International Master in Early Childhood Education and Care (IMEC) is a two-year international Master Programme (120 ECTS) in Early Childhood Education and Care. All students will follow a given structure, spending at least one semester at all three partner institutions.

IMEC is offered in cooperation between Oslo University College (Norway), University of Malta (Malta), and Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland).

Learning objectives
The aim of the programme is to integrate research, professional development and wareness and knowledge of key policy issues at an advanced level by increasing mobility, shared learning and thinking, thus contributing to achieve the goal of a unified teaching, learning and research environment, strengthening the Bologna process.

• To integrate research, professional development and policy at an advanced level within the field of early childhood education and care.
• To gain knowledge of the tension between general policy targets, the increasing diversity of family structures and the need to strengthen children’s right as citizens.
• To bridge the gap between quality provision and the lack of higher education and research within the field of early childhood education and care.
• To explore the increasing pressure on early education and care systems arising from socio-economic and socio-cultural transformations, to focus not only on educational institutions but on children’s early learning in a broad variety of formal and informal learning contexts.
• To foster critical awareness of cultural and individual diversity from a political and professional perspective.

What does the course qualify for?
On successful completion of International Master in Early Childhood Education and Care, the students will be awarded a joint Master degree in Early Childhood Education and Care. (120 ECTS credits) signed and recognized by all three partners: Oslo University College (Norway), Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland) and University of Malta (Malta).

The course qualifies for teaching, research and leadership within the educational sector and for work involving early childhood educational issues in public or private institutions. Potential professional or academic careers are decision-making and policy making functions in public administration bodies such as ministries and municipalities, leading positions within child care and primary school systems, social service, develop bachelor programmes in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in target countries, teach bachelor programmes in ECEC, work with children’s rights organizations, carry out research consulting assignments (mostly for NGOs).

Target groups
The target groups are teachers, educators, counselors, leaders or other groups who work with education and development issues in preschool and primary school, within central or local government or in private enterprises.

Criteria for application
In order to apply and have your application assessed, you must meet these criteria:

• Bachelor degree or equivalent with significant relevance to early childhood education (you must document this either through academic diplomas / transcripts and/or work testimonials that shows you have worked directly with or towards young children)
• Sufficient command of written and oral English
• Computer knowledge and skills

The applications are evaluated by a combination of different factors. The factors and their weight are:

• Relevance and excellence of academic background (weight: 50%)
• Relevant experience and professional training (weight: 25%)
• The submitted statement of purpose (weight: 15%)
• Letters of reference (weight: 10%)

The final selection of students is made by the IMEC Selection Committee, which consists of representatives from all three partner institutions. No more than 2 of the successful applicants should have the same nationality. Successful applicants cannot previously have received Erasmus Mundus scholarships. Applicants who already hold a master degree in early childhood education and care or very related fields will not be prioritized.

The selected students are proposed for Erasmus Mundus scholarships, subject to the decision by the European Commission’s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

It is not possible to apply for a scholarship without a place on IMEC. Once you have been accepted to as a student on IMEC, the IMEC consortia will apply for a scholarship on your behalf.

Please note: the maximum number of Erasmus Mundus Master Courses for which students can apply is three. The commission will verify if students have been selected on more than one course.

Quotes
EACEA sets the quotes of number of given scholarships for each cohort. For the IMEC cohort starting fall 2011, we will be able to award 9 none-EU scholarships, 1 Western Balkans and Turkey scholarship and 7 EU scholarships. Students with self-funding are also welcome to apply.

Definitions
By Third country-students we mean citizens coming from all countries other than:

• The 27 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The UK)
• The EEA-EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway)
• Third country applicants cannot have been residents of, or carried out their main activities (studies, work, etc.) in, any of the above countries for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years.

Application procedure
All prospective third country students and students from Western Balkan (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) and Turkey must submit a complete application within 1st November 2011. The application must not be in Norway by then, but post stamped. We recommend you send your application through registered mail.

Application deadline for European students is 15th December 2011.

