Eligibility
Applicant eligibility
Candidates must be Scottish by birth or descent, and will be expected to have current knowledge of Scotland and Scottish current affairs, and of the Scottish tradition generally. The Society expects its scholars to be good ambassadors for Scotland.
Candidates must also be:
- either graduates of a Scottish university, Glasgow School of Art, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, or of Oxford or Cambridge, who have completed their first degree course (so as to be qualified to graduate) not earlier than 2020;
- or students of a Scottish university, Glasgow School of Art, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, or of Oxford or Cambridge, who expect to complete their first degree course (so as to be qualified to graduate) in 2021.
Preference is given to candidates who have no previous, or limited, experience of the United States and for whom a period of study in that country may provide a life-changing experience.
Eligible host institutions
Candidates should apply for postgraduate studies at universities in the United States within a radius of 250 miles from New York City, or within the area of Washington DC.
Where a student cannot find a course for his/her special subject of study within the geographical area indicated above, the Society will consider allowing the Scholarship to be held at another university in the United States.
Number of Scholarships
In addition to the University of Strathclyde, the scholarship scheme is open to students from all other Scottish universities, Glasgow School of Art, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and students from Cambridge and Oxford.
Candidates apply through their institution, the Vice-Chancellor of which will nominate up to two candidates on behalf of the institution. If there are more than two applicants who have submitted their application, the Vice-Chancellor shall choose which ones the institution will put forward as candidates.
Out of all candidates put forward, two nominees will be chosen following the interviews, along with one reserve. The reserve will only be offered one of the scholarships if either of the first choice nominees is unable to take up the award.
Further Information
The Grant
The monetary value of each Scholarship will be up to $35,000, to be applied in the first instance to payment of tuition fees.
The Selection Committee has discretion to allow the grant to be applied wholly or mainly towards the cost of travel or accommodation, if they are satisfied that tuition fees will be paid (or waived) by the host university or by another grant-giving body.
There is no formal means test, but account will be taken of any other scholarship, bursary, grant or waiver of fees awarded in connection with the candidate’s proposed course of study in the United States.
It is the responsibility of candidates to ensure that they have fully researched the total likely cost of studying in their chosen university, as well as the cost of travel and accommodation. Neither the Society nor the Carnegie Trust can offer further financial assistance beyond the amount of the Scholarship.
Applicants are advised that, once an application has been accepted by an American university, a deposit will need to be paid to the university to secure the place offered. The payment of the deposit may be required before the final outcome of the selection process for the St Andrew’s scholarships is known.
The St Andrews Scholarship grant is insufficient to fund all the costs of a year’s study in the US. Information about other possible sources of funding can be found at www.fundingusstudy.org.
The Duration and Location
The Scholarship will be tenable from August 2021 to May 2022 at a university in the United States within a radius of 250 miles from New York City, or within the area of Washington DC.
Where a student cannot find a course for his/her special subject of study within the geographical area indicated above, the Society will consider allowing the Scholarship to be held at another university in the United States.
Candidates are strongly advised to apply to more than one university in the United States. In previous years highly qualified candidates have failed to gain a place at the university of their choice, and have then found it difficult or impossible to find a place elsewhere.
Scholars and the Society
The Society will invite its scholars to be its guests for its annual St Andrew’s Day Banquet in New York City (typically on the Friday evening before Thanksgiving) and for its annual Tartan Ball in New York City in the spring.
Scholars are expected to send to the Society at least two informal written reports, one in the first semester and the other in the second, addressing their personal and educational experiences during their time in the United States.
The scholars will be asked to stay in contact with the Society, so that they may continue to receive information about the Society and Society events, and so that the Society may learn of their progress as they advance through their respective lives.
Interviews
Interviews will take place in Edinburgh, probably in the second half of April 2021 (exact date to be confirmed). Candidates will be informed whether they have been successful as soon as possible thereafter.
The interviews will be conducted in Edinburgh by the Selection Committee of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.
At the interviews, the Selection Committee will choose the two successful nominees plus a reserve. The reserve will only be offered one of the scholarships if either of the first choice nominees is unable to take up the award.
More information available on the Carnegie Trust's website: St Andrew's Society of New York Scholarships
How to apply
Application Process
Applications should be submitted through the student's UK university. Applications should NOT be submitted directly to the Saint Andrew’s Society or to the Carnegie Trust.
Applications should be submitted by email to rkes-res@strath.ac.uk no later than Monday 22 February 2021.
Candidates will be informed by end March 2021 whether they have been selected for interview. Interviews will be held in Edinburgh in April 2021.
References
Applications must be accompanied by references fromn two academic referees written on, or annexed to, the form entitled "Confidential Report by Referee". The form must be signed and dated by the applicant and the referee.
Downloadable documents
Deadline for Applications: Monday 22 February 2021