Application

Prerequisites and Admission

Degree

Applicants must have a Bachelor degree or equivalent in the area of (Computational) Linguistics, Language Technology, Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, or other relevant disciplines, subject to the consent of and the approval by the consortium's admission committee.

My current degree is in Literature, Language and Education, or Translation. Am I eligible for the LCT Program?(Click to view answer)

If your BS/BA degree is still in progress, you may nevertheless submit an application. Complete the area "Expected Degree" in the online application form. The restriction in this case will be that the BS/BA certificate is available before the MSc study course begins.

Language

Application intake 2022: Due to the current Covid-19 situation, applicants may additionally take advantage of the "at home" tests offered by Toefl and IELTS (Toefl At Home, IELTS Indicator)

Proficiency in English (for non-native speakers) must be certified by one of the following:

No other documents can be accepted as confirmation of English proficiency.

Please note:

Applicants from countries where English is not the ONLY native language do need one of the certificates mentioned above.

The TOEFL code number is 8497. All LCT TOEFL scores should be sent to Saarland University-Dept. of Language Science and Technology. So it is important to enter the code 8497 on your answer sheets when you sit for the examination. Please do not upload or send us a copy of the student record of your TOEFL scores. We can only accept official scores sent to us directly from the TOEFL organization. If you have taken the TOEFL within the past 2 years and wish to order an official score report to be sent directly from the TOEFL organization, you will find instructions on the website of TOEFL.


Selection 2024

The intake 2024 will be for self-funding students only. The application form will be open on December 4 and the deadline will be March 1 at 23.59 PM, Central European Time.

Selection 2022

Application for the Erasmus Mundus scholarship round for intake 2022 is now CLOSED. Results will be announced approximately in March, 2022.

SELF-FUNDING APPLICATIONS:
A late application round for intake 2022 on a self-funding basis ONLY, (no Erasmus Mundus scholarship) is planned to open on 29.03.2022 and will close on 10.04.2022 at 23.59 PM, Central European Summer Time.

Selection 2021

Application for intake 2021 is closed.

This site provides immigration details, also specific to Covid 19, that may be helpful in preparing for travel. Please note this is provided for information purposes only, the LCT program does not promote, monitor, or take any responsibility for accuracy or content.

Selection 2020

Regarding Corona virus situation in Europe:

The selection schedule already published on the home page will be respected. Regarding other questions relating to the virus situation, it is not yet possible to predict what the European situation will be in August, 2020 (Summer School) and in September, 2020, the beginning of the intake. Further information will be provided as we become aware of potential changes, especially regarding any instructions provided by the European Union. The current state is to continue according to the planned schedule until further notice (March, 2020).


Selection Criteria

Students are selected by a joint committee including members from all partner institutions. Students are selected for study in the program on the basis of their performance and excellence in their previous studies.

All applications are first screened for fulfilling the following eligibility criteria:

  1. Meeting of the application deadline
  2. Completeness of the application
  3. English language proficiency
  4. Bachelor degree (at least projected completion before starting the LCT Program) or equivalent in the area of (Computational) Linguistics, Language Technology, Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, or other relevant disciplines, subject to the consent of and the approval by the consortium's admission committee.

All applications that meet the eligibility criteria are then assessed against the following selection criteria:

  1. Results in undergraduate education: grade and quality of first degree (what mark and from which university or program); time spent to receive first degree and way of conducting studies (short and focused, or if long additional activities, richness of studies depending on field, additional activities besides studies); having worked or studied in an interdisciplinary environment (type of first degree studies or additional experience outside the first degree studies);
  2. Results in areas relevant for LCT, namely Computer Science and a proven interest in Language Technology (incl. a strong background in formal linguistics);
  3. Result of TOEFL, IELTS or other acceptable test (see language requirements here); language abilities and practical application in studying or working;
  4. Benefit potential for the students, how the student may profit from participating in the LCT program;
  5. Motivation of the student for wanting to participate in the LCT program (expectations, own contribution).

All criteria are equally weighted, except the English proficiency criterion, which is applied in case of otherwise equal ranking.


Deadline and Procedure

Application Deadline

Application deadline for the scholarship round intake 2024 is on 01.03.2024 at 23.59 PM, Central European Time.

Application Assessment and Selection Schedule

Erasmus Mundus scholarships will not be available for the students of the intake 2024. However we will offer Consortium Scholarships. See more information here.

Application Procedure

European applicants are defined as nationals of an EU member state, an EEA-EFTA state (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) or other nationals who have carried out their main activity (studies, work, etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of these countries. Applicants who are nationals or residents of Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) or Serbia will be considered as European applicants.

non-European applicants are all others. Nationals from EU candidate countries may be considered as European applicants.

NB: Special note for applicants from Western Balkans region (i.e. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo under UNSC resolution 1244/99, Montenegro): Unless otherwise determined due to residency abroad, your application should be submitted under the area "non-European".

NB: If you are enrolled on a self-financing basis, your data may be used for purposes of evaluating the Erasmus Mundus Programme and will be made available to the EACEA, the EM National Structures, the EU Delegations and the Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association.

The procedure to submit a complete application:

  1. Fill out the application form.
    • Provide the names of 2 referees of your choice on the application form. Using the email address you provide, your referees will be contacted and asked to upload letters of recommendation. Be sure to complete this step to allow your referees adequate time to complete the letters and upload them before the application deadline.
      Alternatively, your referee may send their letter by post to our contact address, but it must come directly from the referee (not from you), be securely sealed, and sent by the deadline.
    • OPTIONAL: You may provide your preferences for the host and partner universities together with the reasons for your choice. While your preferences will be taken into account, the final assignment will be made to best fit your study needs.
  2. Upload the following documents via the file upload interface:
    • a current Curriculum Vitae (CV), written in English (Upload into the field Curriculum Vitae (CV))
    • certified copies of:
      • your Bachelor's degree, if already completed (Upload into the field Degree Certificate (DC))
      • certificates attesting to the fulfillment of the language requirements (Upload into the field English Certification (EC))
    • a transcript of academic records (Upload into the field Transcript of Records (TOR))
    • a copy of your identity document (Upload into the field Passport (PP))

If your original documents are in a language other than English, please also submit certified translations.

Please note that we cannot return any documents that you send us.

In the case of multiple online applications, only the most recent will be considered. If you submit more than one online application, you must re-upload all required documents into the most recent application.

Special note for students from China, Vietnam and India who are allocated or applying to a German university:

You are required to have your documents validated via the APS procedure. Some exemptions are possible. For more information, you can start on the Uni Assist page, below, and link to country-specific information: https://www.uni-assist.de/en/tools/glossary-of-terms/description/details/akademische-pruefstelle-aps/




Appeal procedure

If a candidate has not been selected and has grounds to believe that his/her application file, *although complete*, has not been processed through the selection procedure, he/she may engage an appeal procedure.

Before submitting an appeal, please check carefully, whether

If the above conditions are met, and you have reasons to believe that a mistake has been made during the selection procedure you may submit an appeal. An appeal request must be made as follows:

Note:
A candidate may appeal ONLY on the grounds of defective or unfair procedure. The appeal procedure is concerned with how the application was handled in the evaluation and eligibility-checking process. It does not automatically lead to re-evaluation. Please note that new information or clarifications that should have been in the application will not be taken into consideration.