 Welcome to today's webinar from SOAS University of London. My name is Alicia Sales, I am the Scholarship Deputy Manager at SOAS. And here with me is Ricky Clark, Peace Deputy Manager. Good afternoon everyone. Today's webinar is Peace, Scholarships and Funding Information for Postgraduate Studies. Before we start, just to say that this presentation will be available on the SOAS website after this webinar and will be emailed to those who have registered. Also, if you have any general questions, we will be answering some of them live at the end of the webinar. If you cannot attend the webinar live or if you have specific questions, you can also email your queries to scholarships at soas.ac.uk and we will reply to you after the presentation. At the end of the webinar we will have between 15 to 20 minutes to answer questions. During this session we are going to cover scholarship funding. Then we will talk about the most important aspect you need to consider when making an application for a scholarship at SOAS. We will look at candidate criteria, candidate assessment, application deadlines and notification of results, and finally how to apply. Scholarship Information is normally published annually in November on the scholarship web pages, www.soas.ac.uk forward scholarships. Once you have chosen your degree course, you should research sources of funding. We advise you to make applications for scholarships as early as possible. SOAS offers a wide range of scholarships aimed at assisting the same students with their studies. These scholarships are unique to SOAS and like loans, you don't need to pay back. There are different types of scholarships you may be eligible for. So as scholarships and external scholarships. Detailed information of these scholarships is available on the scholarship website. External scholarships are those funded by the government, organization or charities with an invested interest in higher education. For example, non-UK students can apply for funding from the UK government through sheeting awards and Commonwealth scholarships. These external awards are not administered by us, so you will need to contact the external organization directly for further details and application procedures. SOAS scholarships are provided by SOAS, for example the Felix scholarships. You can apply for all scholarships for which you might be eligible, both SOAS scholarships and external scholarships. In fact, we strongly advise you to apply for as many scholarships as you can to increase your chances of gaining funding. Unless specified otherwise, you will need to complete a separate scholarship application form for each scholarship. Eligibility criteria depends upon various factors and is different from award to award. You will know if you are eligible to apply for a scholarship by reading the details on the candidate criteria found on the website. It is important that you apply early and read the guidelines thoroughly in order to have the best chances of success. I will now go through some of these key factors. This is not an exhaustive list and you will need to read carefully the scholarship pages for full details on eligibility. Excellent academic record. Applicants are expected to have an outstanding academic record and scholarships are awarded to the best candidates. Applicants must normally hold a good honours degree with a first or a 2-1. For research scholarships, they must possess a good merit or distinction at a master's level. Some scholarships may give preference to those with a first class or distinction. Others may give some consideration to financial need. In this case, this will be specified clearly on the relevant scholarship pages. Residency, citizenship and fee status. Eligibility may depend on residency, that is the place where you normally live. It may depend on citizenship of a country if the scholarship in question is targeted at the students from specific regions. Scholarships may also be based on fee status assessment if the scholarship is specific to those paying home or overseas fees. Some scholarships are subject or program specific, so you will also need to check if your programme of study is specific to the scholarship you are interested in. In most cases, so as scholarships are only open to students who have already accepted onto a programme by the scholarship deadline. However, you don't need to wait for the outcome of your admission application before applying for scholarships. Most of our scholarships require that you meet the English language condition by the 1st of June. So please arrange your English test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible. In addition to this, you will be required to meet all the conditions of your offer before the start of the programme. Decision on scholarships are normally made by a panel of SOAS academics. I will now talk briefly about some key things you need to get right to make a competitive application for a scholarship at SOAS. So, what is the key information for application success? Firstly, your academic record or predicted grades. Most of the scholarships are based on academic merit. We are looking for well qualified and committed applicants. When assessing applications, we will have your academic record, most particularly your most recent results. We will consider evidence of outstanding academic achievements as indicated by degree outcome, prizes and awards, etc. Your references are also important. We look at what the references have to say about you, including your academic abilities, your core knowledge and your determination. All the key areas are your potential to go further, to grow and excel in your programme of study. Another key aspect is your personal statement. This is your opportunity to tell us why you are interested in the subject and why you want to study at SOAS. In your statement, we are looking for genuine subject interest and a strong fit between your application and programme of study. We will consider your pre-straining, additional preparation and commitment to undertaking the proposed course of study. For instance, we will look at your relevant work experience, additional language studies, fieldwork travel, etc. It is critical that you read the specific candidate criteria carefully for each scholarship and that you provide evidence in the statement on how you meet the scholarship requirements. Scholarship information is published annually in November. Our deadlines are normally January and February. However, some scholarships close on different days. To avoid missing key deadlines is therefore crucial that you check individual scholarship pages and know the closing dates in your calendar. In order to be eligible for a SOAS scholarship, you must also apply for your programme of study, ideally six weeks before the deadline. Successful candidates will be notified of the course of the outcome of their application by July. In order to apply for scholarships, you must follow two steps. Step one, apply for your programme ideally six weeks before the scholarship