Well, by now many of you are studying VERY hard for your september exams. For those of you in the third year who are perhaps looking around for what to do next, or for anybody else interested, here are some links to some valid, international scholarship programmes for graduate study. Please note, many scholarships are offered to foreign students directly from the department of interest, although this is not always the case. If you are thinking about studying overseas for a graduate degree – it is always best to identify a range of potential thesis or research supervisors and ask them what is available from their departments or their universities. They will know, or will know enough to tell you who to talk to.
External scholarships must be managed separately. That is, the application for the scholarship and the application for the degree programme are separate and have little to do with each other – as long as you have been accepted to a degree programme. That is right – you must be accepted. There is a selection process based on your CV, a writing sample or sample of your research abilities. As well, for non-native English speakers, you will have to take a formal language exam. These are specific for the country in which you want to apply. The United States almost exclusively recognises the TOEFL (test of English as a Foreign Language) which is quite difficult as it is a standardised multiple choice test. Often it happens that doing well on this test depends more on your understanding of the mechanics of the exam than your ability to communicate in English. Study all available material for this. As well, find out what the lowest acceptable score for your department and university actually is. Different departments have different requirements.
Canada uses the IELTS system. Find it on line and find out how to take it. I think many Canadian Universities also recognise the TOEFL test. Again, find out specific requirements from the University you to which you wish to apply.
Britain probably recognises the Cambridge system – which is one of the most diffuse in Europe, at least. Check this with the university, though.
Anyway – enough talk! Here is a very short list of web-sites for scholarships. For our Nigerian friends, I notice that the web-site for the Fulbright scholarships to the US was recently won by a Nigerian. Good job!
The Fullbright is a prestigious award. Getting one is a sign of quality that will greatly help you in your career, both because of the financial support and because it looks great on your CV afterward! (I never got one of these – but you can’t win if you don’t play!)
http://www.dalgrad.dal.ca/killam/predoctoralscholarships/
The Killam scholarships are offered through the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University. I highly recommend study there as the programmes are really good, it’s relatively big without being massive, and Halifax is a good city. Ok – I went to school there as an undergraduate and had a fantastic time (and learned a lot!)
That said, you can apply for a Killam Scholarship and attend a number of different Canadian universities such as University of Alberta Calgary and the University of British Columbia. These are both good schools.
The main site for Killam Scholarships nationally is
For Britain I found the following page. It’s part of a funding search engine but came up with 61 responses to “international student” funding.
So – there are a few links to scholarships for graduate study. Good luck!
In other news – for those of you studying for September’s exam. Here is a copy of the B1 and B2 exams from last May.
cl4-b1-listening-exam-1-0520082
This the B1 exam text, question sheet, and answer sheet – print it.
cl4-b1-listening-exam-1-0520081
This is the audio file for the B1 exam May 2008.
cl4-b2-listening-exam-05-20081
This is the B2 exam text, question sheet, and answer sheet – print it.
cl4-b2-listening-exam-1-05-2008-def1
This is the audio file for the B2 exam May 2008.
OK – if all has worked properly, there are now 2 audio files and 2 PDF files above. Good luck! This is the exam material for last May. I promise you – September’s exams ARE extensions of the same texts. I write all my exams for the year at the same time. Remember – this is a LISTENING exam.
For the B1, I am evaluating how well you can relate the STRUCTURES you hear to the STRUCTURES of the questions. I write my questions following the order of the text you listen to.
The B2 exam is different. Here I am evaluating your ability TO INTERPRET AND UNDERSTAND what you listen to. It is a much more APPLIED exam that requires you to think more. This is why you only have to answer 4 out of 6 questions and may look at the question sheet first. Please remember that you are students of BUSINESS and after the second year you have learned quite a lot about economics, etc. If you came to class, we discussed this topic a fair bit. As well, you have learned things in your other classes that may apply to these answers. Don’t forget that!
For both exams: take the test as if you were in an exam situation. Check your answers against the answer sheet.
For the B1 – the short answer questions are worth 4 points each and the T/F are worth 2 points each. I look for answers that are as close as possible to those on the answer sheet, which are sections taken from the text.
For the B2, each of the 4 questions you answered is worth 7.5 points. If you answered more than 4 questions, throw away the WORST two responses – leaving you with 4 answers to mark. Here I am looking for answers that logically fit the questions and ARE BASED ON THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. This is more difficult. You may be required to make a quick calculation or estimate. You may be required to relate one concept to another quickly. That’s what listening is all about folks – understanding and USING the information you hear! This exam is NOT about connecting STRUCTURES! Ok!
If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me. As well, it would be a service to your fellow classmates if you asked questions by commenting on this post, so everyone can see your question and can benefit from the answers. Again – simply click on the link under the post title “add a comment” and write your comment. You do not have to put your name. I screen comments, so I will see who they come from, but that does not appear on the blog page. Ok?!?
Good luck!
Pete Cullen
RSS - Posts
i want a scholarship for diploma in mass communication
Ok – go to the links I have listed above. Most of the work you will have to do over internet. That is, most of the information you will have to find yourself. In communications, try McGill University in Canada or MIT in Boston. They both have very serious communications studies programmes. In the UK you might try Leeds – I think. The important thing is that you LOOK UP THE INFORMATION IN THE APPROPRIATE UNIVERSITY WEB-SITES and contact possible professors.
banking for business and the government…
Everyt year new applications are accepted fron a variety of non traditional sources…