Geographical criteria

Palestinian nationality. Priority will be given to those resident in the West Bank, Gaza or one of the Palestinian Refugee Camps. Your fee status classification must be international.

Domicile for fee status

International

Level of study

Postgraduate Masters

Year of entry

First year

Subjects

All

Schools

All

Additional criteria

• Applicants cannot have previously studied at a university outside the West Bank, Gaza or Lebanon.
• Applicants must not have previously completed a postgraduate degree, or be studying for a postgraduate degree at time of application.

Further criteria apply - please see below for full details.

Duration

1 year

Value (per year)

• Full tuition fees.
• Accommodation fees to cover residential university costs.
• Maintenance stipend of £350 per month.
• Travel to and from the UK (one ticket for each way).

Type of award

Tuition and Maintenance

Number of awards available

Up to 2

The STEPS Scholarship is available for application on the Scholarships and Funding Catalogue. After you have applied to a Postgraduate Taught course beginning in the 2020-2021 academic year, you will receive an email with login details for the ‘My Application’ portal, where you can follow links to My Scholarships and Funding. You should wait until the next working day after submission before attempting to access My Application.

Details about applying to a postgraduate course at St Andrews may be found on the Postgraduate Taught pages of our website.

If applying to the STEPS Scholarship, you must agree to the following terms and conditions:

STEPS Scholarship Criteria

1. You must be Palestinian. Priority will be given to those resident in the West Bank, Gaza or one of the Palestinian Refugee Camps. Your fee status classification must be international.
2. You must hold an offer of a full-time place on a one-year postgraduate course at St Andrews. Applicants without an offer by the time of the scholarship deadline will not be considered for the scholarship.
3. You must, at time of the STEPS application, meet the minimum English language requirements set by the University of St Andrews for your chosen course (see below).
4. You can explain how your studies will enable you to contribute to civic society.
5. You are able to live in Scotland for 1 year as a single person and agree to come alone.
6. You must not have already studied at a university outside the West Bank, Gaza, Israel or Lebanon.
7. You must not have previously completed a postgraduate degree, or be studying for a postgraduate degree at time of application.
8. You agree to speak or write about your STEPS experience in Scotland.
9. You agree that STEPS financial commitment for your maintenance ends at the end of your one year course. STEPS will provide a return flight home, valid up to the end of your initial visa.
10. You give STEPS permission to contact your Director of Studies and other referees.
11. You agree to accept accommodation arrangements that may be: single room in a shared university apartment or a single room in a family home.

The Trustees of STEPS make the final selection in May. The Trustees’ decision is final and there is no right of appeal. Please do not use your contacts to lobby for your scholarship application. This will make no difference to your application.

Any personal data you provide will be processed in strict confidence; it will not be passed on to a third party.

English language requirements

You must have a valid English language qualification (e.g. IELTS) in order to be considered for STEPS, and will be required to enter your test results in the STEPS application form. You do not need to supply your English language test (e.g. IELTS) certificate with the STEPS application; however you must have already provided this documentation with your postgraduate course application. Information about Postgraduate English language requirements is available on the University website.

References

You must also provide details of two referees, both of whom you must ask to submit current references on your behalf:

• The first referee must be an academic faculty member who can provide an academic reference.
• The second referee must be either an employer or community leader who can provide a personal reference.

References must be sent directly from the referees by email to pgscholarships@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Please note it is your responsibility to ensure these references are received by the application deadline of 23:59 BST (British Summer Time), Wednesday 15 April 2020.

Your application will not be considered unless BOTH references have been received.

Applications open from

October 2019

Application deadline

Wednesday 15 April 2020

It is the responsibility of candidates to ensure that their application forms, references and English Language qualifications are submitted no later than this date. Late applications cannot be considered.

At what stage of my course application can I apply for this scholarship?

You must apply for a place on your chosen course at St Andrews before applying for the scholarship. You do not need to wait until you have received an offer of a place before applying for the scholarship. However, you must receive an offer by the scholarship deadline in order for your scholarship application to be considered.

When will I hear if my application has been successful?

Early May 2020