Asia Pacific Scholarship Consortium

Office website of the Asia Pacific Scholarship Consortium >>

PLEASE NOTE: For official information, specific details, and updated deadlines and instructions, please check the organization’s website and current application forms; if you have problems or questions, please contact us.

Deadline: 15 November 2011

Description:

The Asia Pacific Scholarship Consortium is an informal network of universities in Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines that aims to facilitate scholarships in high quality postgraduate courses for individuals from Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Lao PDR who require financial support to study. The Consortium was established in 2007.

For a list of participating universities and available courses, please download the APSC 2012 Overview.

PURPOSE:
To provide opportunities and scholarships for high quality, post-graduate study in fields relevant to the development of the Mekong Sub Region, for individuals who demonstrate both academic and professional excellence and potential to become leaders in the following fields:

• Community Health
• Development
• Education
• Environment
• Humanities & Social Sciences
• Media
• Policy, Law & Administration
• Social Work

Successful students will study at prestigious international universities in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia or the Philippines. Scholars will undertake masters degrees by coursework. Courses typically take one to two years to complete. Scholars must complete the course within the specified time period on a full time basis.

RESEARCH & INTERNSHIPS
Successful students will be eligible to apply for an APSC Research Grant to conduct master’s research in their home countries, under the guidance of a university advisor. Also, APSC graduates may apply for the APSC Internship Program. Interns will be placed in organizations and institutions within the Southeast Asia region for a period of 1-6 months, so as to further develop skills acquired during formal degree study.

AWARD STRUCTURE
APSC is a full scholarship program, so successful applicants will not be required to contribute any of their own money. The following costs will be fully covered at a basic level under the award:

• Academic tuition and mandatory fees for the duration of the course, including examination and thesis costs.
• A monthly stipend for room and board, and living expenses sufficient for a single student. There will be no support for students’ families.
• Basic medical insurance for the duration of study.
• Support for educational supplies and materials.
• Transport for the student to travel one time from their home to the campus and to return at the end of the program.
• All costs related to securing and maintaining a student visa for the duration of study.
• Professional development fund available to cover support for academic development such as computer, attendance of academic conferences or subscription to journals.
• Full support to attend the annual APSC Student Conference for one weekend each year.
• Research and internship funding will be available on a competitive basis for students who wish to undertake thesis research in their home country or work as interns in a different country.

Eligibility and Restrictions:

Applicants must:

• Hold an undergraduate degree at the time of application deadline with an excellent academic record;
• Be a citizen of and currently living in home country (Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand or Lao PDR);
• Have experience working in at least one of the fields listed above in home country;
• Be proficient in English;
• Be committed to returning to home country after completion of the program to continue work and impart knowledge gained during studies.

Application Procedure:

Applicants must complete the application materials and submit them to APSC by November 15, 2011. Hand-written or scanned copies of these documents are acceptable only if you have difficulties completing these documents electronically using Adobe Reader(version 7.0 or higher).

The application materials required for this program are as follows:

1. APSC 2012 Scholarship Application (click to download)
2. One academic letter of reference sent directly by referee using the APSC 2012 Reference Form (click to download).
3. One professional letter of reference sent directly by referee using the APSC 2012 Reference Form (click to download, same as above).
4. Scanned copies of previous university-level educational transcripts (or explanation as to why these are unavailable).
5. Scanned copy of your passport photo page (if available). Do not include scans of stamped visa pages.
6. Scanned copies of one of the following:
   • Any official English language exams you have taken, such as TOEFL or IELTS
   • EPOP TOEFL Diagnostic Exam

ENGLISH EXAMINATION PROCESS
APSC partners with the Exam Preparation Outreach Program (EPOP) to offer free, online diagnostic English examinations to applicants who do not already have a TOEFL or IELTS score. The EPOP test enables APSC to estimate how the student would score on a formal TOEFL test.

If you already have an English score and include it with your application, you do not need to take the EPOP exam. If you do not have a score already, you must register and complete the online diagnostic exam with EPOP before the November 15th Deadline. Please email apsconsortium@gmail.com to request instructions on how to take the online exam. If you are in a remote area with unreliable internet access and are concerned that you cannot take the exam, please email apsconsortium@gmail.com for assistance. APSC understands that not all interested students have had a chance to take formal English exams, and hopes that this partnership with EPOP will enable many applicants to assess their English abilities.