Scholarship Overview

Outstanding and meritorious students from certain developing countries can avail scholarships from the Aga Khan Foundation to pursue their postgraduate studies. The Aga Khan Foundation aims to develop effective scholars and leaders and prepare them for employment, primarily within the AKDN (Aga Khan Development Network). An annual competitive application process is usually held in June or July, and the successful candidates are provided scholarships on a 50% grant and 50% loan basis. Students are assisted with tuition fees and living expenses only.

International Scholarship Programme Course Details

Preference is given to Master’s level courses. However, PhD programmes are also considered if the student is highly recommended for doctoral studies by their professors and is outstanding. In addition, funding for PhD programmes is provided for the first 2 years of academics only. Candidates must note that short-term courses are not included in these scholarships. In addition, students must apply for the scholarships before the beginning of their course.

International Scholarship Programme Eligibility

• Candidate must be a national of the following countries: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar, and Mozambique
• If a candidate is from one of the above developing countries, but is currently is France, Portugal, UK, USA, and Canada, his/ her application can be accepted with a rider that they must be interested in development-related studies and must not have other means of financing their education
• The country must have Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Aga Khan Education Services (AKES), or Aga Khan Education Board (AKEB) offices
• Students who plan to attend universities in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Norway, and Ireland will not be eligible
• If a student is under 30 years of age, he/ she will be given preference

International Scholarship Programme Selection Criteria

• Consistent academic excellence
• Genuine financial need
• Candidate must have secured an admission in a highly reputable university or programme of study
• The field of study must be relevant for the AKDN (Aga Khan Development Network)
• Candidates must have a thoughtful and coherent educational and career plans
• Extracurricular achievements are also evaluated
• Work experience in their field of interest is also considered

International Scholarship Programme Loan Repayment

• Annual service charge of 5% is levied
• A guarantor must co-sign the loan agreement
• Payback period is 5-years, with starting from 6-months after the study period

Applicable course, university and country

This scholarship is applicable for Masters Degree

This scholarship is applicable for all universities in India, UK, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand +184 more

• The Foundation gives priority to requests for Master's level courses but is willing to consider applications for PhD programmes who are interested in development-related studies and who have no other means of financing their education

Scholarship amount details

Scholarship amount can be used for

Type of Expense	Indicates if scholarship can be used for this type of expense
Tuition & Fees	✔Scholarship amount can be used for this
Living Expense	✔Scholarship amount can be used for this
Accommodation	×Not covered in scholarship
Air Fare/Travel Expenses	×Not covered in scholarship
Spouse/Child Care	×Not covered in scholarship
Health Cover	×Not covered in scholarship
Application	×Not covered in scholarship
Others	×Not covered in scholarship

• Scholarships are awarded on a 50% grant : 50% loan basis through a competitive application process once a year in June or July.
• Half of the scholarship amount is considered as a loan, which must be reimbursed with an annual service charge of 5%.
• A guarantor is required to co-sign the loan agreement.  The payback period is five years, starting six months after the study period funded by the Aga Khan Foundation.

Student Awards

Number of students to be awarded: Varies

Scholarship Eligibility

Special Restrictions

• No Special Restriction applicable

Exams Details

Exam name	Indicates if exam is required and cutoff (if any)
12	Required
UG	Required
Work Experience	Required
Interview	Required

Eligibility

• The Foundation only accepts applications of eligible nationals listed above who are residing in one of the countries where there are local Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Aga Khan Education Services (AKES), or Aga Khan Education Board (AKEB) offices which process applications and interview candidates.
• The main criteria for selecting award winners are:
•  consistently excellent academic records,
• genuine financial need,
• admission to a highly reputable university or programme of study
• relevance of the field of study to AKDN’s focus areas. 
• Candidates are also evaluated on demonstrating thoughtful and coherent educational and career plans, their extra-curricular interests and achievements, potential to achieve their goals and likelihood to succeed in a foreign academic environment. 
• Applicants are expected to have some years of work experience in their field of interest.

Preference will be given to following candidates:

• Preference is given to students under 30 years of age.

Application Process for this scholarship

Application Documents

Type of documents	Indicates if this type of document is required to be submitted
Financial/Tax Documents	Required

• Required documents will be mentioned with the form
• Application Process: Students may obtain application forms as of January 1st each year from AKF offices or Aga Khan Education Services / Boards in their countries of current residence. Completed applications should be returned to the agency from which the form was obtained

Scholarship Application

This scholarship needs a separate external application.

Important Dates

	Date	Additional Details
Application final end date	Not Available	Deadlines have been past
Scholarship Selection	Not Available	The annual Scholarship Selection Meeting takes place in late June or early July and the Aga Khan Foundation notifies all students of the outcome of their application shortly thereafter

Please note that these dates could be in local country times and may not be IST (Indian standard time).