The European Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA), organised by the Global Campus of Human Rights, is a one-year post-graduate course that provides a practice and policy-oriented approach to learning that combines legal, political, historical, anthropological, philosophical and cultural perspectives of human rights and democratisation with skill building activities and a field trip exercise. The EMA Programme is co-designed and co- implemented by 43 participating universities representing all EU Member States and the United Kingdom. It is managed by the Global Campus of Human Rights. The University of Padua, Italy, assumes the role of university of first enrolment on behalf of the consortium.

Students are taught by leading academics representing EMA participating universities, experts and representatives of international organisations (for example the European Union and the Council of Europe) and NGOs while studying in an international environment.

Upon completion of all course components, EMA graduates will have gained both academic and practical skills: on the one hand, the ability to conduct independent and interdisciplinary academic research in relation to human rights and democratisation issues; on the other hand, skills which are relevant to human rights practitioners such as reporting, fact-finding and project management.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Candidates will submit their application online at: https://apply.gchumanrights.org/ and should follow the instructions described in the section "How to apply" of the EMA website. For further information or in the event of any technical problem concerning the application submission, candidates should contact the EMA Secretariat (ema.secretariat@gchumanrights.org)

All applications must be accompanied by the following documents:

• Up-to-date transcript of records and degree diploma
• Curriculum vitae
• 2 reference letters
• Copy of passport picture page for non-EU students, ID accepted for EU students
• Proof of English language proficiency as outlined in the entry requirements section Receipt of payment of the application fee of 50 Euro

Only complete applications will be considered for evaluation.

DEADLINES
Applications are accepted and evaluated on an rolling basis.
All interested candidates should apply by 1 February 2026.

Applications from non-EU candidates will only be accepted up to the 1 February to ensure sufficient time for the collection of pre-enrolment documents, if admitted, and to ensure visa processes are completed on time.

However, the EMA programme reserves to the right to open an additional round of applications after this date for EU candidates only, in the event that further applications be required to reach the quota of 90 students.

The EMA Executive Committee approves the final list of admitted students (for a maximum of 90 students). Short-listed candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis. The application process is completed by the end of July each year.

TUITION FEES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
The tuition fee for the a.y. 2026/2027 is €6450,00 (€6300,00 tuition fee + enrolment fee of €150) payable in instalments (see paragraph 10 for payment timeline). The tuition fee covers attendance costs and participation in the field trip, learning materials, canteen service (on class and exam days), and access to the Global Campus library resources and access to resources at the University of Padua. Travel, visa and accommodation costs during both the first and second semester are the responsibility of student. There is no additional tuition fee due to the second semester host university.

Students who have a disability certificate pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 1 of Italian Law n. 104 of 5 February 1992 issued by an Italian Medical Committee or with civil disability equal to or greater than 66% attested by an Italian Medical Committee are exempt from payment of tuition fees. They are only required to pay the pre-registration fee (Euro 30.00), insurance costs (Euro 6.50) and a tax duty (Euro 16.00).

The Global Campus does not offer full scholarships. However, there are a small number of partial scholarships available for qualified candidates. Scholarships include a full tuition waiver and a modest stipend of €4,500,00 as a contribution toward living expenses. This stipend is paid in two instalments. One mid-way through the first semester, and the second at the beginning of the second semester providing that the student has successfully completed the first semester.

There are nine available scholarships for qualified candidates. Four of these scholarships are reserved for particular categories of candidates:
1. Right Livelihood-EMA Scholarship on Children's Rights:
Two scholarships are reserved for qualified candidates who commit to researching issues related to Children's Rights for their thesis project. Support for these scholarships is provided by the Right Livelihood.

2. Nicola Tonon Scholarship:
This scholarship is reserved for a qualified candidate who commits to researching the topic of Information Technology and Human Rights. This scholarship has been created in memory of Nicola Tonon who was the IT and Web Marketing Coordinator for the Global Campus for 16 years, and who passed away suddenly in 2022. (Funded by the European Commission)

3. EMA Widening Participation Scholarship:
A further scholarship is reserved from candidates coming from the following countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (Funded by the European Commission):

4. EMA-GC Scholarships:
The remaining five scholarships are open to all qualified candidates regardless of their research interest. These scholarships are funded by the European Commission.

Information concerning the criteria for scholarships will be made available on the EMA website.

Please note that scholarship recipients are responsible for bearing all additional costs associated with the EMA programme and they should ensure they have sufficient funds available to carry out their studies and pay for rent and living costs in Venice and in the second semester.

The allocation of scholarships will be determined by the EMA Executive Committee based on the criteria listed above under each scholarship. Candidates who wish to be considered for these scholarships should specify it in the online application form, to be submitted according to the deadline for applications.

Learn more here.