ReSound Erasmus Mundus 2027 — Fully Funded Sound Master's in Ireland
Fully funded Master scholarship in Ireland for All nationalities students 2027
A new Erasmus Mundus master's in sound for film, games and immersive media, taught in Ireland, Portugal and Lithuania. Applications close 12 January.
Eligibility
- Bachelor's in sound, music, film or media; other degrees accepted with relevant professional experience
- Portfolio of up to three audio or media works, each with your role stated
- Motivation letter of no more than 1,000 characters
- Thesis project description of no more than 500 characters
- Two reference letters, at least one academic
- English proficiency test accepted by the consortium
- Apply by 12 January 2027
Sound is the discipline that film schools keep outsourcing and music conservatoires keep ignoring. ReSound is built on the gap between those two positions: a two-year Erasmus Mundus joint master's that treats sound design, audio production and sonic art as a subject in its own right, rather than a service attached to pictures. The first cohort is small by design — 24 places — and applications for the 2027 start opened on 19 October 2026 and close on 12 January 2027.
It is also one of the few fully funded routes into the creative industries that does not require a portfolio of finished films. A recorded EP, a game audio reel, a field-recording project or a live sound portfolio all count, provided you can explain your role in each.
What it covers
Erasmus Mundus scholarship holders pay no participation costs and receive EUR 1,400 a month for the duration of the programme. The tuition that non-scholarship students pay — EUR 15,000 for the full four semesters, billed in two instalments of EUR 7,500 — is waived entirely for scholarship holders, so the award is worth roughly EUR 15,000 in fees plus the monthly allowance.
A significant share of each cohort receives the scholarship, though the consortium does not publish an exact number, and a place on the programme without funding is still possible. That distinction matters: unlike Choreomundus, ReSound does admit self-funded students, so an offer is not automatically a funded offer.
The degree is 120 ECTS over four semesters, with mobility built in. Every student spends time at all three institutions: IADT in Dún Laoghaire, Universidade Lusófona in Portugal and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius. The facilities are the reason the consortium exists — IADT brings two Dolby Atmos mix suites, a 5.1 surround suite, a Foley stage and a dedicated vocal booth inside the National Film School; Lusófona adds recording and post-production rooms; LMTA contributes a spatial sound sphere, two recording studios and a 99-seat cinema.
Who can apply
The stated entry route is a bachelor's degree in sound, music, film or media. The consortium also considers degrees in other fields where the applicant has relevant professional experience, which is the clause that matters for self-taught engineers, live sound technicians and game audio generalists who never took a formal media degree.
The portfolio is the centre of the application: up to three samples of previous audio or media work, each with a clear statement of what you did. A three-track EP where you played everything is weaker evidence than a single scene where you recorded, edited and mixed the dialogue, and said so.
Alongside the portfolio the programme asks for a motivation letter of no more than 1,000 characters, a short description of a proposed master's thesis project of no more than 500 characters, two recommendation letters with at least one academic, a CV, certificates and transcripts, identification, and proof of English proficiency through an accepted test.
Three self-check questions are worth answering honestly. Can I describe my contribution to each portfolio piece in one sentence without hedging? Do I have a thesis idea specific enough to fit in 500 characters, which is roughly eighty words? And can I get an academic reference, or am I relying entirely on employers — because at least one letter is expected to come from a university?
How to apply
The application is made through the ReSound website, resound-ma.eu, where the 2027 call and the application link are published. Prepare the portfolio first: three pieces, each with a role statement, exported as links or files the committee can actually play. Then write the two short texts — the 1,000-character motivation letter and the 500-character thesis description are deliberately tight, and they are read as tests of whether you can think in constraints.
English requirements are published on the admissions page and are moderate rather than punishing: the programme accepts standard tests including IELTS, TOEFL and Duolingo, with minimum scores listed per test. Confirm the current thresholds on the site rather than relying on a third-party summary, because first-edition programmes revise them between rounds.
The deadline of 12 January 2027 is a hard close, and the cohort is capped at 24. There is no rolling admission after that date.
Tips to win
Lead the portfolio with the piece that best matches the programme's centre of gravity — sound for image, games or immersive media — not the piece you are proudest of. A selection committee reading forty applications in a week remembers the one that sounds like the course.
Use the role statement to show judgement, not credit. "I chose to record the room tone at 96 kHz because the scene cuts to slow motion" tells them more than "I was responsible for all audio".
The 500-character thesis description should name a problem. "How spatial audio influences player orientation in stealth games with no visual HUD" is a project. "Immersive audio" is a category.
Common mistakes: uploading a portfolio as a single unlabelled ZIP; submitting a motivation letter that describes the programme back to the reader instead of explaining why you need it; and applying in the final week when referees have not been briefed. Two recommendation letters take longer to organise than a portfolio does.
One practical warning for applicants from outside the EU: the programme moves you through three countries in two years, and visa timing is the usual reason a funded offer collapses. Start the Irish visa file the day the offer arrives, not in July.
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=98
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=103
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=99
An OEAC advisor can listen through your portfolio and tell you which three pieces to submit, and can check the character-limited texts against the programme's stated criteria before you send them.
Source: https://www.resound-ma.eu/ — verified 3 November 2026.
Last updated: 3 November 2026.
Photo: Gareth James — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Dún Laoghaire harbour, Ireland).
Always confirm the deadline and eligibility on the official page before you apply. Scholarship dates change between rounds, and this listing is a summary — the provider's own page is the authoritative source. OEAC Network lists scholarships for free and is not an agent for any university or funding body.
