Open Society Foundation Maastricht University Scholarship

The deadline for scholarship applications for the 2009-10 academic year has passed. Please check back again in fall 2009 for a new call for applications for the 2010-11 academic year.

The Open Society Foundation and Maastricht University scholarships offer a master’s degree study in the field of European Studies. Applicants can choose one of the three available courses: The Master’s Program in European Studies, Master’s Program on European Public Affairs, or Master’s Program on Analyzing Europe.

Each scholarship provides twelve months’ tuition fees at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, a stipend to cover living costs (for one person only), a return air travel from the scholar’s home country, and student visa cost as well as medical insurance. The scholarship also covers the six months internship, which is a mandatory component of the scholarship.

Please note that the award provides no financial assistance in the event of a student wishing to remain in the Netherlands after the normal scholarship period. In such cases, no additional financial obligation on any of the parties is assumed or implied.

Deadline

The deadline for application submissions was February 6, 2009.

Eligibility

The scholarships are open to applicants from Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

Applicants will normally be expected:

to be nationals of, and normal resident in, the selected country during the academic year in which they apply for the award; applicants who are temporarily out of the country (for a total period of less than three consecutive months) may be treated as being resident;
to display intellectual ability and leadership potential;
to have an excellent knowledge of English;
to already hold the first university degree from an accredited university in the home country;
not already to have received or be currently receiving financial benefit from OSF or UM;
to return to their home country at the end of their scholarship period to continue their studies or work there.
not to be employees, Employees, employee's relatives (or former employees who have left employment less than 2 years before) of OSF Network Scholarship Programs, the Educational Advising Centers or other OSF-NSP representations in the region, or Maastricht University.

All other circumstances being equal, a preference may go towards applicants who have not previously studied outside of their home country.

To Apply

Complete the relevant Scholarship Application form provided at the local Educational Advising Center. Please note that there are three different application forms for each of the courses. You should also provide copies of the other documents listed on the application form. The completed forms and other documents must be received by your local Educational Advising Center (EAC) by February 6, 2009, at the latest. (See below for address and contact details).

Please note that each applicant is requested to submit one original set of application and one copy. Please keep a copy of all documents for your own reference as well.

Application Process

All completed applications received by your local Educational Advising Center by the deadline will be forwarded to Maastricht University. Academic staff at the University will compile a short-list.
Short-listed applicants will be invited for an interview in the capital city in their home country on March 16-22, 2009. You should keep yourself free during these dates. Potential candidates afterwards will be invited to sit for an English language test. You will be informed by the Educational Advising Center in early March of 2009 whether you have been shortlisted or not.
Interviews will be carried out by representatives of Maastricht University and the Open Society Foundation (OSF) London.
The final awards will be decided jointly by the University and the OSF. Candidates will be informed by the end of May whether they are offered a place at Maastricht University. In addition, there will be a reserve list of candidates made. Those candidates will have a chance, if one of the successful candidates withdraws from the programme. The scholarship period begins in September 2009.
Candidates will have to let UM know within 2 weeks after the receipt of an offer if they intend to accept the award. E-mail messages to unsuccessful interviewees will be prepared by UM.
When all acceptances are confirmed (and reserves offered awards, as appropriate) UM will send out Student Information e-mail messages for successful applicants and details of funding. UM will produce its formal letters of acceptance (sent by e-mail) for successful applicants.
Apart from the University award/contract, successful candidates will receive an OSF award letter, which they will have to also sign and return to the OSF coordinator at the Educational Advising Centre.
In July, OSF coordinators will start making travel arrangements for the successful candidates.

Please note that the staff at your local Educational Advising Center are not involved at all in the decision-making process. They will tell you as soon as they can whether or not you have been successful. Please understand they will not be able to inform you until they have been told by Maastricht University and OSF. Nor will they be in a position to comment on the reasons in case you were not selected.

Please note that successful applicants will be requested to attend a one-month Pre-Academic Summer Program in July or August 2009. The exact date and location of Pre-Academic Summer Program will be available at a later stage of the selection process.

Contact Information

Please make use of all of the written documentation available to you: these guidance notes, and the university’s prospectuses for each of the courses.

For queries about these guidance notes, please contact either

your local Educational Advising Center or
Margareta Mamaliga,
Network Scholarship Programs
OSF London
Fax or email only:
Fax: +44-20-7031-0228
Email: margareta.mamaliga@osf-eu.org

You can obtain application forms from the addresses below. Completed application forms, together with all other necessary documents, must be returned by February 6, 2009.

Georgia
Centre for International Education
Open Society Georgia Foundation
10, Chovelidze Street
0108 Tbilisi
Georgia
Tel: +995-32-252615, 250463
Fax: +995-32-252615
Contact person:
Natia Nanava: natia@osgf.ge

Moldova
Educational Advising Center
148 Stefan cel Mare bd, of.22
Chisinau, Moldova, MD 2012
Tel: +373-2-221172, 221167
Fax: +373-2-221167
Contact person:
Angela Muset, Scholarship Program Director: amuset@eac.md

Ukraine
International Education Advising Center-Academy
8/5 Voloska str., NaUKMA
Building 5, room 319
Kyiv, 04070
Ukraine
Tel./Fax +38-044-425-60-33
Contact person:
Lyubov Schitka: int_educ@ukma.kiev.ua