AFEPA 2027 Master's Opens Applications in October 2026; Scholarship Funding Remains Unconfirmed

Applications opened on 15 October 2026 for the 2027 intake of AFEPA, a European master's programme in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis, and they will stay open until 12 February 2027. The programme is two years long and worth 120 ECTS credits. It is taught in English and open to applicants from any country, provided they meet the published academic, language and admission requirements.

Four universities run it together: the University of Bonn in Germany, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Students study at no fewer than two of the four and also take part in an annual summer school. The available mobility pathways and university-specific arrangements are set out in the official programme handbook.

The subject matter is the economics of agricultural, food and environmental policy: how decisions about food security, trade, rural livelihoods, climate resilience and natural resources land on producers, consumers, markets, communities and the environment. The curriculum mixes economics, applied policy analysis and interdisciplinary work, covering agricultural markets, food systems, environmental regulation, natural resource management and development policy.

The entry requirements are specific. Applicants need a bachelor's degree of at least three years in agricultural economics, economics, environmental studies, agriculture or a related field, subject to the programme's admission assessment. They must have completed at least 24 ECTS credits in economics, including microeconomics and statistics, and some partner universities may add economics requirements of their own. For English, the stated standard is an overall IELTS score of 6.5 with no section below 5.5, or an accepted equivalent. Meeting the minimums does not guarantee a place, and applicants are told to check which tests and exemptions are currently accepted.

Money is the open question. The circulated listing gives monthly scholarship amounts of €1,400 for non-European students and €700 for European students, each for two years. But the official AFEPA website says the previous funding period from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency has ended, and that no scholarships were available for the 2025 intake. Nothing in the material confirms that funding exists for 2027, so those figures cannot be treated as guaranteed.

Tuition and administrative fees also differ across the four partner universities, and the summer school may carry additional fees. The AFEPA Coordination Office, at info@afepa.eu, is the named contact for questions about scholarships, fees and financial support for the 2027 cohort.

The programme points graduates toward agricultural and trade policy, food security, environmental and natural resource policy, international development, research and doctoral study, and private-sector analysis in agribusiness, consulting and market research. The listing adds that actual outcomes depend on experience, specialisation, language skills and local labour markets.

For anyone applying, the practical advice is to start with the official site at afepa.eu, check transcripts and ECTS credits early, and arrange English-language documentation well before February. The thing to watch is whether the programme publishes confirmed 2027 funding, since that answer may decide whether the programme is affordable for many applicants.