A master’s degree that offers the chance to be a student “digital nomad”, living and studying in multiple places around Europe, sounds too good to be true.
I certainly thought it was in March 2023, when I was accepted into a two-year Erasmus Mundus journalism programme that would see me live one year each in Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus, and in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam.
I was concerned about whether it was just good advertising, and whether I would feel isolated by moving from country to country.
But like everything in life, it is what you make of it.
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The programme I did is a joint master’s in journalism, media and globalisation, with a specialisation in politics and communication.
It is one of 349 unique Erasmus Mundus master’s programmes that have been running since 2004. Students study on a rotational basis at different partner universities, between which the course content, teaching styles and quality of education varies wildly.
Some of the programmes offer multiple qualifications within the one programme, and others, like mine, a joint masters, whereby two universities sign off on one master’s conferral.
My 80 or so colleagues and I studied in Denmark for one year and then split up into four different locations for the second year, with each group studying a different specialisation in either London, Prague, Munich or Amsterdam. We chose the specialisations when applying to the programme.
It was a broad master’s programme, rather than a deep one – each of the five words in the programme title is a master’s in itself.
We learned basic journalism production skills at the Danish School of Media and Journalism, and studied the sociology of media and statistical methods at Aarhus University. In the second, specialisation year at the University of Amsterdam, we studied communication science and dipped our toes into the world of data journalism and coding.
My fellow colleagues had between three months and 20 years of experience in journalism. In my experience, the one-size-fits-all approach to our courses in Denmark left the majority feeling either overwhelmed or unsatisfied by the skill level it was targeted at. It is a challenge for any teacher to design classes that meet the needs of everyone in that broad bracket.
In conferring with other Irish students of Erasmus Mundus master’s programmes, it seems that the overly broad nature of these programmes is outweighed by their affordability and the chance they give to relive exchange experiences from undergrad.
For instance, Mairéad Butler (23) from Waterford is in the midst of completing the GEMMA master’s in women’s and gender studies. She chose it over a master’s in the London School of Economics because the latter was out of her price range.
“This wasn’t my first choice and I didn’t think I would end up doing it, but if you could give me a magic wand and say, ‘I’ll give you all the money and you can go to London’, I wouldn’t do it”, she says.
In Denmark, all university courses are free for European citizens. Elsewhere, Erasmus Mundus programme fees vary between €2,000 and €9,000 per year, with higher costs for those coming from outside the EU.
Butler says “it actually worked out to be cheaper doing these two years overall than to do a year in Dublin [or London], so it was kind of a no-brainer”.
In addition to the lower costs of fees and student accommodation compared with Ireland, many places on Erasmus Mundus courses are funded by scholarships. I received a scholarship from Erasmus Mundus that covered my course fees, travel costs and living expenses up to €1,000 per month for the entirety of the two years. I also applied for and received a scholarship from the George Moore foundation that covered my remaining costs.
Bláithín Breathnach, a 24-year-old from Galway, was also awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship and funding from George Moore to complete a master’s in children’s literature, media and cultural entrepreneurship.
Besides the financial support it offered, Breathnach was drawn to this master’s because it gave her a chance to practise French. She studied languages at the University of Galway and wanted to go down an alternative route to translation and interpreting. After a semester each in Glasgow and Aarhus, she is now beginning a semester in Nantes, France, studying entrepreneurship and doing a placement through French.
Similarly, Butler says the chance to practise Spanish as part of her master’s programme was a big draw for her. She speaks Spanish fluently, and German well, which meant she settled more easily in Vienna and Grenada, Spain. “I think for those of them that didn’t speak German, even though everyone speaks quite good English, especially in Vienna, if you don’t know what’s going on or you can’t tune into what’s happening, I think you do feel that bit more disconnected.”
Unfortunately, my Danish and Dutch language skills remain at the first level of Duolingo. Almost everyone in both locations speaks excellent English and I selfishly never prioritised learning either language. That is not something I recommend when moving to a new country, especially if you plan on staying for longer than a year.
And as for all the moving around, Breathnach has got used to it: “Moving every six months isn’t easy, but I did that already on my Erasmus and I also did a J1 in New York so I kind of felt like I was a good candidate for it. I kind of have some idea of what you need to do, like get set up very quickly and get settled very quickly so that you can enjoy your time.”
Those who cannot cope with bureaucracy and administration might be best staying away from such programmes. Moving to different cities, registering with municipalities, finding housing, shipping luggage, paying insurance, getting doctor and dentist appointments and finding part-time jobs is a nightmare for any Gen-Z who grew up in the relative calm of the pandemic.
Yet these degrees are perfect for an outgoing, culturally engaged student who doesn’t mind evenings on FaceTime with far-away friends. You have to be good at making friends quickly and then maintaining those friendships over long distances.
“You’re kind of transient,” says Butler. “I thought I’d feel like I was part of a bigger community doing the course. A lot of my friends [in Vienna] aren’t on the GEMMA programme and then they’re staying on doing their second year there and I’m moving on. It’s hard to leave that, but still knowing that it’s going to be great to be in Spain. I’m really excited but it’s just kind of bittersweet when you’re leaving.”
