Admission and application

Academic requirements

SINReM is particularly suited for (but not limited to): chemical engineers, chemists, environmental scientists and engineers, geologists, geophysicists, mining engineers, mineralogists, materials scientists, metallurgists, bioscience engineers, biotechnology scientists, and process engineers.

To be admitted to the SINReM programme, you need to:

Hold a Bachelor degree (equivalent to at least 180 ECTS credits *) in a discipline closely related to the SINReM scope (see above for examples). **
Have a strong background in science (equivalent to at least 15 ECTS credits in mathematics and/or physics and 10 ECTS credits in chemistry). **
Have completed your previous degree(s) with very good or excellent grades (typically top 30% of your students cohort).
Submit a convincing motivation letter with your application, which shows that the SINReM scope matches your previous education and future goals.
Fulfil the English language requirements listed below.

(*) Find out if your Bachelor degree meets the academic entry requirements by selecting your country.

(**) If you do not fully meet criteria 1 and 2, you may still be admitted if you have excellent grades (typically top 10% of the students) in your previous degree(s). Please note that in this case you will have to invest more time within the first year to catch up with fundamentals of science and engineering.

Academic admission is granted by the SINReM Student Selection Committee, based upon the strength of the academic profile and motivation. The full application procedure needs to be completed in order to be granted admission.

All students participating in the SINReM programme will need to sign the Student Agreement prior to the start of the programme.

English language requirements

Accepted English language test certificates (the certificate cannot be older than 5 years):

TOEFL iBT (at least total score of 86 out of 120, TOEFL iBT Home Edition is accepted).
TOEFL pBT (at least total score of 570).
Academic IELTS (overall band score of at least 6.5 with at least 6 for writing, IELTS Online is accepted).
Cambridge C1 advanced certificate (formerly Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)).

Other test certificates such as TOEIC, TOEFL ITP, Duolingo, … are not accepted.

Only nationals of all EU and EEA countries, Australia, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe are exempted to provide an English language test certificate as listed above. In this case, you need to provide an English Language of Instruction Certificate issued and signed by your previous university. This certificate should clearly state that the language of instruction during a previous bachelor of master level higher education degree was English.

Nationals of other countries need to provide one of the above listed English language test certificates (TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge CAE).

The English Language requirements listed above are the result of official agreements between the partner universities organising SINReM and no exemptions are made.

How to apply?

Process

Deadlines

Important

Process

Deadlines

Important

Apply here

Find out if you are eligible to apply for academic admission and/or a scholarship for the SINReM programme. Complete the questions below and get access to the Application Portal. Carefully read the SINReM Applications Manual to guide you through the application procedure.

I meet the English language requirements.

I meet the English language requirements:

I have a certificate of one of the listed English language tests:

TOEFL iBT (at least total score of 86 out of 120)
TOEFL pBT (at least total score of 570)
Academic IELTS (overall band score of at least 6.5 with at least 6 for writing)
Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE)

or I am a national of one of the listed countries below and I have an official certificate stating that I have obtained at least 60 ECTS credits with English as the language of instruction during my previous bachelor or master degree:

All EU and EEA countries, Australia, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

YES

I have obtained the equivalent of at least 10 ECTS credits chemistry and 15 ECTS credits physics/mathematics.

I have obtained the equivalent of at least 10 ECTS credits (300 hours of work) in chemistry and at least 15 ECTS credits (450 hours of work) in a combination of mathematics and physics during my previous bachelor or master studies at a university.

YES

I have a bachelor degree in a field relevant for the SINReM programme.

I have a bachelor degree in bioscience engineer15 ECTS credits (450 hours of work) in a combination of mathematics and physics during my previous bachelor or master studies at a university.

YES

I have a bachelor degree in a field relevant for the SINReM programme.

I have a bachelor degree in bioscience engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, environmental sciences and engineering, geology, geophysics, mining engineering, mineralogy, materials sciences, metallurgy or process engineering, or another degree that shows affinity with any aspect of the (minerals and metal) raw materials value chain. Degrees in natural resources management (forestry, wildlife, bio-conservation, …) are not suited for the SINReM programme.

YES

I obtained very good or excellent grades.

I obtained very good or excellent grades (typically top 30% of the students cohort) during my previous bachelor degree.

YES

I will be officially graduated by 28th February 2025.

I will be officially graduated and I will be able to show my final Diploma or Certificate of Graduation of my previous bachelor degree by the deadline of 28 February 2025.

