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Selecting the Course and Defining the Sources of
Financial Support
1. I would like to study a postgraduate
programme in the United Kingdom; where should I
start?
If you are interested in postgraduate studies in the
United Kingdom, it is important to start at least
one year in advance to apply to a university and
define the sources of financial support. The
first task should be the definition of the criteria
upon which one programme could be selected.
That criteria may include, among others, the
university’s reputation, the prominence of the
specific department and programme, the quality of
research at the university, the quality of teaching,
the programme’s contents, the university location,
the cost of the tuition fees as well as the living
costs in the city where the university is located.
The following web pages contain information about
the universities in Great Britain and/or their
rankings, as defined by different institutions
www.education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide;
www.timesonline.co.uk/uniguide;
www.qaa.ac.uk/revreps/reviewreports.htm;
www.hobsons.com.
It is important to consider that the application
process may be independent from the process of
searching for financial support. Therefore, it is
possible to advance in both areas simultaneously.
2. I would like to study a postgraduate programme
in the United Kingdom; when should I apply?
Although each institution and even each department
defines its own deadlines, applications for
programmes starting on September are received from
December of the previous year. The most common
deadlines for applications vary between February and
May of the same year when the programme starts.
However is advised that your application arrive
before January because most of the programmes are
full by the end of the deadline. Do not leave
everything until the last minute!!
3. How demanding are postgraduate programmes at
LSE?
LSE is characterised for its high academic
standards. The teaching system implies that
the students have to complement by themselves the
study of the topics included in the programme,
something that requires high levels of commitment
and self-discipline. Examinations take place
in the summer term and generally count for 100% of a
course’s mark. However, some courses include
assessed essays that can count between 25 and 45% of
the final mark. Almost all courses include a
dissertation work as a graduation project that must
be due by the end of the academic year.
4. What are the sources of financial support for
postgraduate studies in Great Britain?
There are different types of financial support for
postgraduate studies abroad: a full scholarship, a
partial scholarship, a loan-scholarship and a loan.
In Colombia, the main institutions of financial
support for postgraduate studies abroad are Icetex,
Colfuturo and Apice. Icetex offers loans up to USD
$8.000 a year. Colfuturo offers a mixture of
loans-scholarships up to USD$25.000 a year.
And Apice between an agreement with Conavi offers
loans up to USD $8.000 a year. Detailed
information about these sources of financial aid can
be found on their respective web pages:
www.icetex.gov.co,
www.colfuturo.com, and
www.apice.com.co.
Through the Icetex it is also possible to apply to
financial support offered by international
organisations, such as the Simon Bolivar scholarship
(www.chevening.com)
of the Foreign and Commonwealth office of the
British Government. This scholarship is
administered in Colombia by the British Council (www.britishcouncil.org.co).
The application to this scholarship has to be done
through the Icetex, institution that provides
further information about the application
requirements. Every year, applications are
received from June and they have to be made one year
before the starting year of the programme in the UK.
This programme is highly competitive as only a
number of five scholarships are granted to Colombia
and one out of every twenty five applicants is
successful.
On the other hand, applications to Colfuturo for
postgraduate studies in Britain are considered for
another kind of British Council scholarship that
covers academic fees, further information is
provided by the British Council and Colfuturo. Other
scholarships are also offered by international
organisations and administered by Icetex, the World
Bank, AlBan and the IADB.
In addition, different universities offer financial
support to a certain amount of the students who ask
for it. Access to financial aid from the
universities may imply the prior application to a
programme. However, it may also be possible to apply
to financial aid before applying to a programme. In
the universities’ graduate prospectus and web pages
there is usually a finance section that identifies a
contact address or telephone number for related
inquiries. If you are interested in LSE
financial support the information can be found in
www.lse.ac.uk
Keep in mind that the process of application for
financial support may be previous or simultaneous to
the process of application for a postgraduate
programme. For more information about sources
of financial support, go to
www.icetex.gov.co and
www.colfuturo.com.
These web pages present information about their own
financial programmes as well as those offered by
international organisations.
5. How can I find an institution to study English
in Great Britain?
The British Council in Colombia offers information
about different institutions to study English in
Great Britain. However, it is important to start by
defining the criteria upon which you are going to
select an institution, such as tuition fees, city,
living costs in the city to select the course, way
of living in the city, quality of teaching, etc. To
facilitate the evaluation of the quality of
teaching, the British Council offers a list of
institutions certified by it. Detailed information
about English courses in Great Britain as well as
the list of institutions certified by the British
Council is available at www.britishcouncil.org.co;
www.educationuk.org.co/ingles.htm
6. What are the sources of financial support to
study English in Great Britain?
In Colombia, Icetex and Colfuturo offer financial
support to study languages abroad.Further
information:
www.icetex.gov.co;
www.colfuturo.com |
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