My experience securing a fully-funded scholarship in the UK is one I’m always delighted to share. Aside the joy of seeing the toils of several months come to fruition, I hope that it would inspire other scholars in their pursuit. The scholarship award from the University of Derby covers tuition fees at international rate and an annual stipend at the Research Council rate.
The chase for fully-funded scholarship in the UK for an international student could be quite challenging given the fewer opportunities and more stringent requirements of some. I had a quick look at the scholarships in jobs.ac.uk majority of which are advertised by UK institutions. As at the time of publishing this post, there are 506 PhD positions of which 110 positions (22%) are open to international students. A significantly fewer number of the UK scholarships offer full-funding while others have part-funded schemes, for instance, oversea students to pay the difference in fees between the home and oversea rate.
The pursuit
Whilst on my Master’s program I was looking out for PhD scholarship opportunities in the UK. Websites like jobs.ac.uk and findaphd.com were my go-to sites for studentship search. After several unsuccessful attempts I started to explore options beyond the UK. I decided to try the direct-contact approach where I had to scout for potential supervisors instead of limiting myself to only advertised projects. For this search to be effective I had to do it systematically rather than just querying google with phrases like “professors conducting research in Internet of Things”. I narrowed down my search to a country of interest, then to the Universities, then Faculty, research groups, until I drilled down to the profile of academics. Only if I found a matching interest would I start the process of establishing contact.
Light at the end of the tunnel
When I have found a matching profile, I would look through the list of publications to find the most relevant—say one or two—then skim through them. In an email to the academic, I would make a few statements about my interests and how it fits into their work, attaching my documents. This was the approach I took with my current supervisor which yielded a promising response. It was a “perfect timing” as he was moving from his current affiliation to the University of Derby UK as the founding director of Data Science Research Centre with available scholarships. We arranged a Skype call, and he requested I send a research proposal. I already had some experience preparing research proposals so I brushed up the one I had prepared for a previous application. Now, here we are!
The bottom line
The scholarship pursuit is not always a one-size-fits-all approach; one approach may work for you but not for others. You just have to try every possible approach that suits your needs using the right strategies. This follows with being able to evaluate your strategies and incorporate feedback into the next attempt. The one thing you shouldn’t do is to bow out of the race if you passionately desire the scholarship. Realise there are a lot of opportunities out there, and the main thing standing between you and your dream scholarship is time. That you don’t have it yet may just be that the timing isn’t yet perfect.
Now to the juicy bit
Who knows, this may be the perfect timing someone has been seeking. We have PhD studentship opportunities available now at the Data Science Research Centre, University of Derby UK. Why not check it out and see if it fits your interest or share with someone you think might find it helpful. Let me know if you have any queries.
Nice one Mary.
It has been really discouraging for me. It seems it’s actually easier when you one has his/her master’s degree from abroad other than Nigeria.
I write and I don’t get reply.
How I wish you could turn the PhD search for students as a Business. Do the search and the student pay for it. This would help alot of us.
Many thanks
Sunny
Hi Ajiroghene, I can understand the predicament as I’ve been there. I know it could be a rigorous and time-consuming process, especially for international students. One thing that helps is to not limit one’s options to a specific country (except necessity demands) and not hang all one’s hopes on a contact established with an academic. Sometimes when they don’t reply or when their response is not positive, it may not be because one isn’t qualified for the position. There just might be other factors, for instance, academics can be too busy that they ignore emails! I wish you all the best in your pursuit, and please keep hopes alive. Regards, Maryleen.
Maryleen Ndubaku
Seriously this is very good. Will like to keep in touch. Will like to have your email address.
Thanks
Hi Iniobong. Thanks for your kind comment. Sure, you can reach me on ndubuakumaryleen@gmail.com.
Wow Maryleen, it’s nice knowing how courageous and persistent you’ve been to secure a PhD scholarship in the UK. I know you are a determine individual having interacted and shared research ideas with you in Coventry UK. This is motivating and Stimulating for researchers whom must have attempted and failed over time. I will keep following you in this blog. Best wishes on all your Endeavour.
Patrick Ofem
Hi Patrick. I’m so delighted to see your comments. Thanks for your generous words. I can’t forget those days at Coventry Uni when we shared helpful ideas relating to our Master’s program. Like you rightly said, researchers need words like this to keep them inspired when the pursuit gets tough. I would really love to see more of you here. Regards, Maryleen
Very well articulated Mary; I think you should do more of this articles based on your experience so far, it will go a long way in helping a lot of Nigerians seeking these opportunities.
Thanks, Chikezie. I appreciate your thoughts on the article and I would consider them for future posts. Regards, Maryleen
oh wow, thanks dear for sharing
This is quite revealing,some of us go on this searches without understanding the technicalities involved.
And like you put it, ‘the scholarship pursuit is not always a one-size-fits-all approach’.
Great work Prof,you inspire me!
You are right Joe. Only when we begin to pay attention to the things we engage in will we find that there are minute details that experience, time and passion reveals. I’m glad it resonated with you. Regards, Maryleen.
I really admire your courage and persistence in the pursuit of your dream. It’s really encouraging to me. I know the subject here lies on how to secure a fully funded scholarship for PhD. I believe you also have something for those seeking to have their masters done abroad on a full scholarship package. How do we get to know schools that give full-funded scholarship… Thanks
Hi Chimezie, thanks for reading and commenting on my post. With regards to your question, fully-funded scholarships for Masters are a lot fewer than their PhD counterparts, and their availability varies from country to country. Also, the type of Masters could be a determinant, for instance, research-based Masters are more likely to attract scholarships than taught-based Masters. You need to understand that this is largely about the source of funding for the scholarships. Most institutions attract funding from the government, research council, or industries, and since this funding is usually aimed for a research project lasting for a long period of 3 to 5 years, this sort of funding is more likely to go towards a PhD project (3 to 4 years program) than a 2-years Masters by research, much less towards a 1-year taught Masters. Generally, it’s a lot easier to seek a fully-funded scholarship sponsored by your home country for Masters study abroad. That is not to say that it isn’t possible to find them, they are just fewer and require more patience and prowess in searching. I hope this answers your question. Regards, Maryleen
hi dear, thanks so much for your encouragement and also congratulations on you PhD. Honestly I have been trying to secure a scholarship both UK, USA and even Canada. But all to no avail. I just finished my masters degree though will be defending my project very soon, but I don’t mind securing a scholarship for another masters degree in a different field. Is there any help you can render to us pls. Thanks so much. I actually got to know you through my sister inlaw Nnenna Okoroji married to Ifeanyi Onuoha. God bless you and establish you
Hi dear please am actually looking for scholarship for my masters abroad thanks and God bless
Hi Mary, thank you for sharing. It’s very insightful.
Hi Maryleen. I’m intrigued by your story. Does the university have scholarships for masters students as well?
And beyond engineering knowledge, you have so perfected the art of permutational lexical conundrum. I am proud of you, Prof!