OSI/FCO Chevening/Staffordshire University Scholarships (MSc in Economics for Business Analysis)

The Open Society Foundation, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Staffordshire University Faculty of Business & Law jointly invite applications from university graduates with outstanding academic qualifications for scholarships for the MSc in Economics for Business Analysis program at Staffordshire. The aim of this joint scholarship program is to assist capacity-building in the region by speeding up the training of professional economists needed in the transition to a democratic market economy. The program enables young university graduates to pursue postgraduate studies in economics in the United Kingdom with a view to returning to and working in the region after completing the program.

The program consists of two parts: an intensive MSc preliminary course (mid-July 2009 to mid-September 2009) followed by the main master's program (September 2009 to August 2010). The preliminary course consists of four intensive modules (macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and English for Academic Purposes) to ensure that all candidates have the necessary experience and knowledge of the subject. The second part, the main MSc course, consists of two semesters of coursework (with four modules in each semester) and a dissertation written under the supervision of a member of staff.

For further details of the program, see the MSc program website at www.staffs.ac.uk/study_here/courses/economics-for-business-analysis-tcm4213219.jsp.

Scholarships are granted for a period of up to 13 months, subject to satisfactory progress of the candidates.

Deadline

January 23, 2009

Eligibility

Applicants should:

be citizens of, and resident in, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, or Montenegro at the time of applying for the scholarship;
have obtained a first degree (the equivalent of a BA degree) with good grades in economics or related disciplines by the end of April 2009;
be able to demonstrate their knowledge of English by passing a TOEFL (ITP) or IELTS test at an appropriate level by the time interviews are held for these scholarships, or by other means (such as having completed an academic program in English at another institution, or having obtained a satisfactory mark in one of the above-mentioned tests at a date no earlier than January 2008);
not already have received or be currently receiving financial benefit from a previous HMG-funded Scholarship.

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.

Preference will be given to applicants who:

are likely to make a significant contribution to the economic development of their country;
have not already received or are currently receiving financial benefit from a previous HMG Funded Scholarship;
have not previously studied outside their home country.

Application Procedure

Applicants must complete the joint OSF-FCO-Staffordshire University application form and submit it together with a number of additional documents, to one of the addresses specified therein. Application forms may be obtained from the local Soros foundation office/Educational Advising Center in Podgorica, Prishtina, Sarajevo, and Skopje or from Jenny Herbert, International Links Administrator at Staffordshire University Faculty of Business & Law (see addresses below). The electronic version of the application form is available on the MSc program website at the address given above.

Application documents may be either typed or hand-written in dark ink. Copies (not originals) of university diplomas and transcripts (list of subjects studied and the marks or grades obtained) must be enclosed with the application. English translation of documents is not necessary at this stage. If candidates are accepted, they will subsequently be required to present the original documents with official translations for verification when they first arrive at Staffordshire University.

Application forms and all supporting documents must be delivered to the local Soros Foundation/Educational Advising Center office or the University, in person or sent by post or fax to arrive by Friday, January 23, 2009. Applicants are required to submit three copies of the application package: one original and two photocopies of the entire application package.

Selection Procedure

All applications will be sent to Staffordshire University Faculty of Business & Law by the local Soros foundation/Educational Advising Center offices. A selection committee will prepare a short list of applicants. Short-listed candidates will be notified by the second week of March 2009 and invited to take an English language test. The language tests will be conducted in the second half of March 2009 at the local Soros foundation/Educational Advising Center offices. Candidates who pass the English language test will be invited for interviews, which will be arranged in late April/early May 2009.

The final decision will be made after the completion of all interviews. It is expected that applicants will be informed of the decision by the end of May 2009. Successful applicants are expected to arrive in Stoke-on-Trent by mid-July 2009.

Please note that OSF, the FCO, and Staffordshire University do not accept responsibility for applications that may be lost in the post. The selection committee will consider only those applications it has received. Decisions of the selection committee are final.

Staffordshire University

Further information on Staffordshire University and the Faculty of Business and Law may be obtained by visiting the university's website at www.staffs.ac.uk/ and the Business School's homepage at www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/business.

Candidates may also contact:

Jenny Herbert
International Links Administrator
Staffordshire University
Faculty of Business & Law
Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire, ST4 2DF
U.K.
Tel.:44-1782-294065
Fax: 0044-1782-294340
Email: j.herbert@staffs.ac.uk

Soros Foundation/Educational Advising Centers

Bosnia-Herzegovina:
SRCe - Student Resource Center,
Univerzitetski kampus,
Zmaja od Bosne BB,
71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tel: (387 33) 206 048
Fax: (387 33) 212 032
Contact person: Muhamed Serdarevic
Email: muhamed@soros.org.ba

Kosovo:
Kosova Academic Services
Anton Çetta 3, Fahu Postal 357
Prishtinë 10000, Kosovë
Tel: + 381 38 248 887
Fax: + 381 38 248 886
Web: www.kas-ks.org
Contact person: Argjiro Shaqiri
Email: argjiro@kas-ks.org

Macedonia:
American Educational Center
Library "Brakja Miladinovci"
Partizanski odredi 22,
Skopje 1000
Tel: 02 3112 464
Fax: 02 3224 981
Contact person: Bojana Nizamovska
Email: bomzich@gmail.com

Montenegro:
Pedagogical Center of Montenegro
Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog 25/V
Podgorica 81 000, Montenegro,
Tel: (381 81) 248 668
Fax: (381 81) 248 667
Contact person: Danilo Lekovic
Email: dane_lekovic@yahoo.com