What is Scholarship?

Scholarship is a financial aid given to the students who are either meritorious in academics, sports or in any other curriculum activities or to the students who are in need of financial assistance to pursue their further education. Financial aid given to the students who cannot afford their education or who are in need of financial assistance is also known as ‘Grants’. The best thing about the Scholarships is that it is not a financial loan so the awardee doesn’t need to pay back the scholarship.

The scholarships are offered by many organizations, institutions, colleges, Universities, NGOs, Funds, and by Governments. Every scholarship is based on some criterion and the student who is applying for it must fulfil the criterion mentioned in the scholarship to obtain it. The objective of the scholarship is to promote education. Some scholarships are meant for deprived classes of people who cannot afford their education and some are meant for specific race, groups, class, religion of people to uplift their education like Afro-Americans, Latino students, minority religions, etc.

The other criteria for the grant of scholarships are based on the academic record of the students. Universities and government support the higher education of the highly meritorious student because such students are considered as the assets to the nation so the government financially supports their education by way of scholarships so that their education and mind can be used for the growth and development of the nation and for the society at large.

Scholarships are offered at both national and international level. Below is the list of the most popular top 10 scholarships awarded to the Indian students who want to go for higher studies abroad.

Top Ten scholarships:

  • 1. Rhodes Scholarship UK: It is one of the most prestigious and the oldest scholarships in the world. Rhodes scholarship is awarded to the students of commonwealth nations to study in Oxford University.

  • 2. Fulbright Scholarship USA: Fulbright scholarship is a United States Exchange program for students, teachers, research scholars, scientists, professionals. The objective of this scholarship is to improve intercultural relationships between USA and other countries. Every year around 4,000 foreign students have been awarded this scholarship.

  • 3. Gates Cambridge Scholarship USA: This scholarship was established by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a $210 million donation to support outstanding graduate students from across the globe to study in University of Cambridge.

  • 4. Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan: This Scholarship is for the students who have a very high meritorious record in academics. This scholarship is for advance study and research in Master’s and PhD programs.

  • 5. Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship UK: Indian students applying for Master’s degree or Doctoral degree can take advantage of this scholarship. This scholarship is for commonwealth countries and it includes the cost of airfare, tuition fee and some other expenses too.

  • 6. GREAT Scholarships UK: This scholarship is jointly funded by the UK Government’s Great Britain Campaign and the British Council under the UK Campaign. The amount of the scholarship is a minimum of £10,000, for postgraduate degree.

  • 7. Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarships (CWIT) UK: This scholarship is for the Indian Students who are in the mid-stage of their career in the field of arts, heritage, conservation or the humanities. It is granted for short term summer courses, research fellowships, and doctoral study. The amount of scholarship also varies upon which course student is applying for.

  • 8. Australian Government Research and Training Program (AGRTP): This scholarship is awarded by Australian government to the international students for research in Master’s and Doctorate programs. The scholarship amount is $28,092 per annum made fortnightly.

  • 9. Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (Canada): The prerequisites are that the student must have received an invitation from a Canadian university to study in Canada. The scholarship amount is $5,000 per session.

  • 10. Melbourne University PG Scholarship (Australia): To apply for this scholarship the student needs to be an international student. The student must have received some offer from the University of Melbourne to study there. The student should not be holding any other Australian Scholarship at that time.