The Oxford Russia Fund charitable organization was founded in 2005 with the aim of promoting the development of liberal arts education in the Russian Federation and supporting humanities students at regional universities in Russia.
The Foundation promotes the dissemination of relevant educational initiatives that are promising for the development of Russian education, and holds joint events of Russian and British educational centers.
Currently, the Oxford Russia Foundation is implementing several charitable programs:
- Formation and maintenance of the libraries of the Oxford Foundation. The Oxford Russian Foundation donated in 2009 to the Scientific Library of KFU. Lobachevsky a selection of the latest foreign literature on the humanities and social sciences in English. Books can be found on the 4th floor, 1st reading room. The RUF also maintains an electronic library that is open to all: https://www.myilibrary.com/Content.aspx
Monthly scholarships for bachelors, masters and graduate students in the humanities (history, sociology, philology, journalism, law, economics) full-time departments. Scholarships are provided on a competitive basis with the participation of the expert community.
Participation in winter and summer student schools. The Foundation regularly conducts traveling interdisciplinary seminars for fellows in Russia. Participation in these events is organized with the provision of financial support and on a competitive basis.
Assistance in financing business trips for students to participate in conferences, short-term internships, etc. For this, it is necessary to submit the necessary documents in advance and obtain the approval of the Foundation.
Competition 2018-2019
As part of the Oxford Russia Foundation's charitable support program, a new competition for the Oxford Russia Foundation scholarship for the 2018/2019 academic year has been opened. Students of humanitarian directions of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th* courses (*specialty) (the competition for undergraduates and graduate students will be announced in the fall) of the full-time department, who are in time for "good" and "excellent" during the last two semesters, conducting active scientific work within the framework of the chosen scientific direction and participating in the scientific and practical activities of the departments. The scholarship is awarded for a period of 1 academic year (1.09.2018-30.06.2019). The monthly stipend is 7 000 rub.
Students are invited to participate in the competition in the following areas of humanities and socio-economic sciences: archeology, art history, history, cultural studies, politics, law, psychology, sociology, philology, philosophy, economics, ethics and religious studies, ethnology, journalism. ATTENTION: in 2018, additional areas were introduced: anthropology, regional studies and international relations, digital humanities.
Preference is given to applicants who study on a budgetary basis, have scientific publications in student collections or other special scientific publications, and participate in projects in the field of their specialty and university.
The appointment of a Foundation scholarship does not cancel the student's right to receive state, including increased, scholarships in the usual manner, as well as other nominal all-Russian scholarships.
The application for the competition is submitted online through the DAAS system
RUF Coordinator at KFU:
Kulikova Anna Yurievna
Vedas. academic mobility department specialist
Department of External Relations
tel. 233 7467
e-mail: [email protected]
Secondment at the expense of RUF funds
The Oxford Foundation is designed to help students of the humanities in their scientific activities and social activities. To achieve this goal, it is possible make business trips at the expense of the Oxford Russia Fund. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, you need to submit an application on the DAAS platform in the "Traveling" competition. The final decision on the allocation of funds is made by the coordinator and the general representation of the RUF in Russia.
Conditions: 10 thousand rubles in total for accommodation and travel expenses.
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In case your application has been approved online, you need to go through the secondment procedure:
- Checkout Presentation to the nameDirector of the Department of External Relations A.A. Krylov, bring it to the ICE, room 214.
- attach to Submission printed official Invitation ( and Financial Support Notice from the side organizing committee activities, if any).
After receiving approval from the Department of External Relations, issue Submission to order ( dates are indicated with the road)
The submission is signed by the head of the department (head of department / head of sector) and the head of the structural unit of KFU (dean / director of the institute).
- To the department of calculation with students to the head of the department Fayzullina Rezida Tagirovna (room 155)
- To the budgeting department for signature by the leading economist Stepanchenko Lidia Leonidovna (room 147)
- To the Department of Accounting for Cash and Other Financial Assets Lyubov Aleksandrovna Koreyeva (room 135)
- To the treasury department for registration (room 111)
- For the signature of the vice-rector for scientific activity D.K. Nurgaliev.
Then 2 copies must be made: Submissions to the order (after the signature of D.K. Nurgaliyev), Invitations and Submissions addressed to A.A. Krylov. Two copies of the Submission to the order with the Invitation and Submission addressed to A.A. Krylov must be submitted to the department for controlling the movement of the contingent of students Khabibullina Natalya Nikolaevna (room 134)
The original of the Submission to the order with the Invitation and Submission addressed to A.A. Krylova is provided to Mukhametdinova Alfira Dilusovna (room 135).
ATTENTION! Upon returning from a trip, it is necessary to provide within 3 working days advance report in com. 135.
A prerequisite for reimbursement of travel expenses is:
- availability of tickets for travel (train in a reserved seat car or bus (to the venue of the event),
- availability of relevant documents for accommodation (receipt and check / invoice and check) (per day up to 1000 rubles),
- advance report,
- report on participation in a scientific event: a copy of the diploma / certificate of participation.
After checking accounting Advance report and participation report submit to the Fund's coordinator in KFU (room 214, building of the Department of External Relations of KFU) .
