Open Society Foundations/University of Oxford Scholarships

Offered in collaboration with the Open Society Foundations and the University of Oxford, these scholarships enable students of outstanding academic merit to pursue one-year taught postgraduate courses of study at the University of Oxford in subjects relevant to the needs of their countries.

Eligible Countries

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,  Bosnia, Georgia, Kosovo, and Montenegro.

Eligibility

• Selected one year taught master's courses within the University of Oxford’s Social Sciences and Humanities Divisions (the list of eligible courses is included in the Guidance Notes available for download below).
• Any scholarship awards are conditional upon you being offered a place to study at Oxford, and meeting all the conditions of that offer (e.g. obtaining the required score in English language proficiency).
• Applicants will be required to have passed an English proficiency test before being offered a scholarship. The minimum requirement for study on the eligible courses at Oxford is IELTS 7.5 (with minimum 7.0 in each component) or TOEFL - 630 (minimum Test of Written English score - 5) or Computer based TOEFL - 267 (minimum essay writing score - 5) or Internet based TOEFL – 109 or Cambridge Certificate of proficiency in English - B. Local representatives of Open Society Foundations will arrange tests for short-listed candidates after the interviews, if applicants have not already successfully taken a test in the 2 years prior to the interview.
• All applicants must have completed at least three years of BA course (in the Bologna system) or four years of university study and have obtained, or expect to obtain, the appropriate degree(s) not later than September 2012.
• Applicants must be citizens of and resident in one of the following countries during the academic year in which they apply for the award: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, and Montenegro. Applicants who are temporarily out of the country (for a total period of less than three consecutive months) may be treated as being resident.
• Applicants should be planning to return to their home country at the end of the period of study. 
• Applicants should have a proven track record of success or excellence in their professional life distinguishing them from their peers and contemporaries and clear commitment to open society goals.

Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously studied in Western universities.

Please note that if you have applied, or are applying, for other grants, fellowships or scholarships with the Open Society Foundations you should alert us to this in your application.  While you may apply under more than one scheme simultaneously, you can be awarded only one Open Society Foundations scholarship or grant for a given period.

Employees, employees’ relatives (or former employees who have left employment less than two years before) of the Educational Advising Centers or local Open Society Foundations representations directly involved in the Open Society Foundations Scholarship Programs administration in the region and the participating universities will not be eligible to apply for these awards.

Application Process

You apply as part of your application to study at the University of Oxford. You do this by ticking the “Open Society Foundations Oxford Scholarships” box in the funding section of the Application Form for Graduate Study 2012-2013.

You can apply for your course either online or on paper. Whether you apply online or on paper you must do three things:

1. Check your eligibility with your local Open Society Foundations scholarship coordinator
2. Submit your application to the University of Oxford
3. Send a copy of your application to your local coordinator

It is your responsibility to check the requirements for your chosen course, ensuring you have included any additional supporting materials (such as examples of written work) that are be required. Details of these supporting materials can be found on the University’s website:  www.ox.ac.uk/graduate.

The Guidance Notes available for download below give step-by-step instructions on how to apply for the scholarship online or on paper.

Selection Process

Short-listed applicants will be invited for an interview and an English language test in their home country in April 2012. Interviews will be carried out by representatives of OSF–London—in certain cases, there may also be a panel member representing the interests of the University. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of the scholarship competition in May/June 2012.

Please note that successful applicants will be invited to attend a one-month Academic Writing School organized by Open Society Scholarship Programs in Istanbul in August 2012.

Deadline

Janaury 20, 2012

Financial Terms

Each award will provide for payment of academic tuition fees, college fees, a monthly stipend for living expenses sufficient for a single student, and other agreed allowances including one return economy airfare. No financial support or special provisions are provided for dependants or family members.

For More Information

For further details, please contact the appropriate scholarship program coordinator at the local representative office in your home country.