YES

You will be considered for an AVSA scholarship and for academic admission to the SINReM programme. Please follow the link below to the EIT RawMaterials application portal. After completing your EIT profile you will be forwarded to the OASIS portal of Ghent University where you can create a UGent account and submit your application.

Continue to Application Portal

You will be considered for an AVSA scholarship and academic admission to the SINReM programme. Please follow the link below to the EIT RawMaterials application portal. After completing your EIT profile you will be forwarded to the OASIS portal of Ghent University where you can create a UGent account and submit your application.

Continue to Application Portal

You will not be considered for a scholarship nor will you be granted academic admission to the SINReM programme.

Admission and scholarship selection

To award scholarships and academic admission to the SINReM programme, all submitted application files will be reviewed by the SINReM Student Selection Committee, with representatives from all partner universities. Admission and scholarships are awarded based on meeting the academic and language requirements, and motivation.

To set up the scholarship ranking, the Student Selection Committee takes into account not only previous achievements, motivation (including entrepreneurial spirit), but also the scientific background of the applicants, as the SINReM programme aims to work on multidisciplinary projects with a diversity of students having different backgrounds.

Applicants who apply before 28 February 2025, will be notified by e-mail in April 2025 about the academic admission and scholarship selection outcome for intake September 2025.

EEA and Swiss applicants who apply between 28 February and 31 May 2025, will be notified shortly after application about the academic admission and scholarship selection outcome for intake September 2025.

All students participating in the SINReM programme will need to sign the Student Agreement prior to the start of the programme.

Legalisation of your documents and letter of admission

Please legalise your BSc Degree Certificate (Diploma) and Transcript of Records according to the correct legalisation method for your country.

The Diploma and Transcript submitted during application stage should not be legalised. If you are granted academic admission to SINReM, you will be contacted by the International Admission Desk of Ghent University in April 2025 in order to send scans of your legalised Diploma and Transcript of Records by e-mail as soon as possible and before the ultimate deadline of 31 May 2025.

After the International Admission Desk of Ghent University has received your legalised documents, you will receive a Letter of Admission for the SINReM programme based on which you can apply for a student visa.

Visa application and further practical info

If you need a visa to enter Belgium, please start your visa application as soon as possible after you have received your Letter of Admission.

Apply for a long stay student visa type D at the Belgian embassy or consulate which is competent for your country of residence. More information about your visa application can be found here and at the competent Belgian embassy or consulate.

SINReM includes student mobility to other Schengen countries, and therefor you have to apply for a long stay student visa type D with code B35. After your arrival in Belgium, you will be able to apply based on this code B35 for a 2 year residence permit that will allow you to travel to Germany and Sweden without having to apply for a visa in these countries.

An administrative fee is asked by the embassy or consulate for the processing of your visa application. Scholarship holders are exempted from paying this administrative fee. Therefore, a visa administrative fee exemption document should be submitted to the embassy or consulate during your visa application. This document will be attached to your Scholarship Award Letter that will be sent to all selected scholarship holders in April 2025.

When applying for a student visa, you will have to prove your solvency (i.e. sufficient means of subsistence). This solvency can be proved in different ways:

A Scholarship Award Letter (document certifying that the student has been granted a scholarship).
An affidavit of support (or a financial guarantee).
A blocked account and solvency letter: Ghent University can provide a letter to prove sufficient means of subsistence. In that case the financial means have to be transferred to a bank account of Ghent University, where they will be blocked on a personal account. The financial means will then be reimbursed to you on a monthly basis. For more information, contact international@ugent.be.

All instructions on other administrative steps (insurance, bank account, student housing, travel to Belgium, residence permit …) will be sent to admitted students by e-mail in May 2025.

This SINReM Student Handbook 2024-2026 contains practical info for the student cohort starting in September 2024.

Feedback and appeal

Each year, more than 500 application files are submitted for the SINReM programme. The admission criteria are clearly listed on this website and no exceptions are made. Every year, only 25-30 scholarships can be awarded so scholarship application are very competitive.

The Student Selection Committee with representatives of all participating universities screens all files and award the scholarships based on objective criteria.

If you would not agree with the outcome of the Student Selection Committee, an appeal can be filed to sinrem@ugent.be. The decision of the Committe will not be changed unless the applicant can prove that the Committee made an objective mistake during evaluating the candidate.

Data protection

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), in the context of managing the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees, collects and processes the personal data of some of the candidates.

In particular, certain data of the scholarship holders (students and scholars), nonscholarship holders and reserve list candidates is shared with the Agency through the EACEA Mobility Tool and treated according to the following privacy statement.