Tips on Applying for a Scholarship

Sayed Chhattan Shah, PhD

Senior Researcher
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
South Korea
shah@etri.re.kr | etri.re.kr

Sayed Chhattan Shah

Tips on applying for a scholarship

There are several ways to get a scholarship. The

few that I know are mentioned below:

Foreign Government Scholarships
Pakistan Government Scholarships
University Scholarships
Research Laboratory Scholarships

Foreign Government Scholarships

Governments of several countries around the

world offer a wide range of scholarships to

international students

Some scholarships are listed below:

Foreign Government Scholarships for Developing Country Students:

http://www.scholars4dev.com/1892/government-scholarships-for-developing-countries/
Japanese Government Scholarships: http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj_stope.html
List of scholarships in Japan: http://www.jasso.go.jp/study_j/scholarships_sfisij_e.html
Korean Government Scholarships: http://www.gks.go.kr/
NIIED Scholarships for BS, MS and PhD students: http://www.niied.go.kr/
University of Science and Technology Scholarships: http://www.ust.ac.kr/index.do?todo=indexEng
KAIST: http://www.kaist.edu/english/
Chevening Scholarships: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/scholarships/chevening/
The Fulbright Program for Foreign Students: http://foreign.fulbrightonline.org/fubrightprogram.html
Microsoft Research Fellowships: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/awards/fellowships.aspx
Scholarship Portal: http://www.cra.org
ERCIM Postdoctoral Fellowships: http://fellowship.ercim.eu/
Australian Endeavour Awards: http://www.deewr.gov.au/International/EndeavourAwards/Pages/Home.aspx
Australian Development Scholarships: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/studyin.cfm
DAAD Scholarships: http://www.daad.org/

Foreign Government Scholarships

How to apply?
Most of the scholarships are offered every year
In order to get updated information, visit related websites regularly
and prepare your application and required documents in advance
For some scholarships such as Endeavor awards you have to get admission first
and then you can apply for the scholarship
Admission process usually takes 3-4 months for the PhD studies
Plan at least six month before the deadline
In order to apply for admission, some universities may ask you to identify
potential advisor and get her approval before submitting an application
Visit homepage of professor related to your research topic
Read recent research papers to get an idea about her research
Get her approval and submit approval letter along with application
To get approval contact professors at least 40-50 days before application deadline
When contacting a professor make sure to include your research plan or at least
research interests or research you have done

Pakistan Government Scholarships

Scholarships offered by Government of Pakistan:

Higher Education Commission: http://beta.hec.gov.pk/Pages/HECMain.aspx

Ministry of Science and Technology: http://www.most.gov.pk/

Sindh Government Scholarships:

http://www.sindh.gov.pk/dpt/EducationFinal/Scholarships/Scholarships.htm

University Scholarships
Several universities particularly in developed

countries offer various scholarships for BS, MS

and PhD programs
In order to get information, visit website of university or
department, look for admission and scholarships section, read
requirements and prepare your application

PhD scholarships:
Some universities may ask you to identify potential advisor and get her
approval before submitting an application
Visit homepage of professor related to your research topic
Read recent research papers to get an idea about her research
Get her approval and submit approval letter along with application
To get approval contact professors at least 40-50 days before application deadline

When contacting a professor make sure to include your research plan or at

least research interests or research you have done

University Scholarships
List of some universities
South Korea

Seoul National University: http://www.snu.ac.kr/engsnu/

Korea University: http://www.korea.ac.kr/

Hanyang University: http://www.hanyang.ac.kr/english/Campus%20Life/indexF6-1.html

KAIST: http://www.kaist.edu/edu.html

GIST: http://www.gist.ac.kr/english/03_admissions/sub_01.php

USA

University of California international scholarships:

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/scholarships/apply/index.html

Georgia Tech: http://www.finaid.gatech.edu/scholarships/

Australia

Melbourne University Scholarship: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships/ugrad/international

The Australian National University: http://www.anu.edu.au/sas/scholarships/index.php

Swiss

ETH Zurich Scholarships: http://www.rektorat.ethz.ch/students/finance/scholarship/excellence/index_EN

Research Labs / Professors

Research labs and faculties within the university

also offer their own scholarships

How to apply?
Search research labs / professors related to your research topic
Find if there are any MS or PhD positions
Read requirements carefully and then prepare your application

If positions are not available

Contact professors and ask them about the research opportunities

Make sure to include your research plan or at least research interests and
research you have done
Before contacting a professor, visit his home page and read few recent research papers
to get an idea about her research
How to choose a good professor?

Check projects, funding, list of publications, number of citation, alumni, etc.

General Instructions
Prepare following documents in advance
Degrees

Transcripts
GRE or ILETS Score
Research Proposal
Statement of Purpose

Search scholarship opportunities

Read requirements carefully
Prepare your application before the deadline
The admission and scholarship process takes time and effort. It is best to start
your application process at least one month before the deadline

Make sure that your application is complete

Proofread your application several times

Advice on Writing Research Proposal

This is one of the most important documents of your

application

Take your time to prepare a good research proposal

Your research proposal should address following

questions:

What is the problem being addressed?

Why it is important?
In what ways your work is innovative?
What methodology and techniques you will use?

Advice on Writing Research Proposal

Your proposal should include following sections:
Summary

Introduction
Problem Statement
Research Objectives

Literature Review
Research Description
Plan of Work

Expected Results
References

Advice on Writing Research Proposal

For more information, please visit the following links:
Advice on Writing Proposals to the National Science Foundation:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sfinger/advice/advice.html
Guidelines on writing a research proposal
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~matt/proposal.html

I have also attached some research proposals

Advice on Writing Reference Letters

Reference letters play an important role
Choose your referee carefully
Someone who knows you well and has a good reputation

Reference letters should include comments on your

academic performance
The reference letters which reveal nothing about you in terms of
knowledge and capabilities are useless and would not make any
difference.

Ask your referee to send reference letter on time

Good referees are always busy
Ask them at least a month before the deadline

Advice on Writing Reference Letters

For more information, please visit the following links:

Guide for teaching fellows on writing letters of recommendation:

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/Verba-recs.html

Writing a letter of recommendation: http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/mernst/advice/writerecommendation.html

Advice to Graduate School Recommendation Letter Writers:

http://www.cs.brown.edu/~sk/Memos/Grad-School-Recos/

Recommended Links

Applying to PhD Programs in Computer Science:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf

Tips on Getting into Grad School:

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~mdw/talks/gradschooltips.pdf

Useful Things to Know About Ph. D. Thesis Research:

http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~htk/thesis.htm

Armando's Paper Writing and Presentations Page:

http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~fox/paper_writing.html#hints

How to Win a Graduate Fellowship: http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Win-aGraduate/46782

Tips for scholarships applicants:

http://services.unimelb.edu.au/scholarships/pgrad/scholarship_resources/tips

HOWTO: Get into grad school for science, engineering, math and computer science:
http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-apply-and-get-in-to-graduate-school-in-sciencemathematics-engineering-or-computer-science/