IMESS Scholarships

All applicants applying for an IMESS programme will be automatically considered for the IMESS Scholarship on condition that applications are received before 28 March 2025.

We anticipate that a scholarship will be provided by each of our partner institutions.

A number of attractive scholarships will be available to Home, EU and International students (at either the Home or International rate).

Please note that scholarships cover some of the tuition fees in each year of the programme but do NOT cover all of the costs associated with attending the programme (e.g. accommodation, food, travel).

You will need some additional source of funding to cover the full costs associated with accommodation, food, travel and books. For example, in year one (all students are in London) it is estimated that the average living costs for a single graduate student for an academic year are approximately €12,000. Living costs in year 2 vary.

Marking Criteria for IMESS Scholarships

Students considered for the IMESS scholarship will be scored by IMESS consortium partners according to the following five criteria. Successful applicants will show excellence on the criteria in their IMESS Supplementary Questionnaires:

Academic Merit (35%)
Guide to scoring: 18: narrowly satisfies the required academic standards 35: excellent marks from a highly relevant degree programme in an internationally renowned university

Personal statement of motivation and research interests (35%)
Guide to scoring: 18: basic evidence of motivation to study on the IMESS programme and research interests related to the IMESS programme 35: clear and specific evidence of excellent motivation to study on the IMESS programme, excellent research proposal related to the IMESS programme (including choice of study track, second year university and specific electives)

References (10%)
Guide to scoring: 5: referees are generally supportive but unenthusiastic and point out some relevant weaknesses 10: both referees unreservedly recommend the applicant and point out specific relevant strengths Note: the overall assessment of the applicant in reference forms can be used for guidance.

English Language (10%)
Guide to scoring: 7: Non-native speaker – “Good” level of English (based on evidence from language proficiency certificate, e.g. test score of 7.0 in IELTS). 10: Native speaker or other evidence of exceptionally good English proficiency (e.g. test score above 7.5 in IELTS and/or long-term residence in majority English-speaking countries). Note: UCL SSEES minimum English proficiency requirement is “Good”. English Language qualifications accepted by UCL for graduate study: IELTS, Cambridge Certificate, City & Guilds ESOL, UCL Language Centre or Pearson Test of English. Further information

English Language (10%)

Guide to scoring:
7: Non-native speaker – “Good” level of English (based on evidence from language proficiency certificate, e.g. test score of 7.0 in IELTS).
10: Native speaker or other evidence of exceptionally good English proficiency (e.g. test score above 7.5 in IELTS and/or long-term residence in majority English-speaking countries).
Note: UCL SSEES minimum English proficiency requirement is “Good”. English Language qualifications accepted by UCL for graduate study: IELTS, Cambridge Certificate, City & Guilds ESOL, UCL Language Centre or Pearson Test of English. Further information

Other – relevant experience/interests (10%)
Guide to scoring: 0: no indication of relevant experience in terms of work (paid or voluntary), extracurricular activities or foreign language learning. 10: extensive evidence of at least two of the following: (1) highly relevant (paid or voluntary) work experience, (2) extracurricular activities with direct relevance to the IMESS programme, (3) foreign language learning.

Where applicants achieve the same final aggregate score, in deciding on the nominations, reference is made to the additional following criteria:

the distribution of scholarship nominations across second year partners;
the spread of applicants across study tracks;
the gender distribution;
the regional distribution of applicants.

IMESS Scholarships

Key Dates

Scholarship applications deadline:

Programme applications deadline:

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