STEPS Erasmus Mundus 2027 — Sustainable Transport Master's
Fully funded Master scholarship in Spain for International students 2027
A fully funded Erasmus Mundus master's in sustainable transport and electric power systems across Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal. Apply by 8 January 2027.
Eligibility
- First degree in electrical, electronic, energy, mechanical or a related engineering or physical-science field
- Open to partner-country and programme-country students, with different scholarship categories
- No more than two scholarship holders of the same nationality in one intake
- Compulsory physical mobility across at least three countries, taught in English
- Residence proof may be requested to confirm your funding category
STEPS is an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Sustainable Transportation and Electric Power Systems, and it is one of the few European engineering degrees that takes the grid and the vehicle as one problem. Four universities deliver it — Oviedo in Spain, Kiel in Germany, Sapienza in Rome and the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra in Portugal — and every student spends time in at least three countries. If you have been looking for a funded master's in electrical engineering that does not treat decarbonisation as a single optional module, this is the shape of programme to look at.
What it covers
The award comes in two forms. A full Erasmus Mundus scholarship covers tuition fees plus a contribution to subsistence costs of EUR 1,400 per month for the duration of the programme, up to 24 months. A tuition-fee waiver is the second form, and it is not the same thing — a waiver removes the fee and leaves you to fund your own living costs. When you read an offer letter, check which of the two you have been given before you start budgeting for rent.
The structure is 120 ECTS over four semesters, taught entirely in English, with two published mobility paths: Coimbra, then Kiel, then Oviedo, or Rome, then Kiel, then Oviedo. You also choose a recommended track — sustainable transportation or electrical power systems — and build your curriculum around your previous background. Students can take an internship with an associated university or company in Europe, America or Asia, and the consortium's industry partners include energy and transport companies that also teach parts of the course.
One restriction is worth knowing early. No more than two of the students awarded a scholarship in a given year may share the same nationality. It is a diversity rule, not a merit rule, and it means that a strong applicant from a country with a large applicant pool can be ranked highly and still miss a funded place. Applying early does not change the cap, but it does mean your file is read in the first pass rather than the reserve list.
Who can apply
The programme is open to graduates with a first degree in electrical engineering or a closely related engineering or physical-science field, and the consortium publishes its own admission criteria rather than deferring entirely to the four universities. Two categories matter for funding: partner-country students, meaning nationals of Erasmus+ partner countries who have not lived, studied or worked in a programme country for more than 12 months in the previous five years, and programme-country students, meaning nationals of EU member states and the associated countries.
Run this self-check. Is my bachelor's in electrical, electronic, energy, mechanical or a related engineering discipline, with transcripts that show power systems, control or energy coursework? Have I spent more than 12 months of the last five years living, studying or working inside the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia or Türkiye? Can I prove where I have lived with a residence certificate or an employer letter if asked? Do I have English at the level the consortium requires? And can I physically move between three countries in two years, because the mobility is compulsory and cannot be done remotely? The 12-month question is the one that changes your funding category, so answer it honestly and early.
Applicants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and most of Asia and Africa normally fall into the partner-country category, which is the category with the larger share of scholarships. Students who have already completed a degree in Europe often discover they have become programme-country students without noticing, which changes both the fee level and the competition.
The deadline
The call for the September 2027 intake is open and closes on 8 January 2027. Supporting documents — degree certificates, transcripts, language evidence and the residence proof where required — have to be in the file by then, so the practical deadline for ordering certified translations is several weeks earlier.
How to apply
Applications go through the consortium's own portal, not through any single partner university. You create an account, choose your mobility preference, and upload your degree certificate and transcripts, a CV, a motivation statement, English-language evidence and identity documents. Every complete application is considered for a scholarship automatically, because there is no separate funding form to submit.
https://www.emjmdstepsrock.eu/
Read the scholarship page before you fill anything in. It explains the partner-country and programme-country categories, the two-scholarships-per-nationality cap and the residence-proof rule, and those three paragraphs decide more outcomes than the statement of purpose does.
Tips to win
The selection committee is looking for evidence that you can handle both halves of the programme. A power-systems applicant who has never touched transport modelling, or a vehicle engineer who has never looked at grid stability, is a weaker candidate than one who can point to a project that crossed the boundary — a charging study, a battery sizing exercise, a load-profile analysis. If you have that project, put it in the first paragraph of your statement with numbers.
Your mobility choice should be justified technically, not geographically. Say which of the two paths gives you the laboratories or the specialisation you need, and name the semester you are aiming at. Committees read dozens of statements that could be sent to any programme; the ones that survive are the ones that could only have been written for STEPS.
Common mistakes
Assuming a tuition waiver is a full scholarship and then discovering there is no monthly payment. Missing the residence-proof requirement and being reclassified after the deadline. Applying to a single university rather than the consortium portal. And writing a statement about wanting to study in Europe rather than about the engineering problem you want to work on.
If you want a technical reader to check your statement and your transcript mapping before you submit, ask an OEAC advisor for a review — we can tell you whether your degree reads as electrical engineering to a European admissions committee, which is not always obvious from the title.
Photo: Jorge Franganillo — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Other scholarships worth comparing on OEAC Network:
https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=56 https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=27 https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=78
If you want a technical reader to check your statement and your transcript mapping before you submit, ask an OEAC advisor for a review.
Last updated: 24 October 2026. Source: https://www.emjmdstepsrock.eu/scholarships/
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.
