[Southeast Asia] SEARCA – Master & Ph.D. Scholarship 2016/2017

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)’s Graduate Study Program was initiated in School Year 1968/1969. Over four decades, the scope of the Graduate Study Program has expanded to include institutional development, networking, and services to enhance graduate education in the region. SEARCA has also been providing services for administration of scholarship funds under the sponsorship of institutions other than SEAMEO.
For more than four decades SEARCA has awarded more than 1,500 scholarships to nationals of SEAMEO regular member countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam to pursue advanced studies leading to master’s and doctoral degrees in agriculture, forestry, and related sciences.
For Academic Year 2014-2015, SEARCA has now granted a total of 58 new scholarships, which brings us to a total of 128 current/ongoing scholars, as of February 2015.
Eligibility

  • Open to nationals of SEAMEO member countries who are regular employees of academic or research institutions or government agencies.
  • Must not be more than 35 (Master’s Degree) or 40 (PhD) years of age at the time of application.
  • Proposed thesis research should focus on SEARCA’s overarching theme of inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development (ISARD). Thus, areas of specialization of scholarship applicants must pursue should be agriculture or related sciences, which include but are not limited to those that fall under the following program clusters:
    • Agricultural/Biological sciences
    • Social Sciences
    • Economics and Agribusiness
    • Forestry and Fisheries
    • Environmental Sciences
    • Agro-industrial Technology and Engineering

Moreover, priority research topics must fall within the ISARD strategic thrusts on social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and cross-cutting concerns. 
Study Posts
Any one of the following universities under the University Consortium, may serve as study posts of SEARCA Master’s and PhD scholars:

  • Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB)
    Bogor, Indonesia
  • Kasetsart University (KU)
    Bangkok, Thailand
  • Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM)
    Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
    Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)
    Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Scholarship Benefits
Covers tuition and other school fees; travel allowance (roundtrip air ticket from home country to study post and local transportation); thesis/dissertation support; book and supplies allowance; health insurance; and a stipend for food, lodging and incidental expenses.
Requirement:
Each applicant is required to submit the following documents:

  1. SEARCA Scholarship Application Form (2 copies); download here (SEARCA-application-Form-2015)
  2. Application forms for admission to the Graduate School of the universities where the applicant may pursue graduate studies under SEARCA scholarship; SEARCA Website
  3. Official transcript of academic records of each degree completed (Bachelor transcript for Master applicants and Bachelor and Master transcripts for PhD applicants);
  4. Certification of employment;
  5. Brief description of the research the applicant plans to conduct for thesis/dissertation.  The research topic must be in line with the thrusts of SEARCA’s Tenth Five-Year Plan i.e., social equity, environmental integrity and regional economic integration by promoting food and nutrition security; value chains and agribusiness commodity systems; innovations and modern technologies; rural entrepreneurship; climate change adaptation and resiliency, natural resource management; sub-regional cooperation in trade and investments; and government policies/reforms that address rural poverty, inequitable growth, and environmental degradation. The Plan will be made available at http://www.searca.org.
  6. Two copies of passport-size pictures of the applicant;
  7. Curriculum vitae;
  8. Certification from a medical doctor that the applicant is in good physical and mental health condition and is fit to undertake graduate studies;
  9. Copy of passport;
  10. Letter of recommendation from the employer; and
  11. Results of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): score of 550 for paper-based and 213 for computer-based) or IELTS results (6.0). The TOEFL results must be issued by Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Check the schedule and venue of TOEFL tests in your country at http://www.ets.org/toefl/.

Please send 2 copies of all documents above to Kantor Urusan International UGM (Bulaksumur, F13) no later than : 26 JULY 2016.