Allan and Nesta Ferguson Scholarships

Key information

Deadline date
Amount
3x awards of £32,500

Scholarship overview

A minimum of two awards will be made by Allan and Nesta Ferguson, each has a total value of £32,500 which will be put towards tuition fees.

Please note that this award does not include maintenance support or accommodation costs. The costs of living in London will need to be considered by applicants before applying for this award.

The Allan and Nesta Ferguson scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit. Students offered an Allan and Nesta Ferguson Scholarship must take it up in the academic year 2025/26 and it cannot be deferred to a later year.

Candidate criteria

Applicants must:

  • Be a resident in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) and preferably from low income households.
  • Hold an undergraduate degree at the first class level.
  • Have applied to SOAS but are not required to have received an offer of admissions by the scholarship deadline. You must have received an offer by the time the relevant panel meets to discuss scholarship applications.
  • Meet the English language condition of their offer of admission to study at SOAS as soon as possible.

Please note that this scholarship does not cover funding or even allow for Pre-sessional courses.

Candidate assessment

Candidates will be assessed on academic merit. The assessment of your application will be based on the information provided in your scholarship application and in your online application for your programme of study. The selection committee will be looking at the degree results and your personal statement.

Eligible programmes

Any full-time masters programme in the College of Humanities excluding MA Buddhist Studies, MA Buddhist Studies with Intensive Language and MA Traditions of Yoga and Meditation. The College of Humanities includes the following departments.

School of Arts

Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures

School of History, Religions & Philosophies

School of Languages, Cultures & Linguistics 

Applications

Deadline

The deadline for applications is 12 noon (UK local time) on 6 February 2026.

You must submit a complete online application to your programme. 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. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application procedure

Step one

Apply for your programme. To apply for a masters degree programme, please see taught masters applications.

Step two

Apply for the scholarship by 12 noon (UK local time) on 6 February 2026. You must apply for this scholarship via the admissions portal. You will need to have applied for a course to get login credentials for this.

Please be aware that scholarships will only display to students who meet the base eligibility criteria contained in this scholarship advert. If you do not see the scholarship you are hoping to apply for within your admissions portal, please double-check you meet the eligibility criteria. Should you have any queries, please contact scholarships@soas.ac.uk.

Notification of results

The scholarship shortlisting and awarding period is expected to be completed by the end of March 2026 at the earliest. Successful candidates will be contacted first, and once all awards have been allocated, the unsuccessful candidates will be notified. 

Should no suitable candidates be nominated by the panel, this award may reopen for applications in April 2026. Please check this webpage for updates during this period to confirm whether the award is open for applications or contact the Scholarships Team at scholarships@soas.ac.uk.

Enquiries

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