OSI/FCO Chevening/University of Essex Scholarships in Human Rights

Note: The 2008 application deadline has passed. Please check back in late 2008 for information on the next call for applications.

The scholarships aim to provide opportunities for independent postgraduate study in the United Kingdom for students who are engaged in or intending to pursue postgraduate work in their own country and who have demonstrated both academic excellence and the potential to become leaders, decision makers, and opinion formers in their own country. Subject to satisfactory progress, the scholarships lead to the award of a master's.

The scholarships will enable suitably qualified students to pursue taught postgraduate programs within the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. The two programs offered are the MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights and the LLM in International Human Rights Law. Each award will provide for payment of academic tuition fees, examination fees, a monthly stipend for living expenses sufficient for a single student, and other agreed allowances including one return economy airfare.

Eligibility

The scholarships are open to applicants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Applicants should:

be nationals of and normally resident in one of the selected countries at the time of applying for the award; applicants who are temporarily out of the country at the time of application (for a total period of less than 3 consecutive months) may be treated as being resident;
already hold (or expect to hold by the time of taking up the award) a relevant first degree with good grades;
have passed an IELTS test at an appropriate level (this must be at least 7.0 overall with no individual band less than 6.5) by the time of taking up an award;
previous relevant practical experience will be considered;
commit to returning to their home country at the end of their scholarship period to continue their studies/work there;
not have already received or be currently receiving financial benefit from a previous HMG funded scholarship;
should not be employees, employees’ relatives (of former employees who have left employment less than 2 years before) of FCO (including FCO posts), the British Council, the Educational Advising Centers or other OSI-NSP representations in the region and the participating universities.

Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously studied outside of their home country.

Application Process

Application forms (together with information about the courses at the Human Rights Centre) are available from the nearest Soros foundation office or Educational Advising Center in your country or the British Embassy if you are applying in Turkmenistan (see addresses below). Applicants must complete a Graduate Admissions Applications Pack. (This requires submitting a number of additional documents, such as academic references.) It may be that applicants will not be given an original copy of the Graduate Admissions Form, but rather a photocopy of the form. This is equally valid.

Please note the following:

Incomplete applications will not be considered; three complete copies (the original and two photocopy) of the application must be received.
The overall impression of the application will be taken into consideration. Applications should be typed if possible or, if this is not feasible, they should be written clearly, with defined paragraphs and margins. Illegible applications will be unlikely to succeed.
References must be academic (from the institution where applicant's degree was earned). You may, if you wish, include a professional reference in addition to the two academic references.
Statement of Purpose should be clear and concise and hand-written. Candidates should remain within the 500 word guideline as only the first 500 words of the statement will be taken into consideration.
If an application for a scholarship for the MA or LLM is unsuccessful, the program cannot subsequently forward it to the university for consideration. Applicants who want to make a separate application to the university should contact the relevant department.
Applicants must reach the required level of English language. This should be at least 7.0 overall with no individual band less than 6.5.
Completed applications should be sent to the Soros foundation coordinator/ British Embassy coordinator in Turkmenistan. Applicants must not send the completed application form direct to the university and nor send it by e-mail. Any applications sent direct to the University of Essex or by email will not be considered.
Candidates should retain a copy of their application.

Deadline

All necessary documents must be submitted to the local Soros foundation, or British Embassy if you are applying in Turkmenistan (see below for contact details), by Monday, January 21, 2008, at the latest (one original set, plus two complete photocopied sets).

Selection

All applications will be sent by the Soros foundation office/Educational Advising Center/British Embassy in Turkmenistan to the Human Rights Centre at Essex. Applications will be considered by selectors for the university programs who will prepare a shortlist of applicants to be invited for interview. By the end of March applicants will be informed as to whether they have been invited for interview and English language tests. It is expected that these will take place in late March/early April 2008.

The final decisions as to which applicants will be offered scholarships will not be taken at the time of the interviews. These decisions will be taken later by the Human Rights Centre (in conjunction with OSF and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office). All applicants should be informed by the end of May 2008 as to whether they have been successful or not.

