Student Support Award - Egypt Scholars

في إطار السعي الدائم لدى مؤسسة علماء مصر، لدعم الطلاب المصريين والعرب الراغبين في الدراسة بالخارج؛ يسعدنا أن نعلن عن منحة علماء مصر لعام ٢٠٢٤/٢٠٢۳، الموجهة لمساعدة الطلاب في دفع مصاريف الامتحانات الدولية (TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, GMAT, …)، أو تكاليف طلبات القبول للجامعات (Application fees).

Egypt Scholars is pleased to announce its competitive Student Support-Postgraduate Award (ESSA) for 2023/2024. ESSA aims to support and encourage Arab undergraduate and postgraduate students to pursue international postgraduate studies (master’s and doctorate) in all fields of study.

ESSA will cover the fees for either one of the following:

The TOEFL, IELTS, GRE, or any English assessment exams qualify you to complete a postgraduate degree outside your country of origin.
The award may also cover university applications’ admission or application fees (not tuition fees or allowance fees).

Egypt Scholars’ awards are based on academic merit and are highly competitive. You will generally need an outstanding academic record; extracurricular activities and research publications will also be highly regarded.

Timeline: Accepted applications were received from the 24th of December 2023 until the 31st of December 2023 (11:59 pm, Cairo time). The evaluation process has been completed, and applicants have been informed of the outcome of their applications. Please check your inbox for the decision. The timeline for the next cycle has not been determined yet.

Eligibility criteria:

You must:

Be of Arab nationality, residing in your country of origin from the time of the application till the announcement of the Awards winners (refugees exempt).
Have achieved at least cumulative 70-75% (very good) grades in your bachelor’s studies in your field of study, or GPA equivalent. And 70-75% (very good) in your selected study area.
Have a bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree in your field of study or are in the process of acquiring one (Final year undergraduate students or Masters’s students). The degree must have been acquired in your country of origin.
Have not benefited from this award previously. In case you were not successful in the last round, you can apply for this round.

Application process

You must submit a complete application including:

Completed online form (will be available from the time of the application),
Official Academic transcripts (Graduation certificates for graduates or progress certificates for undergraduate students in their final year). You must also provide a detailed transcript with grades in your selected area of study.
Curriculum Vitae “CV”
Statement of purpose (500- 700 words).
Writing research sample. (250-500 words)
Names and contact details of two references.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be assessed further.

What is a statement of purpose (SOP)?

It describes the applicant’s motivation for applying to ESSA, demonstrates their knowledge and experience, and gives the evaluation committee an accurate portrayal of who the applicant is as a person.

It may include the following:

Why are you applying for the ES award?
How would the award affect your life goals?
Why do you want to apply for an international postgrad scholarship?
Your academic knowledge, research experience and extracurricular activities.
Universities or programs that you plan to apply to or already applied for.

What is a writing sample?

The writing sample will be a summary of a research proposal in your field of study or a summary of the research you previously conducted.

What are the key elements that should be included in the writing sample?

Background: An opening sentence or two placing the work in context.
Aims: One or two sentences giving the purpose of the work.
Method(s): One or two sentences explaining what was (or will) be done.
Results: One or two sentences indicating the main findings (or what you hope to accomplish with the research).
Conclusions: One sentence giving the most important consequence of the work – what do the results mean? How will they be used?

All CVs must have three parts: contact information, education and professional experience. However, it is recommended to add other sections that make it easier for the reader to identify relevant characteristics such as: Certificates and acknowledgments, research experience, publications, Volunteering and other experiences, Software Skills and Languages.

Terms and conditions:

In case you are successful, you will have the opportunity to benefit from the award within a year of receiving your ES award acceptance letter.
The award will not cover the fees or the exams you have taken before.
You must declare any conflict of interest, in case you have got your documents revised with the ES revision entre, and specify the dates for this revision.
Egypt Scholars will have the right to retract your award if any conflict of interests aforementioned was discovered during the processing of your application or after the award is granted or if any false information was provided.
You must notify us of the results of the exams and subsequent acceptance letters of any scholarship you apply for as long as it is a result of the Egypt scholar-Student support award.

Application Form

Click here to apply for the ESSA awards

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Do the Egypt scholars' student support awards cover tuition or allowance fees for international universities?!

No- ESSA covers the fees for only one of the following:

TOEFL
IELTS
GREs.
Or any exams that assess English as a second language to apply for an international postgraduate scholarship.
Application fees or admission fees for international postgraduate studies

What are the application fees covered by the ES award?

Application fees are admission fees you need to pay to apply for a postgraduate scholarship at a particular university. Please note that this is different from the tuition fees or allowance fees which are not covered by ESSA.

I am a volunteer at Egypt scholars, can I still apply for the ESSA awards?

Yes, as long as there is no conflict of interest, and you are not part of the applications review process.

