In a fast-developing country like India, that is on the verge of churning a massive demographic dividend, the idea of education holds a lot of worth for the youth. Essentially, it is seen as a weapon to spearhead one’s ability in the market, and as a result, attain a better opportunity in terms of both, quality of work, and the amount it pays.
For most of our peers, in this rapidly expanding workforce, who aim to tap into this opportunity, merely an undergraduate degree doesn’t seem to make the cut. All of us, at one point or another, have known people who have looked at a post-graduate degree, be it in their own field or in another, as a means to nurture themselves into a better-equipped labour unit. And with the recent deterioration in the quality and autonomy of educational institutes in our own country, one is forced to glance at options outside India.
In such a scenario, the options that present themselves can be overwhelming, to say the least. One is drowned in a list of potential colleges, figuring out their expenses, choosing from their extensive curriculums, while trying not to burn through one’s pocket.
In recent years, Europe has emerged as one of the most lucrative regions, that boasts of an excellent education system, and the same is clear from its presence in various rankings. For instance, 34 out of the top 100 universities in the QS World University Rankings are in Europe.
As stated earlier, while the dilemma to choose a good college is multifaceted in nature, this article aims to concentrate on an important part of that problem: the scholarships. Filling out scholarship applications can be a vexing task if you do not know where to begin, but hopefully, with this piece, you will get a basic idea as to which ones you could aim for.
British Chevening Scholarship For International Students
One of the most prestigious scholarships for studying in the UK, the Chevening Scholarship, offers around 1500 proposals across the world, making it one of the most influential stepping stones into one’s aim to study in Europe.
These scholarships are available for students who are looking to apply for a one-year master’s degree in the UK, irrespective of the subject that one wishes to pursue.
An important aspect of applying for Chevening is that the procedure mandates its applicants to choose three different master’s courses, which may be from the same institution or not. The eligibility criteria for these courses can be found here.
As their website states, to be eligible for a Chevening Scholarship, one must
- “Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country or territory (which India is).
- Return to one’s country of citizenship for a minimum of two years after your award has ended.
- Have completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable one to gain entry onto a postgraduate programme at a UK university by the time they submit their application. This is typically equivalent to an upper second-class 2:1 honours degree in the UK.
- Have at least two years of work experience.
- Apply to three different eligible UK university courses and have received an unconditional offer from one of these choices by 16 July 2020.
- Meet the Chevening English language requirement by 16 July 2020″.
Gates Cambridge Scholarship For International Students
The Gates Cambridge Scholarship programme was established in October 2000, by a donation of US$ 210m from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to the University of Cambridge. For the academic year 2020, Gates Cambridge aims to offer over 80 full-cost scholarships to students outside of the UK.
While it can be quite competitive to battle some of the smartest minds for these scholarships, it is important to know that these scholarships do not extend to the following courses:
- Any Undergraduate degree such as BA (undergraduate) or BA affiliated (a second BA)
- Master of Business (MBA)
- Master of Finance (MFin)
- PGCE
- MBBChir Clinical Studies
- MD Doctor of Medicine degree (6 years, part-time)
- Graduate Course in Medicine (A101)
- Part-time degrees
- Non-degree courses
Additionally, one can find more about the eligibility criteria for the programme here.
ETH Zurich Excellence Masters Scholarships
ETH Zurich, a university that bags the 6th rank in the QS University Rankings, supports excellent Master’s students with two scholarship programmes:
- “The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) supports students with a scholarship, mentorship and a network of the ETH Foundation. The scholarship covers the full study and living costs during the Master’s degree course.
- The ETH-D Scholarship contains a partial stipend as well as additional offers by the Department (assistantship or additional scholarship)”
The prerequisites for applying to the aforementioned scholarship programmes, the details of sanctioned amounts, the eligible courses and the eligibility criteria can all be found here.
Rhodes Scholarships At Oxford University For International Students
According to the Scholarships’ own website, “One of the founding aims of the Scholarship was to identify young leaders from around the world, who, through the pursuit of education together at Oxford, would forge bonds of mutual understanding and fellowship for the betterment of mankind.”
I am not sure about the readers here, but this statement would surely intimidate me as an applicant. Nevertheless, if one tries to cut the clutter, it isn’t too tough to notice that the procedure for these Scholarships is both well-detailed at straightforward.
Although these scholarships have already closed their application portal for the incoming session, it would be beneficial for future aspirants to understand the procedure, regardless. With the help of this student outreach pack on the website, the applicants can easily navigate the information. And as far as the amounts listed by the scholarship are concerned, those details can be accessed here.
While this list of four of the most prestigious scholarships is just indicative, at best, you can make extensive use of countless online resources like scholars4dev.com or scholarshipportal.com for a more in-depth review of the programmes that are available.
Just remember to prepare your application well, and to concentrate on the nitty-gritty that comes along with the application procedure, and you should fair just fine.