6 answers
John
Student
Lagos, Nigeria
1
Question
Asked
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How do I go about getting scholarships for my masters degree program?
I am a student of Information and communications engineering, I have keen interest in the fields of information security, IoT and software development. I am currently a 4th year student of Covenant University in Nigeria, I am looking to do my masters in the field of software engineering in Europe. #technology #engineer #education
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6 answers
Jason Starkman
Student
3
Answers
Albany, New York
Updated
Jason’s Answer
You can look online for general scholarship competitions and you can also look at whatever school's website you are thinking of going to and apply to their specific usually more lucrative scholarships.
S Grover
Service
7
Answers
Naperville, Illinois
Updated
S’s Answer
Congrats John - you seem to be doing great with your career. For opportunities that will fund your Master's in USA, IMO, the best place is to look within the University you will be a student at. Many years back I came to the US for a Masters degree, with only a quarter assistantship offer from the department / university. i.e. 10 hours of paid work. After I landed at the school, before the session started I went around to meet every department to inquire about available Teaching / Research Assistantships. Not just academic departments, but other ancillary departments as well e.g. Admissions office, Helpdesk etc. Assistantships are most sought after because most will offer stipend plus tuition waiver anywhere from 50 to 100%. While I was already prepared to fund 1 year of my education (incl. the 10 hr assistantship), I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to land 4 different interviews within 1 week of my submitting resumes in person. Couple of them (incl. Maths) wanted me to take a test before proceeding for an interview, others just an interview. At the end of it all, I had the Math dept. and IT services offers with stipend and fully paid tuition. I accepted the latter, as it related to my Masters, and involved hands on 20 hrs of flex-time work. I renewed the position every semester and it paid for my entire 2 yr Master's program tuition. However, a note of caution - with easy access to internet nowadays, you should start your scholarship/assistantship search even before you get your student visa/permit. Good luck !
Ashwin Jiwane
Software Engineer / Technical Product
4
Answers
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Updated
Ashwin’s Answer
Hi John,
Great question. Congrats on finishing up 4th year and taking on decision to go for higher education. I'm originally from India, I did 4 years of engineering in India and then went for masters education in Computer Science / IT to USA. In that process, I did apply to Europe universities as well. I got scholarships from Europe and USA.
Do you research on which universities you want to apply first. Each university website will have all scholarships they are offering to grad students. Email current grad students (you can find them on university websites) in these universities, they are always happy to help and tell you more about universities. Email to university departments to know more about scholarships and other funding opportunities. Universities are always responsive to take in more students.
Most of the time, scholarships are not the only way to fund your grad school education. Majority of students don't get scholarship during admission but almost every student gets some kind of grad-school work in university once you get admission. For example, students can get research assistantship or teaching assistantship work; both of these work gives you real work experience with undergrad students, pays for your tuition and pays monthly stipend. You would actually save money, help students and get work experience.
You can get aware of these opportunities by contacting each department on their university websites.
Best of luck!
Great question. Congrats on finishing up 4th year and taking on decision to go for higher education. I'm originally from India, I did 4 years of engineering in India and then went for masters education in Computer Science / IT to USA. In that process, I did apply to Europe universities as well. I got scholarships from Europe and USA.
Do you research on which universities you want to apply first. Each university website will have all scholarships they are offering to grad students. Email current grad students (you can find them on university websites) in these universities, they are always happy to help and tell you more about universities. Email to university departments to know more about scholarships and other funding opportunities. Universities are always responsive to take in more students.
Most of the time, scholarships are not the only way to fund your grad school education. Majority of students don't get scholarship during admission but almost every student gets some kind of grad-school work in university once you get admission. For example, students can get research assistantship or teaching assistantship work; both of these work gives you real work experience with undergrad students, pays for your tuition and pays monthly stipend. You would actually save money, help students and get work experience.
You can get aware of these opportunities by contacting each department on their university websites.
Best of luck!
