The Crossways in Cultural Narratives master’s program (or how to study abroad being poor and in humanities)
The Crossways in Cultural Narratives master’s program allowed me to study abroad.
Being poor and having a bachelor’s in Language and Literature, for the longest time, I didn’t think I would ever do it.
But shortly after getting fired from my previous job, I bumped into an article on the Crossways program and decided to apply.
The Crossways in Cultural Narratives program allowed me to get a master’s degree in Literature in Europe, with a full scholarship, and you’ll find out more about the program in this post.
The Crossways in Cultural Narratives master’s program
The Crossways in Cultural Narratives master’s is one of the several mobility masters financed by the Erasmus Mundus Program.
This program provides EU-funded scholarships that enable students to enroll in different European universities, regardless of their financial situation.
“What is a mobility master?”, you might ask yourself.
A master’s program in which you study at a minimum of two universities.
As far as the Crossways program is concerned, you must choose a pathway through three universities.
And when you finish the program, you receive three master’s degrees from each university you attended.
How great is that? Besides getting the chance to study and live abroad, you also get nothing less than three master’s degrees!
And the cherry on top is that the Crossways program offers scholarships to students in humanities.
It specializes in Comparative Literature and Intermedia and has students with a wide variety of academic backgrounds: Languages, Literature, Journalism, History, Arts, etc.
On the Crossways program’s website, you find information on the universities that are part of the consortium, the course structure, application periods, and academic requirements.
Edit: Apparently, there won’t be a 2023 cohort.
Still, it’s likely that the program will reapply for financing and open applications in one or two years.
It’s worth checking the website and the Erasmus Mundus masters catalog as well, as there are other masters in humanities, like the CLE (in European literatures and cultures).
You can access the Erasmus Mundus masters catalog here.
Application
You can find more detailed information on the application process on the program’s website, but I want to tell you about my experience, and the documents I needed and you’ll surely need too.
I had to attach the following documents to my application:
- Filled form (available on the website)
- Bachelor’s degree or a certificate of completion
- Transcripts of records
- Two academic articles, written in one of the languages of the consortium (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, or German)
- Certificate of proficiency in English of at least B2 level (you need to prove you’re proficient in at least two languages of the consortium and that you’re willing to learn a third one)
- Motivation letter
- Two recommendation letters
Tips
The application process was actually quite simple.
I found out about the program two days before the closure of applications.
That’s how simple it was.
And sure, I was lucky to have some of these documents already, but I can assure you the process was easier than you think.
Based on my personal experience, here are a few tips for your application:
Academic articles
Since I had very little time and no articles available, I adapted two final papers I had written before to the format of an article (30 pages maximum each).
Both of them were submitted in Portuguese, as I didn’t have the time to translate them.
Language proficiency certificates
I already had a TOEFL ITP certificate because I could take the exam for free at my university years ago (in fact, my certificate was older than 2 years and it wasn’t a problem).
If you dream about studying abroad, I highly recommend that you grab a similar opportunity if you have one.
If taking an exam for free is not an option, it’s worth investing in the certification the institution you’re interested in asks for (IELTS, TOEFL, DELF, DELE, etc.) if you plan on applying sometime soon.
Motivation letter
I recommend you do thorough research on how to write a motivation letter if you don’t know where to begin.
This will give you a better idea of how to convey your arguments, which should be:
- A short presentation of you as a student.
- The reason you’re applying to this specific program.
- Why they should choose you for a spot.
It’s really important that this is your letter and that it tells your story and aspirations.
Searching for inspiration is surely helpful, but you should be careful never to use full sentences from other people’s texts or ask someone else to write your motivation letter for you.
This can immediately eliminate you, in case excerpts of your text are remarkably similar to someone else’s.
Also, the truth is a motivation letter is one of the easiest things you’ll have to write if you get in into an international program like this.
Recommendation letters
Don’t be shy and ask your professors for recommendation letters!
Most of them will be happy to see you’re looking for growth and improvement and will gladly write you a letter if they have the time.
I asked three different professors and all of them tried their best to submit it on time.
Crossway pathway and a bonus tip
When submitting my application, I also had to inform my chosen Crossways pathway, which was determined by the languages I already spoke and that which I was willing to learn.
I chose the University of Tuebingen for my first semester, the NOVA University Lisbon as my home university (where I studied for one year, had my main advisor, and wrote most of my master’s thesis), and the University of Perpignan for the last semester.
In addition to the languages of instruction in each university, it’s important to research the institutions, countries, and cultural differences, so that you have a better idea of what you’ll have to adapt to.
I lost the opportunity to go to St. Andrews (the number 1 university in the UK right now and where Prince William and Kate Middleton met) because I didn’t do my research and didn’t know it was so prestigious.
The NOVA University Lisbon was an easy choice for my home university, though, as I knew adapting to life in Lisbon would be fairly easy for me as a Brazilian (and I have no regrets: I had the most amazing time in Lisbon!).
A Crossways Life
After submitting my application, I received the results via e-mail two months later.
From this moment on, it was pure excitement and a lot of planning to live the Crossways experience!
Thanks to the program and the scholarship they offered me, I have studied and lived in Germany, Portugal, and France since 2020.
I could experience so much as a Crossways in Cultural Narratives master student, and I plan to share a bit of this “Crossways Life” here.
Stay tuned not to miss anything!
