Commonwealth Shared Scholarship for students from African Commonwealth countries
Deadline: 31 January 2013
The Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission with funding from UK Department of International Development (DFID), and UK universities, to support scholarships for students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom.
At SOAS, there are four Commonwealth Shared Scholarships available. The Commission funds the cost of tuition fees (at overseas rate), return airfares and other allowances and SOAS supports the student stipend for the award holders.
Two of the 4 scholarships are shared with International Student House (ISH), which provides free accommodation at ISH together with a small contribution in food vouchers to be spent in the ISH restaurant. In addition, the School provides a small maintenance grant. The ISH provision and the School’s contribution constitute the student stipend of the DFID Shared Scholarship Scheme.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
SOAS has been offered 4 awards to commence in the academic year 2013/14 for the eligible programmes below. Please be aware that these allocations are provisional only, until the level of the Commission's funding for 2013/14 is confirmed by DFID.
Eligible Programme
- Full-time MSc Development Studies
- Full-time LLM in Law, Development and Governance
- Full-time MSc Development Economics
- Full-time MA Social Anthropology of Development
- Part-time programmes are not eligible.
Candidate Criteria
In order to be eligible, applicants should:
- Be nationals of (and permanently domiciled in) an African Commonwealth country, and not currently be living or studying in a developed country
- Hold a first degree at either first or upper second class level
- Hold an unconditional offer of admission to pursue one of the eligible programmes by the scholarship application deadline
- Have not previously studied for one year or more in a developed country
- Be able to confirm in writing that neither they nor their families would otherwise be able to pay for the proposed course of study
- Be willing to confirm that they will return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete
Candidate Assessment
- Candidates will be assessed on academic merit by an Advisory Panel consisting of three academic members.
- The assessment of your application will be based on the information in your application. Selectors will be looking at the degree results and also at academic references, statement and other relevant information.
Scholarship Application Deadline
- Applications must be received no later than 17:00 (GMT) on 31 January 2013.
- Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Applicants applying for scholarships must also submit an application for admission well in advance. Please note that complete applications for admission can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the Department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of year. You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.
Number of Applications normally received
25 applications
Notification of Results
Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail regarding the outcome of their application by the end of March. If SOAS decides to nominate you for a scholarship, the Scholarships Office at SOAS will contact you and ask you to complete the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) application form via the Commission's Electronic Application System during the first week of April. Please note that final offer of a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship is subject to confirmation by the Commission.
Scholarship Application Procedures
You can apply for this scholarship via the online scholarship application form.
REFERENCES
Two references are also required. Please forward the reference form to your referees. The reference form is available for download from the download box at the top right.
For enquiries, please contact:
Scholarships Officer
Registry
SOAS
Thornhaugh Street
Russell Square
London
WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom
Email: scholarships@soas.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7074 5094/5091
