F.A.Q.

MULTICOM is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in the Data Science of Human Multimodal Communication, co-awarded by the University of Murcia (Spain), Lund University (Sweden), and FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg (Germany). The two-year, 120-ECTS programme is taught fully in English.

Applications are scheduled to open in fall 2025 and remain open until March 2026. The first edition starts 1 September 2026. The online form is not yet available and will appear on the website when live.

Use the Newsletter link in the site header/footer to receive announcements, including the application-portal launch.

Current list:

• Prior-degree certificate (or proof expected by registration) from an institution listed in ANABIN.
• Full transcript.
• English proficiency.
• Optional statement if using professional experience to document background.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• 90-second motivation video. 

Accepted routes (one of):

• A recognised test (e.g., IELTS 7.5, TOEFL iBT 105, UNIcert III, Cambridge Advanced, etc.), see HOW TO APPLY.
• A BA/MA taught in English in an English-speaking country from a university listed in ANABIN.
• ≥5 years of full-time professional activity conducted exclusively in English across all four skills (with documentation).

An interview or the motivation video is not a substitute for these proof routes.

Yes, in some cases. The “5-year professional track record in an exclusively English-speaking environment” route refers to substantial, continuous professional activity where English can be demonstrated as the main working language. This typically means either:

• Work in an English-speaking country, where English is the normal language of professional communication
• Work in a clearly international environment (for example, a multinational company or an international organisation), where English is demonstrably the operational language for day-to-day tasks, meetings, documentation, and professional outputs.

Examples of profiles that may fit this route include teaching at a secondary school in the Republic of Ireland, working in relevant capacities for the UN in Geneva or for the EU in Brussels, or working for a multinational company in Amsterdam where English is clearly required and used as the primary means of communication.

Applicants using this route should be ready to document the work context in a verifiable way (for example, employer letters describing language use, contracts, official role descriptions, and work products where appropriate).

Yes, as long as the combination of all your IELTS scores meets the minimum requirements. You can use OSR to upgrade one or more skills in which you did not obtain a sufficient grade in IELTS.

ANABIN is the German database used to verify institutional recognition. MULTICOM’s requirements state that the awarding institution for the prior degree and for the degree-based English route must appear in ANABIN. This provides a minimum threshold for the quality of the institution that awarded the candidate’s prior degree(s).

You must document one of:

• ≥30 ECTS undergraduate training in relevant areas (e.g., linguistics, philosophy of language, psycholinguistics, phonetics/phonology, semantics, pragmatics, corpus/computational linguistics, sociolinguistics, sign language, multimodal communication, etc.), or
• a ≥60-ECTS Master’s in these areas, or
• ≥3 years of professional experience where language or multimodal communication is central (with proof).

See How to Apply

Baseline evidence of quantitative training, documented by one of:

• an introductory statistics course (~5 ECTS).
• other demonstrable quantitative coursework (e.g., computational/psycho/socio-linguistics, BA thesis with quantitative methods)
• equivalent professional evidence.

Strong Language, Communication and Thought  profiles with light quantitative proof may be admitted conditional on completing designated online training.

Selection rewards excellence in quantitative skills up to a point, but MULTICOM is not designed to provide Humanities training for purely technical profiles. 

The programme targets strong backgrounds in language, communication, and thought, with basic–intermediate quantitative skills. Students with surplus statistics may be waived some Term-1 stats and asked to strengthen Language, Communication and Thought. If you have a mixed background, for example, a major in computer science and a minor in languages or cognitive science, or a second degree that provides a background in language, communication, and thought, then you may qualify. See our requirements 

Selection is based on merit, programme fit, and international diversity. For our selection criteria, see https://multicom-em.eu/admission-aid/.

In principle, MULTICOM will not admit more than 6 candidates of the same nationality for any given edition, counting both self-funded students and scholarship holders.

Regarding scholarship holders, over the four-year period of MULTICOM editions starting from September 2026 to September 2030, no more than 10% of Erasmus Mundus scholarships may be awarded to candidates of the same nationality. This rule does not apply to top up scholarships for targeted regions of the world (NDICI and IPA), if applicable.

These are the scholarships assigned to each of those regions, for the total of the first four editions of MULTICOM (after every new cohort is admitted, these figures will be updated to show the remaining scholarships for these targeted regions):

• Sub-Saharan Africa: 5-6 full scholarships
• Latin America: 4-5 full scholarships
• Asia: 4-5 full scholarships
• Central Asia: 1-2 full scholarships
• Neighborhood South: 1-2 full scholarships
• Middle East: 0-1 full scholarships
• Pacific, Caribbean: 0-1 full scholarships
• Western Balkans: 2 full scholarships

For further information about the NDICI and IPA world regions for EU policy, see: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/relex/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_relex_en.pdf

In principle, they are not. The MULTICOM admissions committee reserves the right to ask for any references, though.

15-20 Erasmus Mundus scholarships are planned for each edition. Scholarships cover participation costs (tuition, insurance, admin/cultural costs) and include a pro-rata €1,400/month stipend for the full duration of the program. 

Admitted candidates who have requested to be considered for financial aid will be offered funding according to their ranking for admission, which is exclusively based on merit and international diversity.

Term 1: Murcia, Spain (intro to multimodal data science) 

Term 2: Lund, Sweden (the multimodality lab) 

Term 3: Erlangen, Germany (machine learning and multimodal corpora) 

Term 4: thesis/professional development (location flexible). 

The curriculum includes an internship (5 ECTS), a professional fair, and a student-run conference.

MULTICOM is a full-time, in-person programme. Part-time/online/hybrid options are not offered.

A visas page exists and will be updated; current placeholder indicates information is forthcoming.

Use hello@multicom-em.eu (site footer) and monitor the How to Apply page for updates; the application form section currently shows “application form not available yet.” Subscribe to the newsletter for announcements.

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