CHEVENING GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS

Transcription

1 CHEVENING GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS AUGUST 2013

2 Who can be awarded a Chevening Scholarship?... 3 What does a Chevening Scholarship enable a candidate to study?... 3 Funding and administration... 4 Eligibility... 4 Selection criteria... 5 English language requirement... 6 Applying to your university/universities... 6 Applying for a Chevening Scholarship... 7 What happens next? Selection and interview... 7 Short listing... 7 Interviews and final selection... 8 Applying for your visa... 9 A typical Chevening applicant journey Who to contact Value of a Chevening Scholarship Wider benefits of a Chevening Scholarship Other routes for applying for a Chevening Scholarship Appendix A Step by step user guide to submitting your application using the online echevening application form Logging on Completing the online form Screenshots of application form pages Submitting your application form How to apply if your country of citizenship is NOT listed on echevening How to apply for a co-funded central partnership

3 Chevening Scholarships are the UK government s global scholarship programme. Established in 1983, Chevening is an internationally prestigious scheme with over 42,000 alumni. In there were over 700 Chevening Scholars studying at universities across the UK. Who can be awarded a Chevening Scholarship? Chevening Scholarships are currently offered in 118 countries. Chevening is a merit-based, open, international competition. The Scholarships are awarded to talented individuals who demonstrate the potential to become future leaders, decision-makers and opinion formers. Scholars come from a wide range of fields; including politics, government, business, the media, the environment, civil society, religion, and academia. What does a Chevening Scholarship enable a candidate to study? Generally, Chevening Scholarships enable candidates to study a one-year postgraduate Master's course in any discipline at any UK university. Applications from all fields are accepted; however, the country pages of the Chevening website contain details of priority subject areas which vary from country to country. More information about what courses are funded by a Chevening Scholarship can be found in point 18 of the Terms and Conditions. 3

4 Funding and administration Chevening Scholarships are funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations. Candidates who are short listed are interviewed by the British Embassy or High Commission (and partner representative, if appropriate) in their home country. The programme is administered on behalf of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office by the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat which is based in London. Eligibility To qualify for a Chevening Scholarship, you MUST: Be a citizen of a Chevening-eligible country at the time of applying for the award, and intend to return there at the end of the period of study. Hold a degree that is equivalent to at least an upper secondclass honours degree in the UK. Demonstrate that you have achieved the minimum Chevening English language requirement. Have completed at least two years' work or equivalent experience before applying. Be able to obtain the correct visa, and receive an unconditional offer from a UK university. For further details of eligibility criteria please refer to Section 2 of the Terms and Conditions. 4

5 Selection criteria Chevening Scholarships are for high-calibre graduates with the personal, intellectual and interpersonal qualities necessary for leadership. You will need to demonstrate that you meet ALL of the selection criteria below: Able to successfully complete proposed course of study in the UK. Personal, intellectual and interpersonal qualities necessary for leadership in home country. Motivation to develop career in order to establish a position of leadership within 10 years. Use studies and experience in UK to benefit themselves, their country and the UK. A clear post- Scholarship plan, outlining career objectives and how to achieve them. Commitment to networking within Chevening community, and alumni network in home country. Commitment to networking to find global solutions. 5

6 English language requirement You MUST meet Chevening s minimum English language requirement by 23 June You can fulfil the Chevening English language requirement by taking an English language test and achieving the scores specified in the Terms and Conditions or by claiming an exemption based on the UKBA exemption lists outlined in the Terms and Conditions. You should take an English language test as early as possible, and well in advance of the deadline. For Chevening candidates, no pre-sessionals are allowed in any instance (this applies to self-funded pre-sessionals too). Please note that Chevening does not pay for costs associated with English language. If there are no English language test centres in your country please see your country page for further guidance. For full details of English language requirements please refer to section 4 of the Terms and Conditions. Applying to your university/universities You are expected to submit applications to UK universities before, or at the same time as, applying for a Chevening Scholarship. In the majority of cases you must apply for a one-year Master s course. More information about researching UK courses and universities can be found on the Chevening website at You must ensure you meet the academic and English language requirements for your chosen course of study. You will be asked to state the names of three chosen UK Masters' courses - a reach course, a likely course, and a safety course - and universities on the Chevening application form. Only Masters' courses starting in September/October 2014 are eligible. Remember that if your application is successful you will be expected to attend your first choice university course (your reach course) and you will not be able to amend your course selection. In cases where your Chevening Scholarship is tied to a specific university or course only, please see the co-funded central partnership section below. More information about what courses are funded by a Chevening Scholarship can be found in point 18 of the Terms and Conditions. Explanation of what constitutes a reach course, a likely course and a safety course can be found in point 21 of the Terms and Conditions. 6