We will not accept applications sent after these dates.

Only successful applicants will be notified of their admission. Successful students will be notified in early April 2012.
The application process consists of two steps;

1. First you have to fill out and electronically submit the application form within the deadline.
2. Then you have to send in hard copies of the required attachments.

Only complete applications will be assessed. A complete application consists of the following:

• Diplomas and transcripts must be in original or officially verified copies. If the original language is another language than English, students must supply a translation of their diploma and transcripts. The translation must be done by an authorized translator.
• Language skills: Students from non-English speaking countries must have passed: either IELTS (International English Language Testing System) (minimum score: 5.5 points) or TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) (minimum score: 550 on the paper based test, 213 on the computer based test, or 79 on the Internet based test). There are also other language tests which are approved. Please enclose the test certificate in your application. The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) grants several other exemptions from English language tests
• Students from an English speaking country or who have completed a degree with English as the means of education, do not have to submit the English tests.
• Statement of purpose: I.e. motivation, subject of interest, plans for studies, which competencies and skills students would like to achieve, what student would like to do after completion, etc) . Maximum 350 words. Must be submitted in English.
• Relevant experience and professional training: CV. Relevant work experience must be documented. Please be as specific as possible. The CV must specify the position held, main responsibilities and how long the employment has lasted. You should have work experience that is related to early childhood education and care. Documentation of relevant courses, work shops, seminars etc can also be included.
• Letter of reference: Minimum 2 letters, preferably one letter from an academic viewpoint and one from an employer. Reference letters must be written in English and must be signed / stamped.
• Verification of identity (copy of passport or attestation from the National Population Register)

Officially certified copies (with stamp and signature) of examination certificates and testimonies must be enclosed to the application if students want them to be considered for admission.

Please note that it is the full responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary documentation.

Submitted certificates and documents will not be returned to sender.

Address
Your full application must be sent to the following address:

IMEC Administration
Faculty of Education and International Studies
Oslo University College
Pilestredet 52
0167 Oslo
Norway

Erasmus Mundus scholarships

• The Consortia will apply for Erasmus Mundus scholarships for the successful candidates. The scholarships differ between students from Europe and none-European students (also called “third country students”).
• None-European students: The Erasmus Mundus scholarship will be paid to you as a student in 20 monthly instalments of 1200€ each, plus an annual instalment of 4000 € for the two-year period. The annual instalments are destined to cover mobility costs and other expenses. The first instalment will be paid at the beginning of the first academic year and the second instalment will be paid at the beginning of the second academic year. The scholarship also covers tuition fee for the full two years.
• European students: The Erasmus Mundus scholarship will be paid to you as a student in 20 monthly instalments of 500€ each. The scholarship also covers tuition fee for the full two years. There are no annual instalments to cover mobility costs and other expenses.

Category A scholarships. A Category A scholarship may be awarded to third country nationals, who are not residents nor have carried out their main activity (studies, training, work) for more than a total of 12 months in an EU-EEA country. The category A scholarship amounts to a monthly allowance of 1000€ per month which equals 12000€ per year for two years. In addition the students will receive a contribution to travel and installation costs at the beginning of each school year of 4000€, coming to a total of 8000€ for the two-year course. The tuition fees will be covered by the scholarship.

Category B scholarships. A Category B scholarship may be awarded to students from the EU-EEA area, as well as third country students who has been residing in the EU-EEA area for more than 12 months within the last five years. The scholarship amounts to 500€ per month/6000€ per year for two years, plus coverage of tuition fees. Category B students will not be awarded travel and installation costs.

The scholarships for the EU-EEA students should not be considered as a full scholarship, but rather as a contribution. Students are allowed and encouraged to also have other sources of funding (e.g. student loands, other scholarshipsgrants from their home countries).

It is not possible to apply for a scholarship without a place on IMEC. Once you have been accepted to as a student on IMEC, the IMEC consortia will apply for a scholarship on your behalf.

For more information, please visit official website: www.imec.hio.no.

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