VLIR-UOS Training and Masters Scholarships

Course(s) Offered: Development-related fields
Course Level: Graduate (training, masters)
Provider: VLIR-UOS
Country to Study in: Belgium

Scholarship Description
VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from developing countries to study for a masters or training programme at a Flemish university or university college in Flanders (i.e. Belgium).

Fifty-four countries in Africa, Asia and Latin-America benefit, and eligible training or master programmes are taught in English.

The master programmes focus on specific problems of developing countries and are designed to enable graduates assume positions of responsibility to share and apply acquired knowledge in their home country.

The shorter training programmes focus on updating and acquiring knowledge, and also skills transfer relevant to people working in their home country.

VLIR-UOS Training and Masters Scholarships in Belgium for Africans, Asians and Latin-Americans

Eligibility
You can only apply for a scholarship if you meet the following requisites.

You must:

Be national and resident of one of the 54 eligible countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America at the moment of application. It is not necessary to be resident and national of the same country, so long as it concerns one of the 54 eligible countries. See the country list.
Age: 40 years* or less for a Master programme or 45 years* or less for a training (* on 1 January of the year of the start of the course).
Meet the academic admission criteria set by the university or university college, concerning educational background, language proficiency, etc. You can find the academic admission criteria on the programme websites.
For a Master programme: not have been enrolled in a Master programme (or equivalent) at a Belgian university before (with or without a scholarship).
Not work in the commercial profit sector, as we target candidates from education and research institutions, the government sector, social economy and NGOs.
For a training: have relevant professional experience and a written (future) employer’s statement of (re)integration in an employment where the acquired knowledge and skills will be immediately applicable. The statement should also confirm the added value of the training for the candidate and the organization.
You can only apply for one training or master programme per year.
You can only be awarded a VLIR-UOS scholarship for a training once. You can only be awarded a VLIR-UOS scholarship for a Master programme once.

For complete eligibility requirements (including selection criteria), please visit the eligibility criteria page.

Eligible groups
Citizens and residents of the following 54 countries are eligible:

AFRICA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
ASIA: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Nepal, Palestinian Territories, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,
LATIN AMERICA: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay,

Participating Institution(s)
All Belgian academic institutions and universities are eligible

Fields of study/Programmes
This scholarship supports development-related courses or fields (7 training and 15 masters). The supported programmes focus on specific problems of developing countries and/or are relevant to developing countries in a more general sense.

Below is a list of the training (ITP) and master (ICP) programmes eligible for the current scholarship award. All programmes are organized at a Belgian Dutch speaking university, but taught in English.

A). International Master Programmes (1 year):

Master of Science in Development Evaluation and Management
Master of Science in Globalisation and Development
Master of Science in Governance and Development
Master of Science in Human Settlements

B). International Master Programmes (2 years)

Master of Science in Nutrition and Rural Development, main subject: Human Nutrition
Master of Science in Physical Land Resources
Master of Science in Biology – Specialisation Human Ecology
Master of Science in Statistics – Specialisation Biostatistics
Master of Science in Environmental Sanitation
Master of Science in Food Technology
Master of Science in Molecular Biology (IPMB)
Master of Science in Water Resources Engineering
Master of Science in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (Oceans & Lakes)

C). International Training Programmes (1-4 months)

Dairy Nutrition
Technology for Integrated Water Management
Food Safety, Quality Assurance Systems and Risk Analysis
Lib@Web : Management of Electronic Information and Digital Libraries
Human Rights for Development (‘HR4DEV’)
Road safety in Low and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges and Strategies for Improvement
AudioVisual Learning Materials – Media and Learning Unit (AVLM)

Please visit the official website via link provided below for full details of the listed eligible Programmes.

Number of Awards
Every academic year, VLIR-UOS awards up to 180 scholarships to first-year masters students and up to 70 scholarships to training participants.

Sponsorship duration
The master programmes will last for one or two academic years while the shorter training programmes will last one to four months.

Scholarship benefits
This is a FULL COST scholarship covering all related expenses. It covers allowance, travel costs, accommodation, insurance, tuition fees, and other program related costs.

Method of Application
You can only apply for one ICP or ITP (International Courses or International Training Programme). You can apply for a scholarship by following the guidelines for application on the website of the training or master programme of your interest.

Applications that are sent to VLIR-UOS directly by the candidate will not be considered. In case of doubt, please contact the training or master programme. You will find all relevant contact details on the official website (link to it is below).

DEADLINES:
A call for scholarship applications is launched every year in October. The deadline depends on the training or Master programme you are applying for. Check the website of the training or scholarship programme via link provided below to find out more details.

On a general note, however, applications will open approximately in October-November 2015 (for Masters) and December 2015 (for training). Deadline varies (depending on the programme of study from January to April 2016).

PLEASE NOTE:
50% of scholarships will be offered to African students and preference will be given for Women.

Candidates selected for a VLIR-UOS scholarship will be contacted by VLIR-UOS around mid June at the latest, in order to start up the visa and flight procedure. All scholars are obliged to return to their country of origin as soon as possible after the study or training programme has ended.

VLIR-UOS funds and facilitates academic cooperation and exchange between higher education institutions in Flanders (Belgium) and those in developing countries, aiming to build capacity, knowledge and experience for a sustainable development.

VLIR-UOS was founded by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR), an overarching consultative organization between the Flemish universities and the Belgian government.

For questions regarding the application for a specific training or master programme, please find the contact information on the website of the training or master programme.

VLIR-UOS also funds the Short Training Scholarships, ICP PhD Scholarships and Short Research Stays for citizens of developing countries.

Application Deadline: January - April 2016
Open to International students: Yes



http://www.scholarships.vliruos.be/scholarships