COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIPS

Each year we apply to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission of the United Kingdom for funding to enable up to ten human rights advocates from selected developing African and South Asian Commonwealth countries to undertake the Master’s in International Human Rights Law. Since 2012, Commission has generously provided this funding and we are pleased to report that our latest application has also been successful.

We had anticipated that the latest funding would be for the course starting September 2016 but it will, in fact, be for the course starting September 2015.

The scholarships will be open to candidates from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Candidates usually need to be Commonwealth citizens of one of the eligible countries AND be permanent residents and currently resident in a developing Commonwealth country at the time of application and throughout the program. They will also need to meet the eligibility criteria for the course itself which are set out on our Admissions pages. The scholarships will not be open to students who have deferred entry from a previous year.

The Commonwealth Scholarships are funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and a secondary donor. They provide course and college fees at Oxford University over two years plus return air travel from the scholar’s home country for each residential session.

If you are interested in applying, please read this guidance note about the scheme to check you meet the eligibility criteria (for both the course and the scholarship) and then follow the instructions to submit an application to the University’s online application system remembering to use the scholarship code given in the guidance note (this is very important) . The closing date for applications is noon on Friday 17 April. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

GUIDANCE NOTE
Commonwealth Alistair Berkley Scholarships for Human
Rights Advocates at the University Of Oxford
Scholarships for candidates from developing African and South
Asian Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Master’s
in International Human Rights Law
Guidance Notes for Applicants (2015-16 Admission)

1. What do the scholarships offer?

The scholarships provide fully funded opportunities for candidates from developing African
and South Asian Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Master’s in International
Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford, starting September 2015. Up to five awards
are available for African and South Asian candidates respectively.
The scholarships are funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. Awards for
African candidates are additionally funded by the Alistair Berkley Charitable Trust. Subject to
satisfactory progress, the scholarships lead to the award of a Master of Studies (MSt) in
International Human Rights Law.
Each scholarship provides course and college fees at the University of Oxford over two years
and return air travel from the scholar’s home country for each of the two residential sessions.
All students on the course are provided with compulsory reading materials and books.

2. The course

The Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law (IHRL) is offered jointly by the
Department for Continuing Education and the Faculty of Law. It is taught over 22 months and
consists of two periods of distance learning and two residential sessions in Oxford. The
degree program is designed in particular for lawyers and other human rights advocates who
wish to pursue advanced studies in international human rights law but may need to do so
alongside work responsibilities.
The aim of the degree program is to train and support future leaders in the field of
international human rights law. A central objective of the course is to ensure that participants
not only know but can also use human rights law. The curriculum places roughly equal
emphasis on the substance of human rights law, its implementation, and the development of
human rights advocacy skills.
Further information about the course is available on our website at
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ihrlmst.

3. Who is eligible to apply?

In order to apply, you will need to meet the eligibility criteria for both the course and the
scholarship scheme. The requirements are set out below.
Course eligibility criteria
Within equal opportunities principles and legislation, applications will be assessed in the light
of a candidate’s ability to meet a number of criteria. A summary of these is below but2
candidates should also read the full criteria on the admissions pages of our website at
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ihrlmst/admissions.
 have a first-class (1) or an upper second class (2:1) undergraduate degree (or
equivalent international qualifications) in order to apply for this course. For applicants
with a degree from the USA, we normally seek a GPA of 3.5, or higher, out of 4.0.
Applicants with a lower second class (2.2) degree or a GPA lower than 3.0 are unlikely
to be admitted. This is the case even if you took your degree long ago, have extensive
experience or hold a senior position.
The degree is designed primarily for early and mid-career lawyers and the majority of
admitted students have a legal background and experience of international human
rights law. However, in certain circumstances, applications from persons with degrees
in other subjects who have extensive human rights experience will be considered.
 demonstrate a commitment to human rights based on work experience, volunteer
activities or concentration on human rights and international law at university
 have access to computing facilities sufficient to take an online course
 meet the minimum requirements for English proficiency as set out by the University for
graduate study at www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/englishproficiency (the level of English
competence required for this course is the higher level). Please note that there are
additional English requirements, set by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission,
for applicants from certain countries (see below).
We welcome applications from a variety of backgrounds including international, governmental
and non-governmental agencies, private and corporate practice, academia, medicine,
journalism and the armed forces. The profiles of past and present students are available at
http://ihrlmst.conted.ox.ac.uk/classmates/profiles/. The program seeks the widest possible
diversity in both its students and faculty. Most human rights work is done within a national and
local context and you need not have international experience to be eligible.
Please note that we cannot respond to individual queries about your chances of admission to
the course due to the volume of such enquiries.

Scholarship eligibility criteria

In addition, applicants
 must be Commonwealth citizens of a developing African/South Asian Commonwealth
country, refugees or British protected persons and be permanent residents of, and
currently resident in, a developing African/South Asian Commonwealth country at the
time of application and throughout the program;
 are expected to remain resident in a developing African/South Asian Commonwealth
on completion of their studies;
 must not already have received or be currently receiving financial benefit from a
previous Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarship.
 Candidates from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Mozambique, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and
Rwanda must take an IELTS test and will not be able to apply for a waiver of the
University’s English language requirements even if they meet the criteria for doing so.
The minimum required score set by the Commonwealth Commission is an overall
academic score of 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each band but the University’s requirements
are set higher at an overall academic score of 7.5 with at least 7.0 in each band and3
therefore override the Commonwealth’s minimum scores. In addition, please note that
the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission will only accept a certificate from a test
taken up to one year prior to the start date of the course.