Please note that successful applicants will be requested to attend a one-month Pre-Academic Summer Program starting at the end of June/beginning of July 2008. The exact date and location of Pre-Academic Summer Program will be available at a later stage of the selection process.

About the University of Essex

Read the University of Essex "Introduction to the Graduate School" booklet and the Human Rights Centre leaflet (included within the university's application pack).

Visit the university's homepage at www.essex.ac.uk/ or www.sx.ac.uk/.

Visit the Human Rights Centre homepage at www2.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/.

Contact Information

Please make use of all of the available written documentation: these Guidance Notes, the university's "Introduction to the Graduate School" booklet, and the Guidance Notes included within the university's application pack.

For queries about these Guidance Notes, contact either:

the local Soros foundation office/Educational Advising Center; British Embassy in Turkmenistan; or
Emese Kovacs, UK Programs Coordinator, Network Scholarship Programs, OSF, via fax or email only:
Fax: +44 20 7031 0201
Email: Emese.Kovacs@osf-eu.org

For academic questions, contact the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex:

Emma Rix
Human Rights Centre
Human Rights Education Programme Administrator
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester
Essex CO4 3SQ
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1206 872529
Fax: +44 (0) 1206 873627
Email: hrep@essex.ac.uk

Local Soros Foundations/Educational Advising Centers

Armenia
OSI Assistance Foundation-Armenia
7/1 Tumanyan Str., 2nd cul-de-sac
Yerevan 375002, Armenia
Tel/Fax: (374 10) 533862, 536758
Contact person: Anaida Papikyan, panaida@osi.am

Azerbaijan
Baku Education Information Centre
71 Aliovsat Guliyev Str
Baku
AZ 1009
Azerbaijan
Phone: (994 12) 482845, 482846
Fax: (994 12) 953162
Contact person: Bahar Haji-zada, Hadji-zadehBR@beic.osi-az.org

Georgia
International Student Advising Center
Open Society Georgia Foundation
10/a Chovelidze Str.
380008 Tbilisi
Georgia
Phone: (995 32) 938999, 250463
Fax: (995 32) 291052
Contact person: Natia Nanava, natia@isac.osgf.ge

Kazakhstan
Educational Development Centre
BILIM-Central Asia
65 Abylai Khan Ave
First floor
Almaty 480091
Kazakhstan
Phone: (7 3272) 597620
Fax: (7 3272) 795955
Contact persons: Larissa Gorbunova, lgorbunova@bilim.kz, and Leila Yedygenova, lyedygenova@bilim.kz

Tajikistan
Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation–Tajikistan
Address:
Advising Center:
Tajikistan, Dushanbe, 734003
Ozod Street, No.6
Tel: (+992 37) 224 13 01
Contact person:
Zarina Mamadalieva: osi@eicosi.tajik.net

Turkey
Istanbul Bilgi University
Kurulus Deresi C No 47
Dolapdere, Istanbul
Turkey
Phone: (90 212 ) 238 10 10 / 276
Fax:
Contact person: Seda Peker, speker@bilgi.edu.tr

Turkmenistan
British Embassy
3rd Floor Office Building
Four Points Ak Altin Hotel
744000, Ashgabat
Turkmenistan
Phone: (993 12) 36 34 62/63/66/98
Fax: (993 12) 36 34 65
Contact persons: Wepa Myalikguliyev, Wpa.Myalikguliyev@fco.gov.uk

Uzbekistan
Educational Advising Center
Shymkent Ilyaeva Str
Kazakhstan
496012
Phone: (7 3252) 211981
Contact person: Arman Turdaliyev, aturdaliyev@mail.ru

Applications may also be submitted to the British Embassy in Tashkent:
British Embassy Tashkent
Tel: +99871 1206288
Fax: +99871 1206549
Contact person: Dildora Nishanova, Dildora.Nishanova@fco.gov.uk