How to apply

requirements | Procedure | Deadlines & dates | Student categories | Appeal

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Admission Requirements

1/ Academic Requirements

A prerequisite for admission is that applicants have a Bachelor (or Master) degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution (minimum 3 years full-time study or 180 ECTS credits) in civil / structural / mechanical / electrical / chemical / industrial engineering, material sciences, chemistry, physics, applied physics, architecture, urbanism and spatial planning or a related discipline.

Note: Students in their last year of such a study programme at the time of application will also be considered for admission. It is the applicant's responsibility that the required degree is obtained prior to the start of the IMFSE programme.

2/ English Language Requirements

The English language requirements are updated regularly. Please always check the last version of the requirements webpage on the website of The University of Edinburgh. There you may also find information on who can be exempt from submitting an English language certificate.

IMFSE is an English taught programme and an English language proficiency is therefore a basic requirement. Applicants must provide an English language certificate no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme (September), unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old. 1 of the 6 following certificates must be submitted:

• IELTS Academic with a minimum score of 6.5 (with at least 6.0 in each section).

• TOEFL-iBT (internet-based) Certificate (including Home Edition) with a minimum score of 92 (with at least 20 in each section). We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.

• Trinity ISE II Certificate with distinctions in all four components.

• Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) total 176 with at least 169 in each component.

• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) total 176 with at least 169 in each component.

• PTE Academic 62 overall with at least 59 in each component.

Special Note on exemptions

Exemptions always need to be requested and approved by the IMFSE Selection Committee. It is not possible to be exempt just because you have studied a Bachelor degree in English. You need to check the accepted English language qualifications as listed on the website of The University of Edinburgh.

3/ Degree Legalisation

This can be a very lengthy and time-consuming process, please start it well in advance!

In order to ascertain the authenticity of your diploma, we need to receive a duly legalized copy of it. Please carefully read the information on the Ghent University website about the legalization methods per country and how to get your documents correctly legalized.

The legalisation method depends on the country where the diploma was issued (check the list of countries per legalisation method on the Ghent University website):

• Belgian Embassy: Foreign Affairs: legalisation.

• Apostille: Your country has signed the Hague Treaty, you are therefore required to submit an official copy with original Apostille seal. More information can be found on www.hcch.net.

• Certified Copy: The country where your diploma was issued has a special agreement with Belgium and you are therefore required to submit a copy taken of the original primary document by a qualified official who guarantees its authenticity as a true copy. More information about certified copies can be found on the Ghent University website.

Note: you might have to contact the institute that issued your diploma to obtain a certified copy or to find out what the procedure is to have your diploma apostilled or legalized.

Note: if your higher education diploma is not issued in English, it needs to be translated by a certified translator and the original plus the translation need to be added to your application.

Note: students with a Chinese degree should be aware of the APS screening. More info on the Ghent University website.

Note: Students in their last year of such a study programme at the time of application will also be considered for admission. It is the applicant's responsibility that the required degree is obtained prior to the start of the IMFSE programme.

Application Procedure

The procedure in 4 steps

1. Determine whether you are eligible for the IMFSE programme by checking the requirements section above.

2. When applications are open, fill out and submit the application form prior to the set deadlines.

3. Have all the necessary documents (including legalisations) ready to complete your application.

4. In case your file has been evaluated as positive by the selection committee, you will be invited for an online interview, which is the last phase in the application procedure. Scholarship applicants: interviews in February; self-sponsored applicants: interviews after file reviews when suitable for both parties.
   

Checklist of documents

You will need to submit (online, possibly also in hard copies) the following documents, so start well in advance to collect this documentation:

• Passport photo

• Copy of your passport (or other official identification proof for EEA students)

• (Europass) CV

• Personal Statement

• Legalized copy of your Higher Education (Bachelor/Master) degree: original + certified English translation (read the information under Admission Requirements - 3 Degree Legalisation carefully)

• A certified copy of your Higher Education (Bachelor/Master) transcript of records + certified English translation

• English language certificate

• 2 reference letters

• Other documentation you deem relevant

The documents need to be submitted before the deadline (see below).

Note: It is possible to send us your English language certificate after the submission deadline, but definitely before the start of the programme. Possible admission will remain conditional until the file is complete.
Please also note that without a valid language certificate your application is incomplete. Incomplete files might have lower chances of receiving a scholarship.

Student Categories

There is no nationality restriction. All applicants from all nationalities are welcome in the programme.

Programme Countries

= EEA* + North Macedonia & Turkey

These are thus students originating from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey.

*EEA = European Economic Area

Partner Countries

= any other country not mentioned under Programme Countries (above)

Note: Students originating from the following countries are thus also considered to be Partner Country students: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Appeal Procedure

The IMFSE secretariat will be responsible on behalf of the IMFSE Selection Committee to inform the applicants about the outcome of the selection phase, by the end of March for scholarship applicants, and by the end of June for self-sponsored applicants.

At the end of the selection procedure, applicants have the possibility to file an appeal. An appeal can only relate to the correct completion of the selection procedure, not to the outcome thereof. The appeal must be received within 15 working days from the notification date of the selection results. The notification date is the date on which the IMFSE secretariat sends the notification email.

In case of an appeal, the IMFSE appeal form needs to be filled out, signed, dated and send by email to imfse@ugent.be. The sender will receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email. The appeal will then be investigated by the IMFSE Management Board. The appealer will receive the outcome of the appeal within 20 working days after the date on which the appealer sent their appeal form by e-mail to imfse@ugent.be.