2016 GRADUATE (MA and PhD) SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

The Dalai Lama Trust, Washington, DC, is pleased to announce its sixth round of annual graduate scholarship grant for the academic year 2016. Ten to fifteen exceptional candidates of Tibetan descent will be selected to receive scholarship awards of up to US$10,000.00.

The purpose of the scholarship program is to further the human capital development of the Tibetan people by supporting the pursuit of excellence among Tibetan students in a field of graduate studies of their choice.

In order to apply, applicants must provide official documentation of enrollment or acceptance into a graduate degree program in a university in Europe, Australia or the Americas. Applicants must also demonstrate proof of Tibetan heritage. Tibetan students residing in India/Nepal are especially encouraged to apply.

Beginning with the 2016 scholarship year, we will now only accept application online. To apply an applicant must have a Gmail account.

Current awardees of the program who wish to renew their scholarship are required to submit a separate renewal application.

The complete application form, along with all supporting documents must be received through online on or before April 22, 2016 (11:59 PM Eastern Time). Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted. Receipt of application will be acknowledged by email. Selected applicants will be contacted for a Skype or phone interview. Recipients will be announced on July 06, 2016.

Please review the following important application guidelines and documents under Scholarship tab on http://www.dalailamatrust.org/scholarship before completing the online application:

For further information, please contact: scholarship@dalailamatrust.org

 

Scholarship Committee
The  Dalai  Lama  Trust
1228  17th Street  N.W.
Washington,  DC  20036

 

2017 Tibetan Scholarship Program (TSP) Announcement
India and Nepal
The US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), is pleased to announce the opening of the 2017 Tibetan Scholarship Program (TSP). The TSP, sponsored by ECA, is administered through a Cooperative Agreement with The Tibet Fund, in collaboration with the Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) Department of Education (DOE). Applications will be accepted from eligible Tibetan refugees residing in India and Nepal for two-year Master’s Degree programs in the United States, pending the availability of funds. The application is available below.

A. TSP Application and Selection Process:
1. Applicants should be born on or after January 1, 1981.
2. Applicants must have completed at least four years of academic work after Class XII, including a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university. Partial computer courses, vocational training, and diplomas from non-recognized academic institutions will not be accepted.
3. Applicants must have secured a minimum of 50 percent in their Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree programs.
4. Applicants who have completed or are pursuing their M.Phil or Ph.Degree will not be considered, as they are over qualified for the program.
5. The final selection panel, chaired by the designated Public Affairs Officer for the TSP at the US Embassies in India and Nepal, will interview all viable candidates nominated by the CTA’s DoE and the TSP Student Selection Committee (SSC) in Nepal.
6. During the pre-selection process, TSP applicants will not be required to submit TOEFL ibt scores along with the application package.
7. The CTA’s DOE and the TSP SSC in Nepal will finalize the list of applicants to take the General Written Tibetan Test (GWTT).
8. Applicants must secure a minimum of 17 points out of 50 in the GWTT in order to qualify for the final interview.
9. Selection Criteria for Interviews: Applicants will be selected to interview for the TSP award if they have scored minimum of 50 percent on both GWTT and academic records.
10. After finalizing interview marking, the panel will develop a short list of fifteen (15) applicants from India and five (5) from Nepal, based on total score obtained from GWTT, Academic record and interview, to take the TOEFL ibt.
11. A minimum score of 85 out of 120 is required for the application to receive further consideration. The Institutional Code for the Educational Testing Service (ETS)’s official score reporting for the Tibet Fund DI code is 9892.
12. Final Selection of TSP Cohort: Final Selection for the TSP cohort will be based on the total points the applicant has achieved in TOEFL ibt, GWTT, Academic Record and Final Interview. Interview points are assigned to TSP applicants and will be incorporated into the overall final score for each candidate.
13. Final selected participants will be required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) as determined by their field of study and the graduate program requirements of the U.S. host institutions.

B. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS & CRITERIA FOR AWARDING SCHOLARSHIP:
1. Photo: Applicants must submit one (1) passport size photo.
2. Resume and a Short Essay: The applicant must submit a copy of his/her resume and a short essay, no more than 500 - 700 words, explaining why they are applying for the Tibetan Scholarship Program (TSP) and what they hope to achieve from participating.
3. Registration Certificate (RC) / Refugee Certificate (RC):
 TSP Applicants in India: Applicants must submit valid photocopies of his/her Registration Certificate (RC), and that of his/her parents and spouse (if married).
 TSP Applicants in Nepal: Applicants who reside in Nepal must have a Refugee Certificate (RC). If an applicant does not possess a RC, than he/she can submit either one of their parent’s RCs with the applicants’ name stated in the document. In addition, the applicant must obtain a letter from his/her respective Settlement Officer, certifying that he/she is a Tibetan refugee residing in Nepal.
4. Green Book: The applicant must submit photocopies of his/her Green Book (identification documents), and that of his/her parents and spouse (if married). If parents or spouse are deceased, the applicant must submit a copy of their death certificate.
5. Parents: Applicants whose parents live in Tibet or have passed away must either produce a certificate from the Settlement Officer where the applicant currently lives stating that the applicant’s parents are currently in Tibet or provide a death certificate.
6. Academic Certificates: Applicants must submit their Class XII Mark Sheet, college and university mark sheets and degree certificates.
7. Attestation: All documents submitted for the TSP must be attested either by a CTA gazette officer (the rank of Joint Secretary and above) or notarized by a Notary Officer/Settlement Officer.
8. U.S. Visa: Participants will be required to apply for a J-1 exchange visitor visa from the U.S. Embassy. Selection as a TSP candidate does not guarantee approval for a visa. Applicants who have prior visa denials from the U.S. Embassy must inform The Tibet Fund, the CTA’s DoE and the Tibetan Student Selection Committee (TSP SCC) in Nepal at the time of application.
9. No Objection Certificate: If the Applicant is serving in any institution, the applicant should furnish a “No Objection Certificate” from their respective employer.
10. Fields of Study: Applicants should choose one of the program of study from the following fields. The fields of study specified below were identified based on the needs of the Tibetan community by the Central Tibetan Administration (in consultation with the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy and ECA). They are arranged in alphabetical order
1. Agriculture: Hydroponics & Fungal Cultural (Mushroom), Soil &Water Management
2. Bio-Technology
3. Business Administration: Public Finance & Accounting, Banking Management, Human Resource Development/Marketing/Entrepreneurship; Commerce: Auditing/Cooperative Education, Financial Accounting
4. Development Planning
5. Education: Science Education, Curriculum in Teaching, Multimedia Education, Educational Leadership, TESOL, Inclusive/Special Needs Education, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology (only for B. Ed qualified teacher’s), School counseling, Mental Health counseling, (Emotional Intelligence)
6. Food Technology
7. Geography: Demographic Studies
8. Information Communication Technology,
9. International Relation/Public Administration, Law & Governance: International Law, Labor Law, Human Rights
10. Inter - Religious Studies
11. Journalism
12. Library and Information Studies (Archival Science)
13. Nuclear Energy
14. Psychology: School Education Psychology
15. Public Health: Public Health General, Hospital and Health Management or Epidemiology and Health Informatics
16. Rain water harvesting, Environment studies
17. Rights, Resolution, Refugee & International Migration, Autonomy & Minority Rights & Multiculturalism,
18. Science & Technology: computer Science, Cyber Security, Hardware/Software/Networking, Animation/Graphic Designing
19. Security and Intelligence Study: Personal Security and Information Collection
20. Sinology: Sinology and Chinese Studies
21. Social Work:
22. Waste management and Recycling Technology, Environment Science & Policy
23. Women Studies: Gender Public Policy
Note: Applicants are encouraged to seek advice from DoE Chief Counselor Donker Wangmo with regard to the choice of majors (email: doe.counseling@tibet.net).
11. Application Deadline: Interested applicants are responsible for submitting all application forms and other relevant documents to their respective jurisdictions on or before March 31, 2016 at 5:00 pm. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered after the deadline at all.
12. The application for the Pre-selection can be downloaded from the Tibet Fund’s website with the link at http://tibetfund.org/docs/TSPApplicationForm.pdf?e804e6
13. Applicants from Nepal: Applicants will submit their application and all supporting documents to TSP SSC Nepal, which has been appointed to administer the TSP selection process in Nepal separately. The pre and post selection of TSP Nepal recipients will be administered by TSP SSC Nepal under the direction of The Tibet Fund in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal.
14. Applicants from India: Applicants will submit their application and all supporting documents to CTA’s Department of Education (DoE) who will administer the TSP selection process in India separately. The pre and post selection will be administered by CTA’s DoE and the Tibet Fund in coordination with the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section in India and Nepal.
15. General Written Test on Tibetan Culture and History (GWTT): Applicants will have the option to take the GWTT in Tibetan and English. Those applicants who take the test in Tibetan will receive four (4) grace points towards the total points scored. Applicants must secure a minimum of 17 marks out of 50 on the GWTT in order to be eligible for the final interview.
16. Points System: The following scoring system will be used to calculate each short listed TSP candidate’s total score. After the final interview, points will be assigned for each short listed candidate with a maximum of 40 total points available.

If you have any questions regarding the Tibetan Scholarship Program (TSP), please send your queries to the attention of the Tibet Fund’s TSP Program Coordinator, Tenzing Choephel Chumeego at tchoephel@tibetfund.org or the CTA’s DoE Scholarship Section at scholarship@tibet.net For questions related to the TSP application process in Nepal, please contact Mr. Tsering Topgyal at tspsscnepal@ymail.com
TSP Applicants from India, please send your application materials to the following address
Applicants from Nepal, please send your application materials to the following address
Secretary
Department of Education
Central Tibetan Administration
Gangchen Kyishong, Dist Kangra
Dharamsala - 176 215
(H.P.) INDIA
Tel: +91-1892-226695/222721/222572
Fax: +91-1892-223481 E-mail: scholarship@tibet.net
Website: www.sherig.org/www.tcewf.org
Mr. Tsering Topgyal
Vice Chairman
TSP – Student Selection Committee Nepal
Snow Lion Foundation
PO Box no. 1313
Kathmandu. NEPAL
Tel: +977-1-5000036/5000002
Fax: 00977-1-5000048
tspsscnepal@ymail.com