Deadline: 21 January 2013
Open to: applicants from Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lebanon, Nepal, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Scholarship: academic tuition fees, examination fees, monthly stipend for living expenses plus one return airfare
Description
The Open Society Foundations/University of Essex Scholarships in Human Rights 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. Applicants must demonstrate both academic excellence and the potential to become leaders in their own countries.
The scholarships will enable suitably qualified students to pursue taught postgraduate programs within the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. The following programs are offered:
- MA in Theory and Practice of Human Rights;
- MA in Human Rights and Cultural Diversity;
- LLM in International Human Rights Law; and
- LLM in International Human Rights and Humanitarian 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 upon allowances, including one return economy airfare.
Eligibility
These scholarships are open to applicants from Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lebanon, Nepal, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Applicants must:
- be nationals of and normally reside in one of the selected countries in 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 relevant first degree of an equivalent standard to a good UK second-class Honours degree;
- 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) at the time of taking up the award;
- commit to returning to their home country at the end of their scholarship period to continue their studies/ work there.
Previous relevant experience will be considered. Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously studied outside of their home country.
Please note that if you have applied, or are applying, for other grants, fellowships, or scholarships with the Open Society Foundations you should inform your local representative of the Open Society Scholarship Programs in your application. While you may apply for different forms of the Foundations’ support simultaneously, you can be awarded only one Open Society Foundations scholarship or grant for a given period.
Application
Please download the application form, the application checklist, and the reference form. Or you can obtain application forms (including information about the courses at the Human Rights Centre) from your local representative offices of the Open Society Scholarship Programs listed at the end of the Guidance Notes HERE. Carefully read these guidance notes for further details.
You will have to complete a Graduate Admissions Applications Pack (this requires that you submit a number of additional documents, such as academic references.) You must submit all the necessary documents to your local representative offices of the Open Society Scholarship Programs by Monday, 21 January 2013 at the latest (one original set, plus two complete photocopied sets).
- Statement of Purpose – this should be clear and concise and hand-written. You should remain within the 500 word guideline as only the first 500 words of your statement will be taken into consideration.
- References – please note these must be academic (from the institution where you gained your degree). You may, if you wish, include a professional reference in addition to the two academic references.
By the end of March, applicants will be informed as to whether they have been invited for interview, and later on whether they would need to take an English language test. It is expected that these will take place in late March/early April 2013.
If you have any queries about these Guidance Notes, then you should contact either:
- Your local representative office of the Open Society Scholarship Programs (contact information found in the Guidance Notes HERE)
- Ms. Hyonseo Kwon, The Open Society Foundations at Hyonseo.Kwon@opensocietyfoundations.org
If you have any academic questions, then you should direct these to the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex:
Tel: + 44 (0) 1206 872529
Fax: + 44 (0) 1206 873627
E-mail: hrep@essex.ac.uk
See the original website HERE.