Does the award cover IELTS or TOEFL exams taken to qualify for a degree inside your country of origin?

No. The award only covers the English assessment exams that qualify to apply for an international scholarship.

Does ESSA cover English assessment exams required for any other purposes (immigration, …etc ) other than the Academic purpose?

No, ESSA only covers the English exams that qualify for a postgrad scholarship not for any other purposes.

Who can apply for the ES Student support award?

Any Egyptian or an Arabian residing in their country of origin. an Egyptian or with any other Arabian nationality, residing in your country of origin from the time of the application till the announcement of the ESSA Awards winners.
Have achieved at least cumulative 70-75% (very good) grades in your Bachelor’s studies in your field of study, or GPA equivalent. And 70-75% very good in your selected area of study.
Have a bachelor’s degree or a Masters’s degree in your field of study or are in the process of acquiring one (Final year undergraduate students or master’ students). The degree must have been acquired in your country of origin.
Have not benefited from this award previously. In case you were not successful in the last round, you can apply for this round.
Must not have benefited from the Egypt Scholars Revision Centre, from the time the award is announced till the closing date of accepting applications.

Who asses the applications?

Applications are assessed by a group of Egypt Scholars experts with an excellent understanding of international postgraduate scholarships all over the world.

Do I need a statement of purpose for the awards?

Yes. You will need to provide a statement of purpose as a part of your application process.

How can I write the writing sample without being contributed to the research myself?

When applying to universities you will have to have a subject of interest. Write about research ideas that you are interested in.

What to include in the CV ?

All CVs must have three parts: contact information, education and professional experience. However, I recommend that you add other sections that make it easier for the reader to identify relevant characteristics such as: Certificates and acknowledgments, research experience, publications, Volunteering and other experiences, Software Skills and Languages.

What is the research experience required in case you are applying for a PhD international scholarship?

Publication or working in a research field experiences for example research assistant, research internships, undergrad research projects, will account for as a research experience.

How do I write a research writing sample?

It must be written in English.

It must not be less than 250 words and not more than 500 words

You have to use times new roman, single-spaced, font size 12, referenced (3-5 references)

What reference style can be used in the writing sample?

Any referencing style can be used in the writing sample.

What are the key elements that should be included in the writing sample?

Background: A simple opening sentence or two placing the work in context.
Aims: One or two sentences giving the purpose of the work.
Method(s): One or two sentences explaining what was (or will) be done.
Results: One or two sentences indicating the main findings (or what you hope to accomplish with the project).
Conclusions: One sentence giving the most important consequence of the work – what do the results mean? How will they be used?

I have applied for the ESSA, does this mean that I automatically qualify for the award?

No. The Awards are highly competitive, and all applications will be assessed against the evaluation criteria. The evaluation process will be conducted by a group of ES experts.

How do I apply for the ES student support award?

You can apply for the awards by submitting a complete application that includes a complete application form as well as a research writing sample and a statement of purpose.

You will also need to attach supporting official documents of your academic transcripts.

I benefited from the ES Revision centre before, can I still apply for the award?

Yes, as long as you have not revised the required documents (The statement of purpose and the research writing sample ). CV is the only exception in the condition that it has not been revised after the announcement of the ES student support award.

I already sat for the English assessment exams (TOEFL, IELTS, GRE), can I still apply for the scholarship to cover the fees for this exam?

No, the awards only cover future exams or future application fees.

You can benefit from the award for up to a year from the date of the acceptance email sent to you by us.

Does ESSA cover national English assessment exams such as local IELTS or TOEFL exams?

No, the awards covers only international English assessment exams from its official providers, for example:

IELTS IELTS Home of the IELTS English Language Test

TOEFL The TOEFL Tests (ets.org)

GRE Learn About GRE (ets.org)

Find universities worldwide including worlds top universities (alluniversity.info).

I have not graduated yet, can I still apply for the scholarship?

Yes. If you are in your final year and intend to sit for the exams after you graduate. You can apply for the ES award, you will have to provide official documents including your progress certificate or any other form of an official certificate showing your academic progress.

Please refer to the eligibility criteria.

On what basis do you evaluate the applications?

Applications will be assessed based on a merit basis.

Marking system:

Statement of purpose: 40%

CV and research experience:30%

Research writing sample: 30%

What is the structure of the statement of purpose?

Word limit: 500-700 words and it has to include the following:

Why are you applying for the ES award?
How is the scholarship affects your short-term and long terms life goals?
Why do you want to apply for an international postgrad scholarship?
State your academic qualifications and extracurricular activities.
Universities or programs that you plan to apply for or already applied for.

What if any of my documents is plagiarized?

Plagiarism is not acceptable, and the application will not be assessed further.

Do I need a recommendation letter from references?

No, however, you will need to provide the names and contact details of two referees.

What is the writing sample?