InterMaths Erasmus Mundus 2027 — Fully Funded Applied Mathematics Master's in Italy

InterMaths is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in applied and interdisciplinary mathematics coordinated by the University of L'Aquila in Italy, with study tracks that take students to partner universities in Hamburg, Barcelona, Nice and Vienna. The programme sits at the point where pure mathematics meets real systems — mathematical modelling, scientific computing, data-driven applications — and it offers eighteen Erasmus Mundus scholarships for the 2027 intake. Because the scholarship deadline of 17 February 2027 falls later than most European rounds, it is a realistic second-wave target for applicants who also hold January deadlines, and a strong standalone option for mathematics, physics and engineering graduates everywhere.

What it covers

Each of the eighteen Erasmus Mundus scholars receives a monthly allowance of €1,400 and full waiver of the programme's tuition fees. The award runs for the duration of the master's, funding both the L'Aquila foundation year and the mobility semester at the consortium's partner universities in Germany, Spain, France or Austria. A €1,400 monthly allowance is a genuinely liveable grant in L'Aquila — a small, affordable university city rebuilt after the 2009 earthquake — and it also stretches adequately in the partner cities. Because the specific mobility tracks and their university combinations are set out on the consortium's own application page, read that page before you write your statement of purpose: naming the track that fits your background is one of the cheapest ways to signal genuine engagement with the programme.

Who can apply

Applicants need a bachelor's degree in mathematics, physics or engineering, and English at CEFR B2 level. The degree requirement is deliberately broad across the quantitative disciplines, which gives engineering graduates with strong mathematics coursework a genuine route into European graduate study. The committee evaluates mathematical preparation above everything else: linear algebra, analysis, differential equations and numerical methods are the backbone of the curriculum. Self-check: does my degree contain rigorous mathematics beyond service courses, can I evidence B2 English (or expect to before enrolment), and can two referees speak concretely about my problem-solving rather than my attendance?

Deadline and key dates

The application form opened on 6 November 2026. The scholarship deadline is 17 February 2027 at 1 p.m. CET, and referees must submit their letters by 3 March 2027 — a built-in grace week that few applicants notice. Results are announced on 30 April 2027. Note that the deadline is a 1 p.m. cut-off, not midnight, which catches applicants who assume the standard end-of-day convention.

How to apply

Everything runs through the official application page at https://www.intermaths.eu/erasmus-mundus/apply, where the form and the referee workflow are described. Register early enough that your referees receive their invitation links before the February holidays, upload transcripts with the mathematics courses clearly visible, and include a statement that names the modelling or computational problems you want to work on. Because referee letters are due on 3 March, remind your referees at least twice — once in January and once in late February.

Tips to win and mistakes to avoid

Applications succeed on mathematical substance: a transcript heavy in real analysis, algebra and numerical methods, plus any research or project work where mathematics produced a concrete result. The most common mistakes are assuming a midnight deadline when the cut-off is 1 p.m. CET, underestimating the referee window and letting letters arrive after 3 March, and writing a motivation statement about loving mathematics without naming a single applied problem. Engineers should translate their engineering coursework into its mathematical core; physicists should foreground modelling experience. Submit in the first week of February and verify referee submissions in early March.

The programme's shape rewards applicants who think in terms of evidence. Applied mathematics is an empirical discipline, and the consortium's teaching leans on modelling and computation rather than rote theory: applicants who can show hands-on quantitative work — a numerical simulation, a data-analysis project, a control or optimisation problem solved for a real system — should make that the centrepiece of their application. For candidates from Afghanistan, credible project directions include infrastructure and seismic modelling, water-resource optimisation, energy-grid analysis or epidemiological modelling; for Pakistani and other applicants, logistics, finance and computational engineering offer the same concrete hooks. Physics and engineering graduates should translate their thesis or coursework into its mathematical core and say plainly which methods they used.

Assemble the application file in this order: your degree certificate and full transcript with all mathematics courses visible, evidence of B2-level English, a curriculum vitae that foregrounds mathematical and computational skills, and a statement of purpose that names at least one applied problem you want to model. Because the referee deadline of 3 March 2027 sits a week after the scholarship deadline, register on the application portal in early February so the referee invitations go out immediately, then confirm in late February that both letters have been submitted — a late referee silently converts a scholarship application into a self-funded one.

If you would like help judging your eligibility or preparing a competitive application, contact an OEAC advisor through https://www.oeacnetwork.com for free guidance.