Scholarships for Women in Crisis Zones
Dickinson College located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States of America, has generously agreed to afford a full scholarship to ONE FEMALE STUDENT from the former conflict-affected region of Eastern and Northern Provinces of Sri Lanka.
The scholarship will provide a four-year undergraduate degree program in Liberal Arts beginning in the academic year of 2011. Dickinson College was the first college chartered in the newly recognized United States of America on September 9, 1783. This generous offer by Dickinson College is a result of the Samuel G. Rose ’58 Scholarship Fund, a pioneering effort by Mr. Rose to provide equal opportunity towards education.
Muttukrishna Sarvananthan of the Point Pedro Institute of Development will work with Roshini Thinakaran, Founder of Women at the Forefront and a TED global fellow, to help organize and support this initiative. Women at the Forefront is a media project focusing on the challenges facing women in crisis zones.
The full scholarship includes tuition and fees, room and board for four years. The annual monetary value of this award during the academic year 2010-2011 is $51,950. However, the successful student will be expected to bear the air travel, books, personal expenses, and health insurance costs which would add up to a minimum of $5,000 per annum.
The selection of the scholar will be based on merit and financial need (subject to the selection criteria outlined herein) irrespective of the ethnicity, caste, or social class of the applicants. The selection process for this scholarship award will involve self-application by female students with documentary evidence of a strong academic performance in secondary school examination including: the G.C.E. Advanced Level conducted by the Department of Examinations, Ministry of Education, Government of Sri Lanka (or equivalent overseas qualification) and a face-to-face interview with an accomplished panel of judges with experience of American or British higher education system.
Applicants MUST be residing and schooling in any of the eight districts of the Eastern and Northern Provinces of Sri Lanka. Additionally, it’s a condition of the scholarship that the awardee WILL return to Sri Lanka and contribute to the cultural, economic, political, and social development of any of the eight conflict-affected districts. The selected student WILL NOT be sponsored for a visa after the completion of the degree. Candidates with familial ties to individuals involved in the selection process are excluded for consideration.
Interested students should send expression of interest along with the following documents to Scholarship to Study in the USA, C/O 03, Somasundaram Road, Off Station Road, Colombo-06 to reach on or before 26th December 2010. In addition, the Common Application must be submitted to Dickinson College no later than January 1, 2011, for full consideration for the Fall 2011 semester.
1. Documentary evidence of adequate grades in the G.C.E.A./L examinations held int eh past three years- 2008, 2009 or 2010.
2. Documentary evidence of competency in English language to pursue higher studies in the USA- such as Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
3. Documentary evidence of residency AND schooling in any of the eight districts in the Eastern and Northern Provinces in Sri Lanka.
4. A statement from a parent, sibling or guardian confirming the affordability to meet the subsidiary cost of $5,000 per annum for four years. Students who cannot afford this could also apply because the organizers of the scholarship program are trying to get financial sponsorship to meet this additional cost.
5. A statement of undertaking to return to Sri Lanka on completion of studies at Dickinson College. If selected a formal agreement should be signed.