Information regarding the Erasmus+: Erasmus Mundus European Master in Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology (WOP-P)

This post is dedicated to those future students of the Master that have not yet applied for admission to the programme. It's for you, out there in front of your computer screen. Wherever you live, however old you are, whichever your skin color is, you are planning your future but also dreaming about new adventures. The WOP-P programme awaits for you. Don't be afraid, gather what you need and apply!

Before anything, the main reference for information should always be the official programme web-page hosted by the University of Valencia which is the coordinating institution of the consortium. Refer to http://www.uv.es/erasmuswop/ for the official information. This is just an informal guide in which I hope you'll find additional useful information from the perspective of someone who, as of today, is already starting the second year of the programme.

So here it goes:

First, since I've seen that the website has not yet been updated in regard to the Applications for the 2017 - 2018 academic year, I'll fill you in with some new information. As you might have read the consortium is composed of four European Universities: Coimbra (Portugal), Valencia (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), Bologna (Italy); and two non-european universities which are the University of Guelph (Canada) and the University of Brasilia (Brasil). Your home and host universities will be one of the european ones. If you've checked the official web before, you'll also notice that I haven't mentioned the University of Paris as part of the consortium.  The reason is that it's highly probable (almost certain) that this university will not be part of the consortium anymore and would no longer an option.

Second, in regard to the Master thesis this program is a little bit different from other programs since you'll be doing most of your research during the mobility period in your host university. Then on the third semester you return to your home university and for the fourth (last) semester there may be additional mobility for the professional stage. It is here when you'll be most likely to go to the University of Brasilia or the University of Guelph if you choose to.

Third, you'll be interviewed by one of the professors at one of the european universities. During the interview you'll have to demonstrate the use of the languages you know and you'll also be asked questions about psychology in general and WOP psychology in particular. You'll also might be asked to do little exercises like reading an abstract of a scientific paper and answering some question. DO NOT BE AFRAID! Just go ahead and do your best!

Fourth, I would like to call to attention at something that usually goes unnoticed: you can upload additional documents while your application is being processed. This is a good opportunity to upload, for example, a language certificate of a course you are doing or a test your are planning to take (like IELTS or TOEFL). You also have to let them know that you've uploaded it!
Despite not being compulsory to apply, having a recognized English certificate is a really good investment. In the criteria ponderation for you application English accounts for 20 percent. And even if you finally are not accepted these certificates are really valuable.

Fifth, in the Universities of Valencia and Barcelona you'll be going to classes with your fellow woppers. However in Coimbra and Bologna you'll be sharing some classes with students involved in the "national track". This means that there is a national curriculum and a master that resembles the WOP but without the mobility schemes and more international orientation. You must know that because you are a wop student you'll always be asked for more and expected to give your best. Additionally, In my case being able to interact with a really nice bunch of Italian students has been one of the best things of my time in the Master.

Sixth, this program has a very good equilibrium between fun and work. I promess that you'll have to work really hard and be good at time-management to be able to get things done. But I also promess you'll also have a lot of time for fun moments. Not only on your free time, when you'll be able to hang out with your fellow woppers and go for an aperitivo or tapas but also during lessons. Because this program has a strong focus on the development of soft skills. This is why in addition to the regular lessons in which you'll acquire conceptual knowledge there will be a lot of opportunities for cool exercises such as role playing, intervention proposals, case discussions, etc.

For the moment that would be all, but I'll update the post if I think of something else! Good luck!