Share this article on...
Contact Us
- Report errors or inaccuracies topmba@qsnetwork.com
- Contribute articles contribute@qsnetwork.com
- Advertise advertise@qsnetwork.com
Funding for graduate programs still available for international students
With talk of the global recession, mounting debts and bank collapses dominating the daily news, is there really a chance that you will find funding for a masters or PhD degree in the coming year?
The short answer is that for most international students the same amount of funding is available to them for graduate study as was available either last year or the year before. In fact, universities around the world have recognised that, in the face of increased economic uncertainty, more students are likely to consider returning to grad school as a means of shelter from the difficult international labour market, and supporting these students is likely to be a key factor in securing the most talented graduate applicants in the coming year.
Large-scale scholarship schemes, such as those offered by transnational organizations, like the World Bank, or national government schemes, such as the Australian Endeavour Awards, the UK’s Chevening Scholarships and the US’ Fulbright Commission awards are also relatively untouched by the current financial crisis. However, evidence suggests that these bigger scholarships schemes are very likely to be more competitive than in previous years with more prospective graduate students seeking to apply to grad school.
The British government’s commitment to their flagship scholarship scheme, Chevening, continues in 2009, with no significant reduction in either the funds invested in more than 1,000 new scholarships for masters students under the main awards, or the additional 300 scholarships funded jointly with the corporate sector. The Chevening scholarships are likely to continue to attract candidates of the highest calibre, with more than 17,000 applications for the 1,000 or so central awards - competition in the years to come will be tough.
Banks, both local and international, are also continuing to do their bit for funding students seeking a graduate degree.
Banks, both local and international, are also continuing to do their bit for funding students seeking a graduate degree. While it is true that commercial loans for international graduate study are not quite as freely available as they have been in previous years, large international banks like HSBC and Banco Santander are committed to continuing their support for schemes for international students throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America. Indeed, Banco Santander is among the first banks, and certainly now the greatest investor from the banking and finance industry, to develop a higher education-specific focus that benefits universities as well as individual international students. In 2009, their 700th funded institutional link was signed bringing their total investment to more than €600 million over a 12 year period. With a range of projects being funded, Banco Santander has had a very real impact on the mobility of international graduate students seeking masters or PhD programs all over the world.
Scholarships and loan funding is available for students either already enrolled at a partner university or through open schemes advertised in local press depending on the exact requirements of the specific award. In 2007, 12,270 students and academic members of staff were awarded university scholarships for international study and other kinds of academic mobility.
The opportunity to secure a scholarship through the Santander Universities Global Division is significant for many prospective international graduate students. With a focus on a diverse range of countries and an emphasis on facilitating access to universities for students from lower income households, many of the Banco Santander scholarships are awarded to talented students that are ineligible for some of the more commercial loans schemes or international scholarship schemes. Although a Spanish-based bank, Banco Santander makes funding available to all students where their schemes and partnerships operate. One scheme that focuses on the promotion of international student excellence is the Carolina Foundation Leadership Scholarships, short-term mobility awards for 60 graduate students from Latin America, Spain and Portugal intending to study for a short period of their masters degrees in universities throughout Spain. Other awards under the Banco Santander schemes include those for graduate students from specific countries, such as that offered to students from Uruguay, who may apply for one of the ten full mobility scholarships tenable at European universities for a full academic program. Perhaps the largest scheme is the 200 graduate-only scholarships available to students of 32 of Latin America and the Caribbean’s largest universities to study at another university in the region.
