OSI/FCO Chevening/University of Sussex Scholarships in European Studies

OSI/ FCO Chevening/Sussex Scholarships in European Studies is a scholarship program which will enable suitably qualified students from Albania, Belarus and Kosovo to pursue a taught one-year program in one of the following selected Master's programmes:

MA Contemporary European Studies
MA European Politics

These programs are run at the Sussex European Institute at the University of Sussex, UK.

Each award will provide 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

Applicants must:

be nationals of and normally resident in one of the selected countries at the time of applying for the award, and are expected to return to their home countries; 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;
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 a TOEFL or an IELTS test at an appropriate level by the time of taking up an award;
not already have received or be currently receiving financial benefit from a previous HMG fully funded Scholarship.
return to their home country at the end of their scholarship period to continue their studies / work there.

Preference will go towards applicants who have not studied outside of their home countries.

Employees, employee's 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 representations in the region, the participating Universities will not be eligible to apply for these awards.

Deadline

February 2, 2010

Application Process

You can get application forms, together with information about the courses at the Sussex European Institute from your local Soros Foundation or Educational Advising Center (see address in Section 7).

It is very important that you read all of the guidance notes included in this pack.

You must submit all the necessary documents to the above address no later than February 2, 2010 (please see address below). Three copies of the application pack must be submitted (one original set and two photocopies).

This should include:

An application form for admission to postgraduate studies.
Two completed referee report forms.
"Statement of Intent" which is specifically related to your application for this scholarship This statement, which should be submitted with the application pack, should cover:

details of future career plans, objectives and intentions, as well as of past work experience, where applicable

explanation as to how the scholarship will be helpful in advancing these plans and objectives

Standard forms are available from your local scholarship coordinator.

Selection Process

All applications collected by the Local Foundations/Advising Centers will be sent to the Sussex European Institute. They will be considered by selectors for the appropriate MA programs who will prepare a short-list of applicants to be invited for interview. By the early March applicants will be informed as to whether they have been invited for interview and English language tests. Assessments are expected to take place in April.

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 Sussex European Institute (in conjunction with OSF-London and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office). It is hoped to inform all applicants by June as to whether they have been successful or not.

Please note that successful applicants will be invited to the OSI NSP Pre-Academic Summer School that will be held in July or August 2009 in Istanbul. The Network Scholarship Programmes' (NSP) Pre-Academic Summer Programme 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 the University of Sussex and the Sussex European Institute

Read the University's Graduate Admissions Prospectus and the booklets about the Sussex European Institute. Your local or Soros Foundation will be able to make copies available for you to consult. You will not normally be able to take these copies home, however.
Visit the University's webage.

Contacts

Please use all of the written documentation available to you: the guidance notes outlined here, the University's Graduate Prospectus and the guidance notes included within the University's application pack.

If you have any queries about these guidance notes, then you should contact either

your local Educational Advising Center or Soros Foundation or

Ms. Inga Pracute

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: inga.pracute@osf-eu.org

If you have any academic questions, then you should direct these to the Sussex European Institute at the University of Sussex.

Contact Details

Sussex European Institute
University of Sussex
Falmer
Brighton BN1 9SH
Phone: + (44) 1273-678578
Fax: + (44) 1273-678571
Email: sei@sussex.ac.uk

Local Soros Foundations/Advising Centers

Albania

Open Society Foundation for Albania
Address:
Rr. "Qemal Stafa", Pall.120/2
Tirana
Albania
Tel. (355) 42 34 621 or 34223 or 35856
Fax (355) 42 35855
Contact person:
Brunilda Bakshevani: ibakshevani@osfa.soros.al

Belarus

Contact person:
Kevin Reiling
E-mail: advising@ehu.lt
Skype: kevinreiling

Applications must be submitted to the British Embassy Minsk:

British Embassy
37 Karl Marx Street
22030 Belarus
Tel: +375 172105920
Contact: Ina Ramasheuskaya
(Office Hours: 09.00-17.30 Mon-Thurs, 09.00-15.00 Friday)

Kosovo

Kosova Academic Services
Anton Çetta 3, Fahu Postal 357
Prishtina 10000, Kosova
Tel: + 381 38 248 887
Fax: + 381 38 248 886
Contact person:

Argjiro Shaqiri-Musliu: argjiro@kas-ks.org