Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme 2023/2024 for Postgraduate Study in Ireland (Fully Funded)

The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme- The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is a fully-funded scholarship opportunity offered to South African students to study at Master’s level in Ireland’s world-renowned Higher Education Institutions.

The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme

This flagship programme of the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa is part of the broader Ireland Fellows Programme offered by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is targeted at early career professionals in South Africa with leadership potential.

The scholarship broadly supports leadership for the Sustainable Development Goals, and supporting the development of women’s leadership capacity and women’s participation in STEM are key priorities.

In addition, the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme aims to support students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue Master’s level education in Ireland. Graduates of Universities of Historical Disadvantage and Universities of Technology in particular are encouraged to apply.

Requirements and Qualifications

All interested applicants who are selected to go forward to second stage will be required to sit an IELTS exam. Unless they are already in possession of an IELTS certificate that is less than 12 months old at the time of application which shows the applicant has achieved the necessary score for the course they intend to apply to.

Eligible Courses

Eligible courses are in areas such as Agriculture, Health, Education, Human Rights, Computer Science, Engineering, Business and more, and are listed in a Directory of Eligible Programmes.

Eligibility

You MUST be a resident national of South Africa
You MUST possess a minimum of two years’ relevant work experience (this can include internships and volunteering)
You must hold an honours’ level academic qualification from an accredited and government-recognised higher education institution, with a minimum grade point average of 75%. That is a first class honour, or second class honour, grade 1 (in some cases a second class honour grade 2 may be accepted).
You must NOT already hold a qualification at master’s level or higher.
You must NOT currently be undertaking a programme at master’s level or higher, or be due to start a programme at master’s level or higher in the academic year 2021/2022.
You must be appliying to commence a new course at master’s level in Ireland no sooner than August/September 2022.
You must be able to demonstrate leadership abilities and aspirations, as well as commitment to the achievement of the SDGs within your own country.
You have identified and selected relevant courses from the Ireland Fellows Programme Directory of Eligible Programmes.
You have a clear understanding of the academic and English language proficiencies required for both courses chosen.
You must NOT have applied for the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme on more than one previous occasion.
You must be in a position to take up the Fellowship in the academic year 2022/2023.

Benefits

The scholarship award covers course fees, required flights, accommodation, monthly allowances, insurance and other incidental expenses.
Eligible Masters programmes in Ireland commence in the period August to September each year and, depending on the course, scholarships will run for between 10 and 16 months.