The Université libre de Bruxelles is coordinating the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems – TROPIMUNDO, a two-year international Master’s programme (120 ECTS).
The programme is particularly relevant to students with a Biology and Environmental Sciences background in the broad sense (see FAQ). TROPIMUNDO allows students to explore interconnected tropical ecosystems through coursework and field schools in the Amazonian tropical rainforest, Indian Ocean and Pacific tropical islands, Central-African rainforest, East-African Great Lakes, terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, Malagasy forest ecosystems, and Asian terrestrial, aquatic and mangrove forests. The fourth semester is dedicated to thesis work related to tropical biodiversity and ecosystems. The other two semesters cover basic and specialised courses in Belgium, Italy, France and French Guiana.
Fully funded scholarships
For students starting the programme in September 2027, the European Commission offers a certain number of fully covering scholarships for EU and non-EU students (project approval pending). Selected scholarship holders will have their tuition fees and mobility covered, in addition to receiving full insurance and monthly subsistence allocations.
TROPIMUNDO is also co-financed by VLIRUOS ICP-Connect for Mundus tropicalis, with trajectories running through Kenya, the Philippines and Benin, for which scholarships have already been secured.
Confirmation of the VLIRUOS scholarships for the first-ranked applicants will be known in January 2027, while confirmation of the Erasmus Mundus scholarships is expected in July 2027. There are no country restrictions whatsoever.
As Erasmus Mundus is the educational excellence brand of the European Commission, scholarship holders are selected according to excellence criteria, such as prior education, professional activities, referee forms and knowledge of languages.
Application deadline
The first call for applicants seeking a scholarship and intending to start the programme in the 2027–2028 academic year is now open.
Application deadline: 30 November 2026
Further information on the TROPIMUNDO programme and the application procedure can be found on the official websites: