Aberystwyth Selected for Prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme

Department of Information Services

The Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth University has been awarded five prestigious Commonwealth Scholarships.

The scholarships will be offered to distance learning students from developing Commonwealth countries who have been accepted to study for the MSc Econ Information & Library Studies programme at Aberystwyth.

The Commonwealth Scholarship scheme was set up in 1959 and supports around 750 awards every year in the UK.

Aberystwyth University already offers one annual Commonwealth Scholarship to a full-time student but this is the first time the Department of Information Studies (DIS) has been able to apply for the awards for distance learning students.

“There is quite a lot of competition for these scholarships with applications from a range of leading institutions, such as the University of London, the University of Bath and several other prestigious institutions – so we are very proud that Aberystwyth’s application was successful,” said Hugh Preston, Senior Admissions Tutor at DIS who led the submission to the Commonwealth Commission.

“Students who apply for the scholarship must come from developing Commonwealth countries and if they are successful, they will receive an award which not only pays for their tuition fees but which also gives them a generous maintenance allowance enabling them to travel if necessary in order to carry out their research.”

The decision of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission has been welcomed by Prof. Martin Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor at Aberystwyth University.

“One of the main criteria for selection was the ability to show that the MSc Econ Information and Library Studies programme at Aberystwyth meets the United Nations Millennium Goal of Universal Education – a goal also supported by the UK Department for International Development,” he said.

“In their application, DIS was able to demonstrate that students from developing countries would help achieve this goal by being better equipped to provide education for primary school children when they returned home after completing their studies at Aberystwyth. This is a unique achievement, which demonstrates that DIS is at the cutting-edge.” 

Further details about the scholarships and how to apply are available on Aberystwyth University’s Postgraduate Admissions website (see link top right of page).

Share