7 Applying for a Chevening Scholarship To apply for a Chevening Scholarship, you must complete and submit an online echevening application form. Applications will open on 1 September 2013 and close in November The opening and closing dates for each country will be available on the country pages of the Chevening website. Applications received after the closing date for your country will not be considered. You must set out clearly in your Personal Statement on the application form how you meet the Chevening selection criteria. For further information about how to apply for a Chevening Scholarship please see section 6 of the Terms and Conditions. For step by step instructions on how to submit your application using the online echevening application form please refer to Appendix A of this guidance. What happens next? Selection and interview Short listing Applications are initially reviewed against the Chevening eligibility criteria, and are then assessed by a panel of academic and regional specialists based at the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat. This panel makes recommendations to the local British Embassy or High Commission about which candidates to short list for interview. The local British Embassy or British High Commission will then make the final decision about which candidates they will invite for interview. 7

8 Interviews and final selection Interviews will be held in April If you are not invited to attend an interview, you will be informed that your application has not been successful by the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat. Due to the high volume of applications received, it is not possible to give feedback on individual applications. The Chevening Scholarships Secretariat will write to the referees that you provided on your application form to request references. Once you are invited for interview you must also contact your referees to ensure that they provide a reference (in English) in good time to be considered by the selection panel. If you are successful at the interview stage, you will be assigned a Programme Officer at the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat, who will request that you provide additional information and documents, including unconditional offers from your preferred university/universities. You will also be required to undertake a medical examination at your own expense. You should not make any financial commitment or jeopardise your current employment until your Scholarship is confirmed and a Final Award Letter is issued. More information about the selection and interview process can be found in section 6 of the Terms and Conditions. 8

9 Applying for your visa You should be aware of the following: At the time of applying for your visa, you should ensure that you are: 1) in your home country or 2) able, if required, to travel to a neighbouring country for your biometrics appointment. Some countries require TB testing: you should organise this as early as possible (you can apply up to six months before your arrival in the UK) as the process can take several months. If you need ATAS clearance you can apply up to six months before your arrival in the UK. Once you have received your Final Award Letter confirming your Scholarship, you should immediately start your visa application. You should read the Home Office details of visa processes in your country of citizenship at for full instructions on how to apply for a visa. 9

10 A typical Chevening applicant journey 1 Research and choose three courses 2 Apply online by regional deadline 3 Long listed by 31 Jan 4 Short listed by 17 Feb 5 Attend interview: 31 Mar 18 Apr 6 Provisional selection by 30 May 7 Meet English language requirement by 23 Jun 8 Complete medical and client care forms by 15 Jul 9 Obtain unconditional offer from UK university by 15 Jul 10 Fulfil all award conditions by 15 Jul 11 Receive and sign Final Award Letter by 31 Jul 12 Visa application and (if required) TB screening from home country 13 Book flights as directed by Secretariat in Aug/Sep 14 Attend predeparture briefing in Aug/Sep and start course in Sep/Oct Who to contact Enquiries about submitting your online application: The Chevening Scholarships Secretariat via the website s enquiry form Enquiries about applying for a UK university course: The UK university itself Enquiries about organising an English language test: Your local English language test provider Enquiries about your Chevening interview: Your local British Embassy/High Commission Enquiries about provisional selection and documentation required: Your Programme Officer at the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat Enquiries about immigration and visas: The Senior Welfare and Immigration Officer at the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat Enquiries about booking flights: Your Programme Officer at the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat Enquiries about the pre-departure briefing: Your local British Embassy/High Commission Enquiries about arriving in the UK: Your Programme Officer at the Chevening Scholarships Secretariat 10

11 Value of a Chevening Scholarship A FULL Chevening Scholarship award normally comprises: Payment of tuition fees Travel to and from your country of residence by an approved route for you only An arrival allowance The cost of an entry clearance (visa) application for you only An excess baggage allowance A grant for the cost of preparation of a thesis or dissertation (if required) A monthly personal living allowance (stipend) to cover accommodation and living expenses Please note that some Chevening Scholarships are part awards. Further details of what a Chevening Scholarship can cover are explained in section 7 of the Terms and Conditions. Wider benefits of a Chevening Scholarship The wider benefits of a Chevening Scholarship include a tailored engagement programme, creating opportunities for Scholars to network with fellow Scholars and alumni, the FCO, high profile speakers, and select UK organisations. Through this, the Scholarships provide a unique opportunity for leaders of the future to build a global network of continuing professional significance and to establish social, cultural, academic and commercial partnerships with the UK. Other routes for applying for a Chevening Scholarship You should consult the partnerships section of the website at for details about partnership Chevening Scholarships for specific programmes/countries and how to apply for these. 11

12 Appendix A Step by step user guide to submitting your application using the online echevening application form 1. Logging on You can access echevening using the following link: on.aspx If you are a first time applicant you will need to register on the site by completing the new user registration page and create a login ID and password (below). It is important that you remember your own login ID as we do not keep records of account details. If you forget your login details you will have to start the entire process again by creating a new account. echevening allows partial completion of an application so you can save and return to complete the form as many times as required. If you are a returning applicant you can simply click on the Returning Applicants option and enter your existing login details. 12

