Many students are looking for International Scholarships to pursue their graduate studies (MPhil and PhD) in a well-known university in the world. But exactly how someone can get a Scholarship to fund his studies. We have divided this topic into different heading to make it easier to be understood by students.
What are the different major types of scholarships?
First of all, you should know about the types of scholarships then it will be easier for you to answer, “How to get an international Scholarship for Graduate Studies”.
For your convenience, I have made three major categories for International Scholarships.
1. Government Scholarships
These scholarships are offered and funded by a government of a country to attract intellectual students so that they should work and study in their institutes.
For Example, Chinese Government Scholarship, Korean Government Scholarship (GKS or KGSP) etc.
These scholarships are usually advertised by the Embassy of a specific country your country or the higher education department of your country will advertise them. These scholarships are fully funded (usually they cover airfare as well).
2. University Scholarships
Almost, every well-ranked University offers scholarships to high achieving students. These scholarships may be available before admission or after admission. Like SNU Global Scholarship, University of Malaya Scholarships, etc
3. Professor Sponsorship
Every Professor who is working on a project can hire you as a researcher. Your professor will provide you handsome amount of stipend that will be sufficient for your tuition fee and living expenses. In some cases, it might be partially funded.
Also Read| List of Fully Funded International Scholarships
Now let’s move to the next part of the topic exactly how to get any of the above-mentioned Scholarship types.
1. PhD Scholarship
To get a scholarship and Admission at PhD level it is compulsory in 90% of the world you should get an acceptance letter from a professor at the university to which you are going to apply. After getting this letter you can apply for both Government Scholarships and University Scholarship. If you meet the eligibility criteria of these scholarships, there is more than an 80% chance that you will get a scholarship. After getting an acceptance letter you can also consult with Professor that how you can get a scholarship, or he may fund your studies.
2. MPhil Scholarships
To get a scholarship and Admission to the MPhil level, you must meet the eligibility criteria of the university to which you are applying. You can apply for both government and university scholarships without an acceptance letter from a professor. But acceptance letter from a professor will maximize your chances to get admission.
If you get acceptance from a professor and a partially funded scholarship from a university then the professor is most probably going to support your further expenses. So, it is better to get acceptance from a professor before applying to any university.
How to find a university having my field of study?
To find a university that has your field of interest you may go to the QS world ranking website. Check subject-wise ranking for universities.
Some students find it difficult to find their subject. You should change your approach e.g., you are searching for plant sciences but there is no direct ranking on the QS website for Botany or Plant Sciences now in this case Agriculture is most relevant to you. Such as someone who is interested in doing PhD in Urdu or Pak Studies you will never find any foreign university offering this program but if check well you will see Asian Studies departments or Asian Languages etc. which are relevant to you.
So, from the ranking list select universities according to your grades and scope of knowledge. If you have full command in your subject/research, you may try to top 50 universities. If you have high grades, I will suggest the top 150 universities. If you have high grades, then top 300 universities. If you just want to get admission abroad to any university, you can select any university from the top 1000.
How to find a supervisor or scholarship for shortlisted universities?
First of all, visit the official website of the shortlisted university. Then go to the departments/academic section and open your department and its faculty. Check the research interest and papers of the professor and find if there is any professor whose research interest is parallel with you and shortlist them.
Check the admission section on the website there you will find all relevant information like eligibility criteria admission dates and scholarships if available.
If there is any scholarship contact shortlisted professors through email one by one for an acceptance letter. (Email should be specific, mentioning the exact research of the professor and relating to your interest. Sending the same email to many professors will only result in a waste of your time.)
Prepare your documents and become eligible for scholarship applications. All documents and eligibility criteria will be mentioned on the university website.
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Also Read: How to get a good band in IELTS?
Also Read| List of Fully Funded International Scholarships
You can apply for these scholarships if you meet the eligibility criteria for scholarship (Government Scholarship or University Scholarship) and the eligibility criteria of the program you are applying for. For this purpose, the most authentic and updated information source is the official website of the university and scholarships like the CSC website for Chinese Government Scholarship, etc.
If you have any questions about this topic, you are welcome to comment below in the comment box.
