The EMABG is Erasmus Mundus Joint Master 2-year study programme (120 ETCS) and builds on MSc courses that already exist in the different consortium universities. It concentrates on the development of scientific expertise in the areas of quantitative, population and molecular genetics related to animal breeding and biodiversity. This involves five study tracks (and additional learning outcomes specific to the study track):

• Conservation genomics for rare and endangered breeds and species (WUR). This module covers explaining the importance of genetic and genomic diversity for species conservation; understanding genetic tools and concepts to construct breeding plans and programmes for conservation; identifying the major evolutionary forces shaping genetic variation in wild populations; explaining the concept of effective population size; calculating rates of inbreeding in small populations; explaining the dynamics of genomic variation due to population size and structure; and evaluating and constructing management and conservation breeding plans and programmes.
• Designing and implementing breeding programmes for small populations (BOKU). This module focuses on designing and implementing breeding programmes for small populations by developing an understanding of the biological and genetic principles underpinning breeding programmes; analysing genotype–environment interactions in the livestock sector; learning to use tools and techniques and to interpret results for managing small populations; designing breeding strategies for both high- and low-input systems and embedding them in a broader context; and strengthening the ability to engage with stakeholders in the animal breeding industry—including breeders, farmers, and policy makers—and to collaborate within interdisciplinary teams.
• Bioinformatics applied to biodiversity and genomics (SLU). This module covers describing the structure, function, diversity, and evolution of eukaryotic genomes; evaluating the principles of whole-genome mapping and comparative genomics to identify genes and loci underlying Mendelian and quantitative traits; using large-scale methods to analyze genetic variation; applying bioinformatics methods to Big Data for evaluating genetic diversity within and across populations; and applying and critically assessing molecular phylogenetic, genomic, and evolutionary analyses.
• One health: Health and welfare in humans and animals (UGOE). This module focuses on understanding how genetic diversity contributes to animal and human health; gaining insights into the concepts of resistance, tolerance, and resilience to infectious diseases and how genetic variation relates to these; learning genomic approaches to identify genes affecting animal health and welfare; explaining how the genetics/genomics of hosts, pathogens, and microbiota interact; and overseeing how health and welfare traits can be implemented in breeding programmes.
• Understanding biodiversity: integrative biology (APT). This module focuses on understanding animals as complex, multilevel entities in relation to changing environments; developing expertise in methods to model biological processes from molecules to populations; gaining hands-on experience in experimental animal research; analyzing high-throughput biological data from diverse sources; and situating these skills within ethical and societal contexts, including sustainability and animal welfare.