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/