deadline. You must submit a complete online admission application. A complete application for admission includes official transcripts, copies of degree certificates, an explanation of the grading system for any degrees obtained outside the UK, two references, a CV, and a personal statement. In addition to these, MPHB applicants must also submit a research proposal. Applicants must normally have an offer of admission by their scholarship application deadline. The panel will be considered in your scholarship application together with your online application for admission. Finally, step two, you must apply for the scholarship via the online application form by the scholarship deadline. This brings us to the end of the presentation. We have now got 15 to 20 minutes for general questions and we will reply to any specific enquiries after the webinar. So let's have a look at the questions we have received. Our first question is from B Sitea, who's asking about scholarships that give a full fee, I guess a full tuition fee waiver. And if I may, I can say that this is quite variable. So we have around 60 to 65 different scholarships. They each have different criteria as outlined. So you wouldn't need to look at them individually. Some of them do give an amount of money, which will cover both tuition fees and money towards living, whereas others are a set amount of money. So it depends on the degree you apply for the tuition fee amount. So you might not cover the full tuition fee. It does get more complicated. So please do look at each of the individual scholarships that you think you're eligible for to see how much you could get both towards fees and towards living costs. Our second question is asking about details of needs-based scholarships for Indian nationals, which cover living expenses. I mean, most of our scholarships are based on academic merit. There are a few that will consider financial need. So for Indian scholars or applicants, we have, for example, the Felix scholarships, which is a fully funded scholarships. Obviously, we have a list of scholarships on the scholarship website. I would advise you to check the list in first instance, look at the eligibility criteria. And then if you have any specific questions, then you can of course contact us by emailing scholarships at soas.sc.uk. Of course, I will be happy then to give you specific information for you. Debbie has a question. Is it okay if I apply to the department at SOAS a week before the Felix scholarship deadline? Would it be a problem? As Lydia said, ideally you should apply six weeks before. But if you only learn of it at the moment, then do apply before the scholarship deadline. If you don't apply at all, then obviously you won't be considered. However, some of our scholarships are very competitive. If there's a complete application of admission and a number of them, then it's possible you might not be considered by the selection panel. I think, I mean, if you haven't submitted the admission application yet, do that as soon as possible. Because if you have an offer of admission by the time the selection takes place, then we will be able to put your application forward if you meet the other criteria. Adra asks, how are there two ways to apply different from each other in outcome? I think that's referring to the two steps that Alitha outlined. So the first step is to apply for admissions to the admissions office, to the degree that you want to study. And the second step is to apply on the scholarship application form. And the two go hand in hand. The selection process looks at your admission application and your scholarship application together before making a decision. The scholarship application is a very small online form and it captures information and evidence that we need for the scholarship, particular to each individual scholarship, which might not be captured by the admissions form. Amanda has asked regarding advice on funding for disabilities. And there is for UK citizens and EU systems, I believe, a disabled student allowance which is administered through our student advice and wellbeing team. So it's not a scholarship per se, but it is additional funding for students who need access to education. So definitely check out the SOAS website with student advice and wellbeing and you can search using DSL, disabled student allowance. And in addition to this, obviously, you can apply for any of the scholarships listed on the scholarship website, which are based on academic merit. Irrespective of ability or disability. There is a question from Clara regarding the SOAS research studentships. Basically, the SOAS research studentships will be available from 1920. Up-to-date information will be posted on the website at the end of January. With up-to-date information on deadlines, criteria and application deadlines. So please do have a look again on the scholarship website at the end of January. This has been confirmed as available for 1920. We have a follow-up question about the Felix application from Debbie. This says, how long do you get an application number? And that is your admissions reference number. So once you've submitted your application through the admission system, you should get an acknowledgement which will give you your application number. And that's the one to use. How long it takes? It shouldn't take too long, but if you do want to know more about how to apply directly for the admissions to degrees, there will be another webinar next week for postgraduate admissions. We've got a question from Ahmed about scholarships available for students from Egypt. And that is probably best answered by looking at the list of scholarships online. We do have both a general web page and then specific web pages for masters, undergraduate and research level scholarships. And within those pages, there is a column that indicates any residency or nationality requirements. And so that will include either saying Egypt, for example, specifically, or it might say Africa or it might say developed countries. And if it's something more general or ambiguous, such as developed countries, then clicking into the scholarship itself will give a breakdown of which scholarships qualify or how you work out whether your country is eligible. We have some questions about specific scholarships, such as the SOAS Impact Scholarships. So please do email us directly as the scholarships are SOAS. Question about funding for mothers with children. So again, the scholarships are on academic merit, so they're equally available to parents and non-parents, mothers and fathers. But you can also arch here as a student. There are some childcare funds through Student Advice and Wellbeing. Student Advice and Wellbeing is there to give additional support to anyone who has additional costs or barriers to studies. They give study support skills, counselling, but also some small funds, which are not scholarships, but do so for students with particular needs. I have a question from T. Muranda. Please, may you give an indication of living