Hoang Tran
Tutor
13
Answers
Fullerton, California
Updated
Hoang’s Answer
Hello,
Great to hear your progress in pursuing a Master degree. Expect a meaningful, productive, but also intensive chapter.
Often times, Universities award scholarships and grants to recipients with strong undergraduate academic performance. You might be able to find additional details under Admissions and Aids under most university websites.
Other criteria for scholarships might include extracurricular experiences, overcoming personal challenges, work experiences, etc. Some grants may also request references and personal statements in their applications.
Academic achievements
Strong Community engagement
Additional talents
Great to hear your progress in pursuing a Master degree. Expect a meaningful, productive, but also intensive chapter.
Often times, Universities award scholarships and grants to recipients with strong undergraduate academic performance. You might be able to find additional details under Admissions and Aids under most university websites.
Other criteria for scholarships might include extracurricular experiences, overcoming personal challenges, work experiences, etc. Some grants may also request references and personal statements in their applications.
Hoang recommends the following next steps:
S Grover
Service
7
Answers
Naperville, Illinois
Updated
S’s Answer
Congrats John - you seem to be doing great with your career. For opportunities that will fund your Master's in USA (probably similar to Europe), IMO, the best place is to look within the University you will be a student at. Many years back I came to the US for a Masters degree, with only a quarter assistantship offer from the department / university. i.e. 10 hours of paid work. After I landed at the school, before the session started I went around to meet every department to inquire about available Teaching / Research Assistantships. Not just academic departments, but other ancillary departments as well e.g. Admissions office, Helpdesk etc. Assistantships are most sought after because most will offer stipend plus tuition waiver anywhere from 50 to 100%. While I was already prepared to fund 1 year of my education (incl. the 10 hr assistantship), I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to land 4 different interviews within 1 week of my submitting resumes in person. Couple of them (incl. Maths) wanted me to take a test before proceeding for an interview, others just an interview. At the end of it all, I had the Math dept. and IT services offers with stipend and fully paid tuition. I accepted the latter, as it related to my Masters, and involved hands on 20 hrs of flex-time work. I renewed the position every semester and it paid for my entire 2 yr Master's program tuition. However, a note of caution - with easy access to internet nowadays, you should start your scholarship/assistantship search even before you get your student visa/permit. Good luck !
Amanda Triplett, Ph.D.
Account Executive
4
Answers
Mandeville, Louisiana
Updated
Amanda’s Answer
John,
Congrats on making it to your fourth year, that alone is a major achievement. I was able to obtain scholarships/assistantships for both my Master's and my Doctorate Program. My best piece of advice is to talk to the program and department chairs for the programs you are applying to in Europe. A lot of them should have program based internships, assistantships, and/or scholarships. If those positions are already filled you could reach out to the student services department as they may have areas on campus that you can work part time and in return you would get your tuition paid for, as well as a monthly living stipend. For example, you may be able to tutor student athletes, work in campus housing, culture communities, etc.
Sometimes there are also teaching grants, where if you agree to teach after graduating in your field, they will pay your tuition.
Jason's advice is also really good. I would look on Linked In, and find some IT, Software Engineering, and Information Security organizations and begin networking and reaching out to see if they have any scholarships as well.
Hope this helps, and best of luck,
Amanda
Congrats on making it to your fourth year, that alone is a major achievement. I was able to obtain scholarships/assistantships for both my Master's and my Doctorate Program. My best piece of advice is to talk to the program and department chairs for the programs you are applying to in Europe. A lot of them should have program based internships, assistantships, and/or scholarships. If those positions are already filled you could reach out to the student services department as they may have areas on campus that you can work part time and in return you would get your tuition paid for, as well as a monthly living stipend. For example, you may be able to tutor student athletes, work in campus housing, culture communities, etc.
Sometimes there are also teaching grants, where if you agree to teach after graduating in your field, they will pay your tuition.
Jason's advice is also really good. I would look on Linked In, and find some IT, Software Engineering, and Information Security organizations and begin networking and reaching out to see if they have any scholarships as well.
Hope this helps, and best of luck,
Amanda