International Visegrad Fund

. Visegrad Scholarship Program - Instructions for Applicants

1. Eligibility

All prospective applicants must have finished at least 4 semesters of college/university education when applying.

. Eligible scholars: Relevant scholarship schemes: Eligible host countries

  Albania (AL): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Armenia (AM): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Azerbaijan (AZ): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Belarus (BY): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Croatia (HR): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Czech Republic (CZ): Intra-V4: HU|PL|SK, Out-Going: AL|AM|AZ|BY|BA|HR|GE|MK|MD|MN|RS|UA
  Georgia (GE): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Hungary (HU): Intra-V4: CZ|PL|SK, Out-Going: AL|AM|AZ|BY|BA|HR|GE|MK|MD|MN|RS|UA
  Macedonia (MK): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Moldova (MD): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Montenegro (MN): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Poland (PL): Intra-V4: CZ|HU|SK, Out-Going: AL|AM|AZ|BY|BA|HR|GE|MK|MD|MN|RS|UA
  Serbia (RS): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Slovakia (SK): Intra-V4: CZ|HU|PL, Out-Going: AL|AM|AZ|BY|BA|HR|GE|MK|MD|MN|RS|UA
  Russian Federation (RU): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK
  Ukraine (UA): In-Coming: CZ|HU|PL|SK

Note:
Please note that the same rules are applicable to Kosovar scholars (In-Coming scholarships) and Kosovar universities (Out-Going scholarships).

2. Rules/Sample of the application form

We strongly recommend you read the Rules of the program and take a look at the sample application form to see what kind of information will be required from you for applying.

3. Finding host university/organization

Please note that it can take relatively long to find a suitable host university. Be sure to start long before the deadline. All host universities need to be accredited by the respective education ministry. To help you find school please see the following:

. Links to Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe

4. Required documents

Please make sure you prepare ahead the following annexes to the application form which need to be submitted to the Fund:

A) A copy of the certified translation of a diploma (Master’s or the highest obtained)

In the event the applicant has not finished his/her Master's studies, he/she shall submit a certificate stating current year of study at home university and expected date of obtaining his/her next academic diploma, issued by the home university. If applying for the Master’s Scholarship, a transcript of academic records is also required.

B) An acceptance letter from the host university/institution

If the applicant is applying for courses that require admission tests or a personal interview (results of which will be known only after the deadline), the applicant submits a proof of his/her application for the studies or a preliminary acceptance letter. The actual acceptance letter shall be submitted before the signing of the contract with the Fund, by the end of July of the respective year at the latest.

Note:
The letter of acceptance cannot be older than 3 months when submitting the application and needs to include the following:
   - name of the applicant
   - working title of the project/study program
   - language of instruction/communication
   - type of study/research (full-time)
   - planned dates of the project/study
   - signature and a stamp of the statutory representative
     (or of a representative of the international studies department of the host institution)

C) A working plan of the study/research period

If the applicant applied for courses that require admission tests or a personal interview (results of which will be known only after the deadline), the applicant submits a draft of the working plan. The working plan accepted by the host university/institute shall be submitted before the signing of the contract with the Fund, by the end of July of the respective year at the latest. If the applicant is applying for the Master's Scholarship, he/she shall submit a list of courses that he/she plans to attend and state the length of these courses and their credit value.

Note:
The study plan has to be accepted by the host university/institution and cannot be older than 3 months when submitting the application. Please note that you need to submit both the letter of acceptance and the working plan approved by the host institution before the deadline. When evaluating the application, the selection committee considers the working plan but also the fact whether the host university can accept the applicant (and under what conditions).

Failure to submit the required documents by the deadline will result in excluding the application from the selection procedure.

The only exception regarding the working plan is given to those who apply for courses/studies where they have to pass a personal interview or admission tests before they are accepted. In that case, they, too, have to submit at least a draft of the working plan (to be later approved by the host institution).

5. On-line application form

Applying for the Visegrad Scholarship Program is possible only through the on-line application system. The system opens about a month prior to the deadline, usually at the beginning of December. Once you register on-line, you are kindly asked to remember your ID--the application number--since it will be used in all future communication with you, and a password which will enable you to access your application form in the future.

Note:
Make sure you fill out all the required fields and upload all requested documents (for example, bank details are not required when submitting and can be edited later). The recommended file format of the uploaded documents is .pdf (if a document has more than a single page please convert it into a multi-page .pdf file). Also, .jpg or .gif can be accepted.

6. Submitting the application

Submit your application on-line. Then print your application form directly from the on-line system (using the 'Print' button), sign it and send it to us together with the compulsory annexes (please note that we require original documents; copies cannot be accepted) by the deadline. The application can be either delivered personally to the Fund by the deadline date or sent by post and postmarked with the deadline date as the latest possible. (No document postmarked after 31 January can be accepted.)

Deadline for all scholarship applications is January 31 at 23.59 CET (What is CET?). Next deadline is January 31, 2010.

7. Receiving the scholarship

If selected, each scholar receives his/her scholarship funding at the beginning of each five-month period upon a written confirmation from the host university/institution (see Article 4 of the Contract).

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. Approved Scholarships

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. back to Scholarships
. Rules - NEW!
. Application Form - sample
. Contract sample - students
. Contract sample - institutions

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