costs and accommodation costs for 1920? As a rough guide of the cost of living in the UK, we would say that the minimum would be around £1,000 per month. There is a breakdown on the living costs in the UK on the website. But just to give you an idea, for example, accommodation could cost around £590. Then another type of cost, for example, food, it will be between £230 and £175. Laundry between £15 and £18. Travel cost is between £50 and £110. For example, books between £35 and £55 per month. For personal expenses, you could roughly estimate between £20 and £35. And for other miscellaneous costs between £40 and £70. So as an overall, we would calculate a minimum of £1,000, but depending on how much you want to spend in several aspects, then it could be more. And that is just a guide that's been given by our colleagues, the student advice and wellbeing. And of course, as Alithia says, there's a range of amounts there. And it does really depend where in London you live, how far away from the service campus, which will affect your travel costs, and how efficient you are at budgeting or making food last. So there's no set amount, but definitely it's something worth working out and considering when coming to study in London at SOAS or any other university. The application number for your admissions, yes, Min, is asking, come as you apply for admissions. So your reference number will be given, I think, in an acknowledgement email or within the system as you apply for admissions. So you don't get that once you get an offer of a place. It is as you apply at the initial stage. A good question from Faisana is scholarship assessment based on previous academic performance only. That's a sort of yes and no. If you've finished your first degree or your master's degree and you're applying for a PhD, then it will be looking at your graduated grades. But if you're in your final year or you're just completing your master's, for example, then it will also be subject to what your references are suggesting your predicted grades are. And that's where your transcript comes in so that your previous year's marks or for a master's, someone studying on their master's, their previous essay marks, we can see a projection of what you've already achieved during the year and what you're likely to achieve by the time you graduate in the summer. And then any offer of a scholarship will be conditional on achieving a first class degree or a master's degree with merit depending on the level. Jasmine is asking, I graduated over 10 years ago, will two professional references be acceptable? Basically, for the scholarship application, we don't require any additional supporting documents. Basically, we will be using the information you've submitted with your admission application. So I would advise you to check with the admission team the sort of references they accept when you apply for admissions. I think there is some frequently asked questions available on their website. And I think they have a section about references. So I would advise you to check that first. And if you have any further questions or you would require further advice, you can email master's admissions at soas.ac.uk and they will be happy to advise you on references. Somebody's asked, can we make an appointment to see student advice wellbeing on campus? Definitely, once you enroll as a student, that is their function. They have drop-in sessions and appointments. If you're a prospective student, I think they'd also be happy to see you, but maybe email them or in advance just to make sure any particular specialist advisor for your requirement is available on the day you come in. Not all advisors are available on every day. We have a question from Farzana. She wants to know whether experience will be taken into consideration as well. Yes, so basically, academics will be looking at the grades because obviously scholarships are quite competitive. So one of the criteria will be academic, but obviously they will also be looking at other aspects such references or any relevant experience. So if you have relevant experience, it's important that you mention that that will be also another criteria that the academics will be considering. Epi is asking, are there any scholarships available for part-time students? There are some. There are more for full-time study, but there are some on the website to do have a careful look. And also, as well as the SOAS scholarships on the three webpages, there's a fourth web page in the scholarships area, which is for external funding providers. These are organizations, philanthropic charities, government organizations and others. The application isn't through SOAS, so you need to check directly on those webpages for their own criteria, the deadlines and application procedures, but there is a far wider range of different scholarships at different times of the year available externally to us. And Sean is asking, can we apply for several scholarships provided by SOAS? Absolutely. As long as you're eligible for all of them, you can apply for as many as you are eligible for, and that would be a sensible option. We do look at when selection is made, applicants who've applied for more than one. And if you're successful for one, then of course that means your application for others is not necessary and that gives somebody else another chance. But for you yourself, the best way forward is to apply for as many things that you're eligible for, and you don't know which ones you're going to be successful for. There is a question from Team Miranda. Should we fail to raise funds from 1920? If we don't get a scholarship, is it possible to defer the acceptance while we save? Yes, it is normally possible to defer your offer of admission. In order to do that, you need to request it in writing, so you will need to write to the admission team and request that and then we'll get back to you. There is a question from Yasmin. This is the last question we have time for. Is a retired referee acceptable? That's an interesting one. I think probably best to check the postgraduate admissions webinar next week. So references are more about the admissions criteria. I don't want to give you false hope or be disappointing, so I'm not sure. But as I said, there is a webinar that you can register and the admission team will be able to advise you on that. And also, as I mentioned before, there is a section on the website about frequently asked questions and there is a section that gives information about references and what is acceptable. So you can have a look at that first and obviously register for the next webinar and admissions will be happy to advise you. And very quickly, yes, Maria, this webinar will be recorded and available on the webinar page on the service website. So thank you very much everyone for your questions. And I hope you found this webinar helpful. As I mentioned before, if you have any additional questions, you can email us to scholarships at soas.totec.uk and we will be very happy to answer them. Thank you very much.