OSI/FCO Chevening/Royal Holloway University of London Scholarships

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 OSI/FCO Chevening/Royal Holloway University of London Scholarship aims 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.

Scholarships are available for study in:

MA Democracy, Politics and Governance
MSc Medical Sociology

Each scholarship provides tuition fees at the Royal Holloway, University of London, a stipend to cover living costs (for one person only) and return air travel from the scholar's home country. On completion of the scholarship, scholars will return to their home universities to continue or begin their doctoral studies.

Deadline

The deadline for application submissions was January 30, 2009.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

be nationals of, and normally resident in Pakistan 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.
display intellectual ability and leadership potential
already hold (or expect to hold by the time of taking up the award) a degree of an equivalent standard to a good UK second-class Honours degree.
have passed an appropriate English language test by the time of taking up the award.
have not already received or be currently receiving financial benefit from a previous HMG Funded Scholarship
return to their home country at the end of their scholarship period to continue their studies / work there.

A preference will go towards applicants who have not previously studied outside of their home country.

Employees, employees' relatives (or 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, the participating Universities will not be eligible to apply for these awards.

Application Process

Complete the university form "Application for a Taught Postgraduate Programme of Study." Provide copies of the other documents listed on page 6 of the application form. Completed forms and other documents must be returned to the local British Council at the address below by January 30, 2009. One original set of the application pack and two photocopies thereof should be submitted.

Selection Process

All completed applications received by your local British Council by the deadline will be forwarded to the Royal Holloway, University of London. Academic staff at the university will compile a short-list.
Short-listed applicants will be invited for an interview and an English language test in their home country in late March / early April. You should keep yourself free around this time. Candidates will be informed by the local British Council in mid-March whether they have been invited for interview or not.
Interviews will be carried out by representatives of OSF and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. In certain cases, there may also be a panel member representing the interests of the university.
The final awards will be decided jointly by the university, the FCO and OSF-London. Candidates will be informed towards the end of April.
Please note that the staff at your local British Council is 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 the Royal Holloway, University of London and OSF-London.

Please note that all successful applicants will be invited to attend a one-month preparatory academic writing summer school in July or August 2009. The Network Scholarship Programs' (NSP) Pre-Academic Summer Program is designed to prepare NSP grantees for successful academic experiences in the UK. Successful applicants will be provided with the opportunity to refine their research and writing skills through intensive courses in academic writing and social sciences. The exact date and location of the summer school will be available at a later stage of the selection process.

About Royal Holloway University

Read the university's Postgraduate Prospectus (www.rhul.ac.uk/Graduate-School/index.html). Your local British Council will be able to make a copy available for you to consult. You will not, however, be able to take this copy home.

Visit the university's website at www.rhul.ac.uk.

Contact Information

Please make use of all of the written documentation available to you: these guidance notes, the university's Postgraduate Prospectus, the guidance notes included with the university's application form of "Application for A Taught Postgraduate Programme of Study."

If you have any queries about these guidance notes, then you should contact either your local British Council or:

Emese Kovacs
Senior Program Coordinator
Open Society Foundation
5th Floor, Cambridge House
100 Cambridge Grove,
London W6 0LE,
United Kingdom
Tel: (+44-207) 031 0225
Fax: (+44-207) 031 0201
Email: emese.kovacs@osf-eu.org

If you have any academic questions, then you should direct these to the appropriate department at Royal Holloway, University of London (listed in the university's Postgraduate Prospectus).

Local British Council

Completed application forms, together with all other necessary documents, must be returned to the address below address by January 30, 2009.

British Council Pakistan
British Council Islamabad
PO Box 1135
Islamabad
Khawar Tanweer: Khawar.Tanweer@britishcouncil.org.pk
Telephone: +92 (51) 111 424 424
Fax: +92 (51) 111 425 425
www.britishcouncil.org.pk/