Four leading research and educational institutions in Europe propose a joint Erasmus Mundus Master Course entitled “Nanoscience and nanotechnology”. The programme offered is a truly integrated programme, with a strong research backbone and a very important international outreach.

The objective of this course is to provide top quality multidisciplinary education in nanoscience and nanotechnology.The participating partners are:

• Chalmers Tekniska Högskola (Chalmers), Sweden
• Technische Universiteit Delft (TUD) & Universiteit Leiden (UL), The Netherlands
• Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden), Germany
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.Leuven),Belgium

The fast evolution of the field requires a strong consortium with noted educational experience in the field. The partners offer this experience. In addition, all the lectures offered by the consortium are embedded within various research centres (e.g. IMEC in Leuven, Casimir Research School in Delft/Leiden, Max Planck Institute in Dresden, MC2 centre in Chalmers). This strong link between education and research is a guarantee for keeping the education relevant and state of the art.

The master programme has a duration of two years (120 ECTS points). Erasmus Mundus students follow courses at two of these universities. Courses are taught in English.

What is nanoscience and nanotechnology?
The way molecules and atoms assemble on the nanoscale into larger structures determines important material properties such as the electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. Of course, it has long been recognized that nature performs this assembly very well in the creation of the sophisticated molecular machinery that supports our life on earth. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology are the science and technology that target human control over these nanoscale processes. This new direction of science is interdisciplinary, involving physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science, among other fields.

Why study Nanoscience and Nanotechnology?
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is a newborn discipline, that demands a multi-disciplinary scientific education. The Master programme teaches the basics of physics, biology and chemistry at the nanometer scale, and supplements this with courses on technology and engineering to promote an understanding of practical applications. This educational programme will produce the scientists and engineers for the booming economy of nanosciences.

Admission Criteria

• Admitted are top-level Bachelors in Physics and in other fields of science and engineering (Chemistry, Biochemistry, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science) with a proven knowledge in physics. The Bachelor degree represents a minimum of 180 ECTS.
• A GPA (Grade Point Average) of at least 75% of the scale maximum is required.
• The admission policy is intended to ensure equal opportunity of access to higher education for qualified European and third country students. In general the programme will assess students individually on the basis of their previous academic record, a letter of motivation and the availability of places (in case of student number limitations at some institutions).
• Students should have a good command of English, both spoken and written. Applicants are required to demonstrate their proficiency in English, either by proving that some of their previous studies were successfully completed in English, or by submitting the results of a recognized language proficiency test, such as the IELTS (Academic version, overall band score of at least 6.0) or for non-Chinese applicants a TOEFL (minimum score of at least 580 (paper-based) or 237 (computer based) will be accepted).
• A common fee of 1600 EUR per year for EEA (European Economic Area) students will be charged to cover the tuition fee and/or administrative cost for the universities which host the student and deliver the degree. Each University applies waivers for EEA students, to ensure that the net fee to be paid by the students corresponds to that of the local regulation. For more information on the net amount, contact the student secretariat.

Each academic year, after closing the deadline for the applications, the Consortium Board is having a meeting for evaluation of the students’ proposals and selection of the successful candidates. The selection is done according to criteria, which have been set and agreed by each representative of the Partnership Universities. Examination results, project proposals, motivation letters and letters of recommendation will form part of the admission process. In general the Consortium is assessing students individually on the basis of their previous academic record. For non-EEA students a limited number of grants will be provided by the European Commission. The selection list for granted students will be submitted to the European Commission. The K.U.Leuven will inform the students as soon as the list is approved (likely by the end of April).

Application

• The application deadline for the Erasmus Mundus Master is February 1 for non-EEA citizens and June 1 for EEA citizens.
• A copy of the K.U.Leuven online application form for international students should be completed and required documents added: legalized copies of diplomas and transcripts in duplicate (not copies of legalized copies), a certificate attesting English proficiency, a letter of motivation.
• The application form should describe the preferred trajectory within the Erasmus Mundus programme.
• All applications from international students are administered by a central international admissions office of K.U.Leuven.

The application form can be downloaded from the website of the K.U.Leuven.

Please send the application, the Annex and all supplementary documents by mail to:

Office for International Students and Scholars
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Naamsestraat 22
B-3000 Leuven
Belgium

For additional information you can contact:
E-mail: csb@dir.kuleuven.be
Tel: +32 16 32 40 20
Fax: +32 16 32 37 73

Deadline for submission of applications for the academic year 2006-2007:

• February 1, 2006: for all countries of the non-EEA
• June 1, 2006: for students of the EEA.

For more information, please visit: Erasmus Mundus Master Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.