Ruth First award is available for southern African students in the academic year 2020-2021. Scholarship support student taking a one-year taught course leading to the award of a master’s degree at Durham University.  

The Ruth First Trust aims to award the Scholarship to individuals who not only have the academic and personal qualities to enable them to complete and benefit from a postgraduate course.

The university will provide the following:

• Full payment of tuition fees
• Stipend for living expenses – 12 monthly payments
• one return air ticket from the home country to the UK and the cost of return travel between the UK airport and Durham City
• Fully funded accommodation and meals at St Chad’s College
• ‘Settling in allowance’ on arrival
• a contribution to the cost of sending belongings home before departure
• The grant is available to pursue Taught Master’s Degree programs.
• Scholarships make an important contribution towards social, educational and economic development in the region. In addition to their value to individuals they have a wide developmental impact, within and beyond southern Africa.

• Eligible Countries: award is open to students from southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
• Acceptable Course or Subjects: Program grants scholarships every year for the pursuit of Master’s Degrees.List of subjects: Accounting (MSc); Ancient Philosophy (MA); Applied Linguistics for TESOL (MA); Arab World Studies (MSc); Arabic/English Translation and Interpreting (MA); Archaeological Science (MSc); Archaeology (MA); Anthropology, Evolutionary (MSc); Anthropology, Medical (MSc); Anthropology (Research Methods) (MA); Anthropology, Socio-Cultural (MA)
• Entrance Requirements: To be eligible, the applicants must meet all the following criteria:
  • hold a relevant honours degree of sufficient standard to be admitted to your chosen Master’s course; and not hold a Master’s degree, nor have previously studied at a university outside southern Africa
  • how evidence of active involvement in and commitment to voluntary work for the benefit of causes such as rural or urban community development; young people or educational projects; charitable organizations.

For international students coming to study in the UK were tightened in 2011. The person selected for the Ruth First support will need to provide evidence of possessing a qualification in the English language that meets the minimum requirement for the programme applied for. If you already have a suitable qualification, send a scan of the certificate with your application. If you haven’t, don’t do anything about it now: this will be a condition of any offer made to you by the University.