different from your nationality, you’ll need to provide official proof of residence alongside your application.

Selection Process — What Most Guides Leave Out

This is where EMMIE differs from a lot of scholarship programmes, and it’s worth understanding before you invest time in an application. A joint committee from all three partner institutions reviews applications together rather than each school scoring separately, weighing academic qualifications, your motivation letter, language skills, and any entrepreneurial experience or ongoing projects you can point to.

Where things get genuinely selective: the consortium caps scholarship selection at a maximum of two candidates per country, to keep the cohort diverse rather than concentrated in a handful of nationalities. That means your competition isn’t every applicant globally — it’s effectively every other applicant from your own country, which is a very different calculation if you’re applying from a country with a large applicant pool versus a smaller one.

Top candidates are invited to interview, and a second interview sometimes follows for borderline cases. If two applicants are otherwise equally matched, the programme gives priority to underrepresented genders, and applicants with special needs are explicitly encouraged to apply, with support provided upon admission. One detail almost no other guide mentions: if you believe your application wasn’t assessed fairly, there’s a formal appeal window — seven working days from when you receive your results, submitted to [email protected] with a clearly labelled subject line.

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What the Erasmus Mundus Masters Impact Entrepreneurship (EMMIE) Scholarship Covers

• Full tuition waiver, worth roughly €13,500 — this is the master’s registration fee across all three institutions, fully waived for scholarship recipients rather than reimbursed after the fact.
• A monthly stipend of €1,400, paid for the duration of the 18-month programme, intended to cover living costs, travel between the three host countries, and installation expenses when you first arrive in each one.
• Health and accident insurance, arranged for the full length of the programme so you’re not sourcing separate coverage in three different countries.
• Management and administrative costs absorbed by the programme — laboratory access, academic supervision, and the general running costs of the joint degree, rather than being billed separately to students.
• Full access to university infrastructure at all three partner institutions — libraries, WiFi, and study resources — plus support from each university’s international office for accommodation, banking, and other administrative matters when you relocate each semester.
• Mentorship and access to entrepreneurial labs, used to develop and pitch the real venture that becomes your master’s thesis project.

It’s worth noting this scholarship isn’t guaranteed to every admitted student — EMMIE explicitly offers full or partial scholarships awarded competitively, so admission to the programme and a fully funded place aren’t automatically the same outcome. Applicants who want to be considered for funding need to submit a separate scholarship interest letter alongside their application, explaining their financial need.

Documents to Prepare Before the Next Window Opens

• Birth certificate, translated into English, ideally as a PDF.
• A recent passport-style photo in JPEG format.
• A CV in English using the Europass format, covering education, work experience, and achievements from the last five years.
• A one-page motivation letter in English explaining why you want to join EMMIE and outlining your entrepreneurial idea or project, if you have one.
• Certified copies of academic diplomas and transcripts, in English, for your Bachelor’s degree and Master’s, if applicable.
• An English proficiency test result (TOEFL or IELTS) — only required if your prior degree wasn’t taught fully in English. Duolingo is not accepted.
• A separate scholarship interest letter, one page, describing your need for full or partial funding.
• Two recommendation letters in English, from academic or professional referees — letters from family or friends aren’t accepted.
• A one-page entrepreneurial project description, if you already have a startup idea: the problem, your proposed solution, and its current stage of development.
• Proof of residence, if you currently live in a country different from your nationality.

The programme is explicit that incomplete applications aren’t considered, and that submissions can’t be edited after they’re sent — so treat this document list as a checklist to complete in full before you open the application form, not something to assemble as you go.

How to Apply — For the Next Cycle

1. Confirm you meet the 240 ECTS requirement and can commit to 18 months in person across three countries — this eliminates most disqualifying issues before you invest time in the rest of the application.
2. Assemble every document from the list above in the correct format and language ahead of time, since nothing can be added or edited after submission.
3. Draft your motivation letter and, separately, your scholarship interest letter — these serve different purposes and shouldn’t be combined into one document.
4. Watch the official EMMIE application portal for the next window to open. Based on the current cycle’s pattern — opening October 6, 2025, and closing January 6, 2026 — the next round is likely to open around October 2026 for a September 2027 start.
5. Submit the completed online application with all documents uploaded before the deadline once it’s confirmed and published.
6. Applications go through an eligibility check first, then committee review. Shortlisted candidates are invited to interview, sometimes followed by a second round for close calls.
7. If selected, you’ll move into registration and visa processing for your first semester in Zagreb.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the EMMIE Scholarship 2026 still open?

No. The 2026 cohort’s application window closed on January 6, 2026. The next round is expected to open around October 2026, based on the programme’s current annual pattern.

Can students from Nigeria or other African countries apply?

Yes. EMMIE is open to all nationalities and academic backgrounds, though the consortium caps scholarship awards at a maximum of two candidates per country to keep the cohort diverse, so it’s worth applying with a strong, specific motivation letter rather than a generic one.

Do I need a business degree to qualify?

No. EMMIE accepts applicants from any academic discipline. You do need a completed undergraduate degree worth at least 240 ECTS, but it doesn’t need to be in business, management, or economics.

Is the scholarship guaranteed if I’m admitted to the programme?

Not automatically. Admission to EMMIE and a fully funded scholarship place are assessed separately — funding is awarded competitively to top-performing candidates, so admitted students without funding may need to self-fund or seek a partial award.

What if I disagree with my application result?

EMMIE has a formal appeal process. You can contact [email protected] within seven working days of receiving your results if you believe your application wasn’t assessed fairly.

Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, award values, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official and programme-affiliated sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official EMMIE Erasmus Mundus website before submitting your application. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the European Commission, the EMMIE consortium, or its partner universities.

Official Application Portal