Deadline: 31 January 2011
Open to: applicants from least developed countries
Scholarship: a monthly allowance of 1.000 euro
Duration: 2 years, start 26 September 2011
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel annually awards yearly a number of scholarships for advanced studies at Master or Advanced Master level. The selected scholarship programmes are characterized by the integration of education and research and a Master’s thesis. They cover at least one year of study and depending on the field of study some programmes may take two years. Annually one or more specific programmes are considered for Scholarships of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The Bureau for Development Cooperation selects these programmes every year following an internal “Call for Interest” to all programme directors of a Master or Advanced Master programme. This selection is submitted for endorsement to the Research Council.
Covered Expenses
1. Scholars participating will receive a monthly allowance of 1.000 euro. This allowance is intended to cover room and board, individual transport and scholar’s personal expenses.
2. A monthly allowance of 60 euro will be paid for the spouse and per child whether or not they accompany the scholar to Belgium
3. Per academic year the scholar will be paid a lump sum fee of 275 euro for teaching materials (including the printing of the dissertation or reports).
4. The scholar will be paid once a lump sum fee of 275 euro covering shipping costs of teaching material received during the programme (paid at the end of the programme).
5. Upon arrival, the scholar will receive a one-time installation fee of 500 euro.
6. International travel: the scholarship includes one one-way economy class airline ticket to travel to Belgium at the beginning of the programme and one one-way ticket to the scholar’s home country at the end of the programme. A two-year programme also includes a round-trip ticket for summer travel to the scholar’s home country. The reservations of the tickets are made by Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
7. Annual tuition fee will be reimbursed after payment by the scholar.
8. Insurance: the Vrije Universiteit Brussel will provide medical, third-party liability, accident and repatriation insurance for the scholar. Insurances are paid directly by Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
9. The scholar will receive a one-time preparation fee of 150 euro to cover visa costs.
Only residents from selected developing countries are eligible for a VUB scholarship. This list is based on the List of Developing Countries situated in Africa, Asia and Latin-America from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). List of countries here.
Candidates must comply with the specific admission requirements for the programme they apply for. Calls for scholarships are made for specific Master and/or Advanced Master programmes. Candidates are allowed to apply only once a year. Candidates may not be older than 35 years of age at the moment of application.
Instructions for Applicants
Submission of the application form
Applicants MUST use the requested application form.
You will have to upload several documents in this form:
* a passport photo
* a copy of your passport or valid ID
* a copy of your diploma’s and transcripts of records (grade sheets) translated to English or French
Recommendation letters
* Two recommendation letters have to be sent by the concerning authors by scan and mail to development.cooperation@vub.ac.be, with reference ‘Your name and first name, application for a VUB-scholarship’.
* If you have no time to complete the application form at once, you can always log in again (until the above mentioned deadline) and edit the pages that were not completed yet.
* Candidates who apply through this on-line form are applying for a scholarship as well as admission to the programme. There is no need to apply separately for an academic admission. The number of scholarships is limited and only the very best students will receive this grant. So it is possible that you will be granted academic admission without scholarship.
All applicants will be informed about the results of the pre-selection of their application by e-mail before February 28, 2011.
Pre-selected applicants will be invited to submit additional documents before April 1, 2011.
Documents to be submitted by pre-selected candidates
1. Officially authenticated copies of the diplomas you obtained: university degree, equivalent to a Flemish Bachelor’s degree (obtained after minimum 3 years of study = 180 ECTS in an academic curriculum) )
2. Transcripts of academic records (grade sheets) of all the academic years under envelope sealed by the university or officially authenticated copies of these transcripts. Applicants who graduated at an African university must request their home university to send the transcripts under sealed envelope to the registrar’s address. If these documents are not in English, French or Dutch, OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS (= by a sworn translator) in one of these languages must be added. Copies of degrees and transcripts are not accepted, nor are copies of authenticated copies.
3. Certificates of enrollments taken at other Flemish universities (if applicable).
4. Two letters of recommendation.
5. A comprehensive motivation (1page).
6. Two address labels (label with your own address printed on it). These labels will be used for mail purposes.
7. Two recent passport photos.
8. A copy of a valid ID-card or passport.
9. Proof of proficiency in English.
Scores should be sent directly by the examination center to the VUB under sealed envelope to the registrar’s address. For the TOEFL-test scores, the institutional code ‘3574 – VUB’ can be used by the examination center. Officially authenticated copies are not accepted.
10. Students from the P.R. China have to obtain a certificate of academic screening issued by the Academic Evaluation Center (APS) of the German Embassy in Beijing before being allowed to enroll at any higher education institution. The certificate is also required to obtain a student visa to Belgium. More information on APS can be found at www.aps.org.cn. An APS-attestation is a mandatory document in the paper application package.
Documents should be sent to the registrar’s office before April 1, 2011:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Registrar’s office
VUB scholarship
Pleinlaan 2
B-1050 Brussels
Belgium
