Monday, April 20, 2009

Full MTEC Masters Scholarships, University of Twente, The Netherlands

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed the University of Twente as the university where students from Central and Eastern Europe will complete a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at next to no charge.
The Dutch government will be refunding the costs as part of the MATRA Training for European Cooperation (MTEC) programme. This programme has been devised to support the transition from totalitarianism to multiform democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to attending the master’s programme, students will take part in a social programme – which includes an introduction to the Netherlands – and will follow a personal development programme. Enrollment is open until 1 July 2009.

What does an MTEC Scholarship consist of?

An MTEC scholarship covers tuition fee, study materials, housing, subsistence, insurance, visa costs, travel to and from the home country, a personal development programme (including effective leadership, change management, project planning) and a social programme (Introduction programme, excursions, and access to the unique campus facilities of the University of Twente).

Who may apply for an MTEC scholarship?

Besides applicants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the MTEC scholarships are meant for students and residents from Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. These students should have completed their Bachelor of Science (BSc) with flying colours and should satisfy the criteria for admission to the Master of Science (MSc) Public Administration, University of Twente. Applicants should both be nationals of one of the participating countries and be resident in one of these countries. A selection procedure is part of the intake.

Preconditions

Prospective students need to have completed a bachelor degree in Public Administration or strongly related social sciences, live in the relevant states at the time of application, have an IELTS subscore of 6.0 minimum on all four aspects of the IELTS test, and may not be older than 35 years. Professionals are required to acquire permission of their employer to study a year abroad and be issued with a guarantee that they can take up their position upon return.

The MSc programme Public Administration

The Public Administration (PA) Master’s degree programme, duration one year, highlights public administration and informed approaches (i.e. rooted in policy) to social issues. As a public administrator, you will be expected to understand the complex administrative relations in networks of public and private organizations and their impact on the quality of administration and policymaking. In addition, you must be able to systematically analyze the implications for various values and interests involved and the tension arising between such concerns as decisiveness and democracy. To effectively evaluate problems and design appropriate solutions, you must have the ability to assess existing knowledge at face value and generate new, relevant knowledge. Moreover, you will be able to use that knowledge as a basis for effective recommendations and their introduction/implementation.

Application

Applicants who want to be considered for an MTEC Scholarship have to go through the regular admission procedure of the University of Twente starting at http://pa.graduate.utwente.nl. Besides, candidates should apply through the website of CROSS Agency and consecutively send their printed application form to the Royal Netherlands Embassy in their country and a copy of application to the Directorate of European Integration of BiH, ms Dzenana Zivalj (Trg BiH 1, 71 000 Sarajevo). Applicants who have already been admitted to the MSc programme Public Administration of University of Twente, can directly apply for an MTEC scholarship by using the application form which is available at the website http://www.cross-agency.nl/formAcademicAdministration/

Applications for admission should be sent before the 1st of July 2009.

For more information about the MSc programme Public Administration, please visit pa.graduate.utwente.nl or contact the study information desk at master@utwente.nl or telephone (+31) 53 489 5489. For more information about University of Twente, please visit www.utwente.nl/en.

For more information about the MTEC scholarships, including conditions regarding application and the entitlements and obligations which are attached to the scholarships, and the application form, please visit: www.cross-agency.nl or contact Mr. Michiel Zimmer by e-mail (zimmer@evd.nl) or telephone (+31 70 778 8142).