Deadline: 20 March 2015
Open to: candidates from countries affected by wars and extreme poverty
Scholarship: £15,000

Description

SOAS University of London is the only Higher Education institution in Europe specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East.

Thanks to a very generous philanthropic donation received from the Cultures of Resistance Network Foundation and the American Friends of SOAS (AFSOAS), a set of new postgraduate scholarships are now available at SOAS. That donation has been matched by an additional contribution from the SOAS Students’ Union to make up the Cultures of Resistance Scholarships at SOAS.

The scholarships will benefit people from countries that have been affected by wars and extreme poverty. Security conditions permitting, scholars are expected to return to their home countries to apply their knowledge and skills for the betterment of their societies. In the case of refugees or those fearing repression and censorship in their home countries, they expect that they will seek employment/work/study abroad toward the aim of improving the future of their home country and that of its citizens. They hope that scholarship recipients will pursue careers that, among other things, promote universal human rights, international law, equal justice for all and the enrichment of civil society and robust grassroots democracy.

The following full-time programmes are eligible:

• MSc Development Studies with special reference to Central Asia
• MSc Globalisation and Development
• MSc Migration, Mobility and Development
• MSc Violence, Conflict and Development
• MSc Development Economics
• MSc Political Economy of Development
• MA International and Comparative Legal Studies
• MA Dispute and Conflict Resolution
• MA Environmental Law and Sustainable Development
• MA Human Rights Law
• MA International Law
• MA Law, Development and Globalisation
• LLM Dispute and Conflict Resolution
• LLM Environmental Law
• LLM Human Rights, Conflict and Justice
• LLM International Law
• Part-time programmes are not eligible.

Scholarship

Two Cultures of Resistance Scholarships will be available in 2015/16. Each scholarship is valued at £15,000 in total. Fees will be deducted from this amount and the remainder will be used toward maintenance. In addition, each scholar will benefit from a 20% reduction in their tuition fees, from free accommodation at International Student House (ISH) and food vouchers to be spent in the ISH restaurant.

Eligibility

Although priority will be given to students resident in Afghanistan, Burma/Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Kashmir, Kurdistan, the Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza), Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tibet, Western Sahara, Yemen, West Papua and Papua, the scholarship programme is also open to students resident in the following countries/territories:

Algeria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bir Tawil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chechen Republic, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, East Timor, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Golan Heights, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Candidates must:

• Candidates must hold (or be expected to obtain) a good honours degree, preferably first class, from a UK institution or overseas equivalent.
• Candidates should describe in their personal statement of their admission application: how the political situation in your home country, especially violent conflict, war, poverty, and/or military occupation, has shaped your experiences and ambitions in life; how these experiences have affected your interest in human rights, social justice, and grassroots democracy; what academic and social issues you plan to explore during your studies at SOAS; what you hope to do upon completion of your program at SOAS; what the most pressing problems are in your home country and how the pursuit of education at SOAS in your chosen field would promote human rights, social justice, equality, and the enrichment of civil society in your home country.
• Candidates must have an offer of admission to pursue a full time eligible programme by the scholarship closing date.
• Applicants must meet the English language condition of their offer of admission to study at SOAS as soon as possible but no later than 1 June 2015.  If your offer is conditional on English, please arrange your English test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible.

Application

Scholarship Applications must be received no later than 17:00 (UK local time) on 20 March 2015. Applicants applying for scholarships must also submit an application for admission well in advance.  Please note that complete applications for admission can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the Department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of year.  You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.

STEP 1: You must apply for this scholarship via the on-line scholarship application form.  The scholarship application will be available HERE from mid-January 2015.
STEP 2: In addition to the online scholarship application, applicants must also submit a complete on-line application for admission.  

A complete application for admission includes transcripts, an explanation of the grading system for any degrees obtained outside of the UK, two references, CV and a personal statement.  The panel will be considering your scholarship application together with your on-line application for admission.

For enquiries, please contact: scholarships@soas.ac.uk

For further details visit the official website HERE.