Source: https://www.chevening.org/
Written by shaher Hamdan, reviewed by Dr. Marwa Hamdan, Chevening Alumnus.
Updated: July 2023

CHEVENING SCHOLARSHIP – How to Choose a Course and University?

Your Chevening application must list three courses, and they must be courses that are eligible for a Chevening Scholarship. This means that you will have alternative options if, for any reason, you are not offered a place on your first-course option. It also provides Chevenings’ assessors with a clearer picture of your career goals and they may suggest your second or third-course choice as a more suitable option for a Chevening Award.

Choose your three courses carefully. You will not be able to change your course choices after submitting your application unless you are granted permission to do so at the interview stage. You will need to apply separately to your selected courses directly via the university. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure you get a place. To be awarded a scholarship, you must get an unconditional offer for one of your course choices by the deadline in our application timeline for your application year.

CHEVENING SCHOLARSHIP recommends selecting three similar courses at three different universities to increase the likelihood that you will gain entry into one of them. Note that the course titles do not have to match exactly, but all three courses should be similar in content.

Eligible Universities

You can choose any Chevening-eligible course at any UK university.

Eligible courses

• In order to be eligible, the courses you choose must be:

1.  Full-time
2. Start in the autumn term (usually September/October)
3. Taught master’s (i.e. not research-focused MRes programs) and Lead to a master’s degree qualification
4. Based in the UK.

• Courses cannot be:

1. Part-time
2. Distance learning
3. Less than nine months in duration
4. More than 12 months in duration
5. PhD or DPhil
6. Taught with more than one month of study outside the UK

To search for eligible courses, Chevening has a course finder browse that makes it easier for applicants to choose the courses. You can check the course finder and browse it here.

Course choices: You can choose any Chevening-eligible course at any UK university. If you apply to study at a Chevening Partner university, you will receive the same amount of scholarship funding as Chevening Scholars studying on a standard Chevening Award.

Accuracy of courses: The Secretariat endeavours to provide an accurate list of courses during the application process. However, as courses can change from one year to the next, you are responsible for checking that the courses you list in your application meet the criteria for Chevening funding. The Secretariat completes final checks on courses that all candidates have selected following the interview period, and any courses that do not meet the criteria will be deemed ineligible.

Missing courses: If you believe that a course is eligible but does not appear in the online application system, you must submit your missing course query no later than the deadline that will be determined soon in order for it to be considered ahead of applications closing.

What Degree Grading System you should mention in the application form?

A candidate should know his grade according to the UK system which might differ depending on the course and university you apply to, but in general, Chevening requires a minimum score of 2:1 Honours (Upper Second-Class Honours) which in our scoring system in percentage is equivalent to 60-70% or higher. 

Does the candidate apply for a partner university or a non-partner university?

You can apply for both partners as well as a non-partner university but it’s recommended to apply for a partner university since it’s easier to access and understand therefore you can secure your admission.

What to look for to choose the university?

• Check whether the university you are applying to accepts your score or not.
• Check whether the eligible university offers relevant courses to your Bachelor’s degree.
• Check the national and international ranking of the university.
• After applying to the university, look for the department’s reputation in terms of research and faculty.
• Make sure to choose the university according to the city’s preference.
• apply early in at least one university in order to secure one conditioning offers.
• Look into what programs the university offers, life on campus, inter-campus activities, etc… while applying to the university.

What to look for to choose the course of study?

• Apply for the relevant course of study to your Bachelor’s degree. You should not choose any irrelevant field according to the Bachelor’s degree as it will decrease the chances of getting the scholarship.
• Keep in mind that one of their main selection criteria is the ability of scholars to benefit his/her home country and utilize what he/she has learned to serve his/her people and help improve his/her home country, so, while applying for the course, a candidate should consider how the chosen course is going to be fit with the UK’s action in his host country and a candidate would contribute that action after achieving the scholarship.
• You must check the course duration as Chevening scholarships’ time duration is 9 to 12 months. Any longer courses won’t be accepted.

Unconditional offers

The Secretariat will need to see evidence of an unconditional offer from one of your three-course choices in order to finalize your Chevening Scholarship.

They can accept a conditional offer if the only outstanding condition is financial (i.e. the need to pay a deposit for the course). There can be no further caveats on the offer, including the need to send original documents (such as transcripts) to the university. You should ensure that you have met all of the university’s requirements well in advance of Chevening’s deadline so that you are in a position to send us evidence of your unconditional offer by this date.

Still more to come, Our next article regarding Tips for Chevening Essay Questions will be published soon.

Keep following our CHEVENING SCHOLARSHIP page:
https://mdguidance.com/category/chevening-scholarships/

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