4. How can I apply?

Admissions for the course through this scholarship scheme are now open for the course
starting in September 2015. The application period is short and your completed application,
together with a number of supporting materials, including transcripts and references, must be
submitted to Oxford University’s online application system by Friday 17 April 2015. Please
also note that there is a £50 application fee.
If you are unable to submit a completed application by this deadline, you may wish to consider
applying in September 2015 for studies commencing September 2016. In this case, your
application will automatically be considered for these scholarships in the event that funding is
secured again. You will also be considered for any other University scholarships for which you
are eligible. If you would like to be notified of the opening of applications in September 2015
for the start of study in September 2016, please email iphumrts@conted.ox.ac.uk entering
‘IHRL MST’ in the subject line and we will add you to the mailing list.
If you wish to apply for the course starting in September 2015, please check that you meet
both the eligibility requirements for the course and for the scholarship (see above). If you are
satisfied that you meet both sets of criteria, please follow the instructions below:
Stage 1 – submit an application to the University of Oxford
Read the information on the Admissions section of the Master’s in International Human Rights
Law website at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ihrlmst/admissions (this gives course-specific advice
about admissions) followed by the University’s Application Guide at
www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/applicationguide (this gives advice about what information is required
and how to complete the various sections of the form).
When you are ready to start your application, go to www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/applyonline where
you can start to complete your online application and upload your supporting materials.

Please note:
 The course code for the Master’s in International Human Rights Law, which is required
for the ‘Program of Study’ section of the application form, is 000160.
 In the ‘Proposed Funding Arrangements’, list your primary funding source as
‘Commonwealth Alistair Berkley Scholarships’.
 In the ‘Departmental Studentship Application’ field please enter the code
2015/OUDCE/IHRL/CW. It is very important you include this code to indicate that you
are applying for this course through the Commonwealth Scholarship scheme
otherwise your application may not be identified as such.
All completed applications submitted to Oxford by the given deadline will be assessed by a
panel of academics from the Department for Continuing Education and the Law Faculty at the
University of Oxford. Please note that incomplete applications (i.e. those missing
information or required supporting materials) will not be considered.4
The panel will produce a shortlist (plus a small number of reserves) and these candidates will
be invited to go on to the next stage of the application process (see below). Candidates will be
informed of the outcome of this first stage of the process by mid-May 2015. If you are not
shortlisted, your application for both the scholarships and the course will not be taken any
further (and you will not, at this stage, be able to apply for the course independently of this
scholarship scheme as standard admissions have already closed).
Stage 2 –shortlisted applicants only
The shortlisted and reserve applicants will be invited to submit an application to the
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for consideration. Further details will be provided at
the time but it is likely you will simply need to re-submit some of the documents you submitted
for the Oxford application. Please note, however, that the application period will be very short
(6-15 May) and therefore candidates should reserve sufficient time to do this.
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission selection committee will consider the
candidates (and reserves) nominated by Oxford to ensure that they meet CSC requirements.
To date, the CSC has accepted all of the University's nominations and therefore it is unlikely,
though not impossible, that candidates would be rejected at this stage in the process.
Applicants will be informed of the outcome of this final stage of the process in July 2015. A
small number of candidates may be offered reserve places for scholarships, which means
that there is a possibility that they will be given a scholarship, if one of the successful
candidates withdraws from the program.
Please note that if you are offered a place, you will be asked to send the original document(s)
of any scanned or electronic transcripts you uploaded as part of your application. If you do not
have originals or you do not wish to send them, you are advised to order additional copies
from your previous educational institutions as early as possible to avoid delays in your place
being confirmed.

5. How can I find out more about the University of Oxford?

 Visit the Oxford University home page http://www.ox.ac.uk/ and the Graduate Studies
Prospectus online at www.graduate.ox.ac.uk.
 If you wish to find out more about the content of the course, or you are interested in
applying directly to the program independently of this scholarship scheme, please visit
the course website at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ihrlmst.
6. Who should I contact if I have any questions?
Please make use of all of the information available to you:
 the course website at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ihrlmst.
 the Graduate Studies Prospectus at www.graduate.ox.ac.uk.
 the application guide at www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/applicationguide
 these guidance notes
If the above websites do not answer your questions please contact the Administrator for this
course at Oxford University on iphumrts@conted.ox.ac.uk.5

7. List of qualifying countries
Africa South Asia
Botswana
Cameroon
Ghana
Kenya
Lesotho
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria
Rwanda
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
Bangladesh
India
Pakistan
Sri Lanka

ADMISSIONS

Applications should be made via the Graduate Admissions Office of the University and must be accompanied by supporting materials including references, transcripts and a CV. In addition, non-native English speakers will need to submit proof that they meet the minimum English proficiency requirements for the course. Potential applicants should read both the course-specific admissions information on these pages as well as the University’s Application Guide before submitting any application. Applications must be submitted via the University’s online application system at www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/applyonline.

Please note that there is a £50.00 fee to make an application.This is payable by credit card on submission of your online application.

Admissions questions

If you have an admissions-related question that is not answered on our website or in the University’s Application Guide, please contact iphumrts@conted.ox.ac.uk.

If, however, your question is already answered here, you are asking for an assessment of your chances of admission based on an email summary of your record, or you wish to know why your application was unsuccessful, we shall be unable to reply due to the volume of such requests. The reasons for rejection usually relate to grades, insufficient experience in human rights, or, occasionally, weak references.