13 Once registered and logged onto the site the application will be presented with the Information screen below. You will need to press OK to proceed to the next page. 2. Completing the online form Once logged on, you will be presented with the Applicant Details screen, as shown below. You will need to complete all the mandatory fields before proceeding with your application. If your Country of Citizenship is not listed please refer to section 5. below. Once completed you should click Save. You can now complete the rest of the online form. Each page can be accessed by clicking on the individual headers under the Additional Details heading at the bottom of the Applicant Details page. 13

14 Below are screen shots of the individual pages. On each page once all the mandatory details are completed, you should click OK to save details and return to the Applicant Details page. 3. Screenshots of application form pages Contact Details: Current Situation: 14

15 English Language and Academic Background if you meet the English language exemption criteria: English Language and Academic Background if you do not meet the English language exemption criteria but have taken an English language test and have the results: 15

16 English Language and Academic Background if you do not meet the English language exemption criteria but have not yet taken a test: Professional Background: 16

17 Proposed Course Details. You MUST select three courses - a reach course, a likely course, and a safety course - and universities. If you select Not Stated in any of these fields your application will NOT be valid. If you are applying for a Chevening Scholarship co-funded by a central partnership please refer to section 6. below. Details of UK Scholarship: 17

18 References: Personal Statements (word limit 1,000 words): 18

19 4. Submitting your application form Once you have completed all the pages of the application form, all of the boxes should show 100% completions and have turned green (as shown below). At this point, click the Save button and then click the Submit button to complete your application. Note: Once your application form has been submitted, it is no longer possible for you to make further changes. 5. How to apply if your country of citizenship is NOT listed on echevening Not all Chevening-eligible countries are listed in the Country of Citizenship drop-down menu on the Applicant Details page. Please refer to the instructions below if you are a citizen of one of the following countries: Marshall Islands Micronesia Cape Verde Guinea Bissau Republic of Congo Sao Tome et Principe Chad Gabon Equatorial Guinea Central African Republic Samoa Cook Islands Somaliland 19

20 If you are applying from the Marshall Islands, select Fiji as your Country of Citizenship but list Marshall Islands in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in the Marshall Islands as your contact address: 20

21 If you are applying from Micronesia, select Fiji as your Country of Citizenship but list Micronesia in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Micronesia as your contact address: 21

22 If you are applying from Cape Verde or Guinea Bissau, select Senegal as your Country of Citizenship but list Cape Verde or Guinea Bissau in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Cape Verde or Guinea Bissau as your contact address: 22

23 If you are applying from Republic of Congo, select Democratic Republic of Congo as your Country of Citizenship but list Republic of Congo in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Republic of Congo as your contact address: 23

24 If you are applying from Sao Tome et Principe, select Angola as your Country of Citizenship but list Sao Tome et Principe in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Sao Tome et Principe as your contact address: 24

25 If you are applying from Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea or Central African Republic, select Cameroon as your Country of Citizenship but list Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea or Central African Republic in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Chad, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea or Central African Republic as your contact address: 25

26 If you are applying from Samoa, select New Zealand as your Country of Citizenship but list Samoa in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Samoa as your contact address: 26

27 If you are applying from the Cook Islands, select New Zealand as your Country of Citizenship but list Cook Islands in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in the Cook Islands as your contact address: 27

28 If you are applying from Somaliland, select Somalia as your Country of Citizenship but list Somaliland in the Place of Birth field: When you get to the Contact Details page you MUST list an address in Somaliland as your contact address: 28

29 6. How to apply for a co-funded central partnership You should read the following notes if you are applying for a Chevening Scholarship cofunded by one of the following central partnerships: African Fellowship Trust Chevening M/Strat Scholarship Clore Leadership Programme Commonwealth Broadcasting Association HSBC Chevening/Weidenfeld Scholarship Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies African Fellowship Trust Under Proposed Course Details you must select Not Stated in each one of the University fields, and African Fellowship Trust in each one of the Course fields: 29

30 Chevening M/Strat Scholarship Under Proposed Course Details you must select University of Exeter in each one of the University fields, and M/Strat MA Applied Security Strategy in each one of the Course fields: 30

31 Clore Leadership Programme Under Proposed Course Details you must select Not Stated in each one of the University fields, and Clore Leadership Programme in each one of the Course fields: 31

32 Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Under Proposed Course Details you must enter the University of Westminster, the University of East Anglia, or City University London in each one of the University fields, and CBA followed by the name of your course in brackets (only six courses are eligible for this award, please see for further details) in each one of the Course fields: 32

33 HSBC Under Proposed Course Details you must select three universities in order of preference in the University fields. In each one of the Course fields you must write HSBC followed by the name of your course in brackets: 33

34 Chevening/Weidenfeld Scholarship Under Proposed Course Details you must select University of Oxford in each one of the University fields, and Weidenfeld Master s in Public Policy in each one of the Course fields: 34

35 Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Under Proposed Course Details you must select University of Oxford in each one of the University fields, and OCIS in each one of the Course fields: 35