Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme 2022/2023 for Postgraduate Study in Ireland (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: 1 August 2021.

The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is a fully-funded scholarship opportunity offered to South African students to study at Master’s level in Ireland’s world-renowned Higher Education Institutions.

This flagship programme of the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa is part of the broader Ireland Fellows Programme offered by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is targeted at early career professionals in South Africa with leadership potential.

The scholarship broadly supports leadership for the Sustainable Development Goals, and supporting the development of women’s leadership capacity and women’s participation in STEM are key priorities.

In addition, the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme aims to support students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue Master’s level education in Ireland, and graduates of Universities of Historical Disadvantage and Universities of Technology in particular are encouraged to apply.

The scholarship award covers course fees, required flights, accommodation, monthly allowances, insurance and other incidental expenses. Eligible Masters programmes in Ireland commence in the period August to September each year and, depending on the course, scholarships will run for between 10 and 16 months.

All applicants who are selected to go forward to second stage will be required to sit an IELTS exam, unless they are already in possession of an IELTS certificate that is less than 12 months old at the time of application which shows the applicant has achieved the necessary score for the course they intend to apply to. Early preparation for the IELTS exam is strongly advised, even for native English speakers.

Eligible Countries: South Africa

Eligible Courses:

Eligible courses are in areas such as agriculture, health, education, human rights, computer science, engineering, business and more, and are listed in a Directory of Eligible Programmes.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this scholarship you must:

Be a resident national of South Africa
Have a minimum of two years’ relevant work experience (this can include internships and volunteering)
Hold an honours’ level academic qualification from an accredited and government-recognised higher education institution, with a minimum grade point average of 75% – i.e. a first class honour, or second class honour, grade 1 (in some cases a second class honour grade 2 may be accepted).
Not already hold a qualification at master’s level or higher. Not currently undertaking a programme at master’s level or higher, or be due to start a programme at master’s level or higher in the academic year 2021/22.
Be appliying to commence a new course at master’s level in Ireland no sooner than August/September 2022.
Be able to demonstrate leadership abilities and aspirations, as well as commitment to the achievement of the SDGs within your own country.
Have identified and selected two relevant courses from the Ireland Fellows Programme Directory of Eligible Programmes.
Have a clear understanding of the academic and English language proficiencies required for both courses chosen.
Must not have applied for the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme on more than one previous occasion.
Be in a position to take up the Fellowship in the academic year 2022/23.