The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is a fully-funded scholarship opportunity for South African students to pursue a Master’s degree at one of Ireland’s world-class higher education institutions.
This flagship programme of the Irish Embassy in South Africa is part of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs’ larger Ireland Fellows Programme. The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is designed for South African early-career professionals with leadership potential.
The scholarship broadly supports leadership for the Sustainable Development Goals, with key priorities including the development of women’s leadership capacity and women’s participation in STEM. Furthermore, the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme aims to support students who would not otherwise be able to pursue Master’s level education in Ireland, and graduates of historically disadvantaged universities and universities of technology are encouraged to apply.
Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship you must:
- Be a resident national of South Africa;
- Have a minimum of two years’ relevant work experience (this can include internships and volunteering);
- Hold an honours’ level academic qualification from an accredited and government-recognised higher education institution, with a minimum grade point average of 75% – i.e. a first class honour, or second class honour, grade 1 (in some cases a second class honour grade 2 may be accepted);
- Not already hold a qualification at master’s level or higher. Not currently undertaking a programme at master’s level or higher, or be due to start a programme at master’s level or higher in the academic year 2022/23;
- Be applying to commence a new course at master’s level in Ireland no sooner than August/September 2023;
- Be able to demonstrate leadership abilities and aspirations, as well as commitment to the achievement of the SDGs within your own country.
- Have identified and selected two relevant courses from the Ireland Fellows Programme Directory of Eligible Programmes;
- Have a clear understanding of the academic and English language proficiencies required for both courses chosen;
- Must not have applied for the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme on more than one previous occasion;
- Be in a position to take up the Fellowship in the academic year 2022/23.
Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme Benefits
The Kader Asmal Fellowships will cover:
- university application fees
- tuition fees
- examination and other fees
- economy travel to and from your country of residence to Ireland;
- settling in allowance, book allowance and study allowance
- accommodation
- a monthly personal living allowance (stipend) to cover other living expense for you only and
- the costs of an entry clearance (student visitor visa) application
How to Apply for Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme
All applicants who are chosen to proceed to the second stage will be required to take an IELTS exam, unless they already have an IELTS certificate that is less than 12 months old at the time of application and shows the applicant has achieved the required score for the course to which they intend to apply. Even for native English speakers, early preparation for the IELTS exam is strongly advised.
The deadline to submit applications is 3 August 2022.
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