Ekaterina Shatalova, a student of the Master's program in English literature at the University of Oxford, told how to get a full scholarship from the Hill Foundation and how to get into the best university in the world.
How did you come up with the idea of going abroad? Was it scary to apply to one of the best universities in the world?
Of course, the idea of going to study abroad has always been there, especially when you are studying to be a translator (I graduated in 2011). I thought about it in 2014, I even started filling out an application on the website, but then the Sochi Olympics began and I went there as a volunteer translator, and then I completely turned around with work and left these thoughts for some time. Last year, my friends and I went to travel around England, looked among many cities and, and then I decided that it was time. Oxford was not my priority, I wanted to study in London. I applied to five universities, three through the Chevening Scholarship, and Oxford was the last in this trio. I applied to the rest in the hope of getting university scholarships. I chose universities by ratings and content of programs. Keep in mind that applying to top universities costs money (60-70 pounds).
How was the preparation of the package of documents? What difficulties did you face?
The package of documents is almost everywhere standard. Diploma translation, personal statement or research proposal, two recommendations, sometimes a summary. For Oxford, three recommendations and two scientific articles are needed. As a result, four universities accepted me (without a scholarship), Chevening did not select me, and Oxford provided its Hill Foundation scholarship for Russian researchers. You do not need separate documents for it, just indicate in the application that you would like to apply for this scholarship. The only condition I had was to confirm the level of the language with an international test. For example, IELTS. I prepared for this exam for a month and passed with 8 points (I needed 7.5).
You are a humanist who received one of the most prestigious scholarships to study at the best university in the world. Tell me, what superpowers do you need to have in order to achieve such success?
I do not have any superpowers, but I am a very meticulous and assiduous person and I had a research base at the university. The only advice I can give is not to wait and not to waste time, now I regret only one thing - that I did not apply immediately after graduation. If anyone is interested, here is a link to my blog.
Tell us, how was your move to Britain?
Then, after passing the exam, there were a lot of letters and a huge number of all kinds of documents, without which it is impossible to apply for a visa. But in the end, everything was done, the visa was received, the tickets were bought. Housing is provided by the college (paid from my scholarship), but this is not a room on campus, but a separate three-story house for two with a kitchen and bathroom.
How long did the admission process take in general? From deciding to apply to receiving the coveted acceptance letter?
In September, I started working on documents, and I filed the last deadline already, probably, in December. They sent the decision in March, and the decision on the scholarship - in April. So less than a year
What are your plans after graduation?
Under the terms of the scholarship, I have to spend a year in Russia, but I would like to continue my research and write a doctoral thesis.
In the article, one of the GSA subscribers talks in detail about his successful experience of entering Oxford - one of the best universities in the world.
I made the decision to get higher education abroad when I was a student of the 11th grade. First of all, this was facilitated by my participation in the International Chemistry Olympiad, held in Tokyo. In addition to the mass of impressions from distant Japan in the geographical and cultural sense, I returned to my homeland with the firm intention to continue my studies at the university abroad. However, there were significant difficulties in determining a specific direction, mainly due to a lack of information and ignorance of where this information could be obtained.
Where to go to study?
In the end, having abandoned Japan and Germany for language reasons, my choice fell on higher education institutions in the USA and Great Britain. The final decision was made under the influence of two factors. The first is rational: the costs of the admission process to any US university are significantly more expensive than in the case of British universities. Although it was about a couple of hundred dollars, in those days (end of 2010-2011) this was a very weighty argument, because. an economic crisis broke out in Belarus, and it was extremely problematic to acquire currency. The second factor is more emotional. Once I went to my Facebook page, I discovered that one of the participants of the last international Olympiad (a representative of Estonia) entered Cambridge. Then I asked myself the question: "If she, having taken a place below me at the Olympiad (being 2 years older at the same time), entered, why shouldn't I try to do the same?"
So, my destination is UK. Now the need has become to find a scholarship that covers the cost of tuition and living. It is worth noting that the cost of education for the British and EU citizens is noticeably lower than for students from the rest of the world - overseas students. What's more, Her Majesty's nationals and citizens of EU countries have the option of receiving an interest-free study loan, the repayment of which only starts when the graduate starts earning more than £25,000 a year. The sum of the costs mentioned above in the UK is for overseas students around £40,000 per year, and vary slightly depending on the university. Thus, the widespread belief that education at Oxford and Cambridge is noticeably more expensive than at other universities is incorrect. As for scholarships, as it turned out, for bachelor's programs there are, in principle, few of them, and only a few with full coverage. At the beginning of 2011, there was only one such scholarship - the Reach Oxford Scholarship (there is a separate Chevening scholarship for citizens of the Russian Federation). Actually, this fact was the reason for the final choice in favor of Oxford University.
What to do after the 11th grade of school: 2 ways
A very important point is that it is impossible to enter the UK after graduating from an 11-year school, because in Foggy Albion, schooling lasts 12 years. There are three ways to overcome this limitation - by studying for 1 year at a Russian university, graduating from school under the International Baccalaureate program, or by studying for 1 year in the UK at a university under the Foundation program - a kind of analogue of our preparatory courses. The advantage of the first two options is the use of a knowledge assessment system known and understood by the British. From a financial point of view, the first option is the most attractive, so I entered the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University (fortunately, the victory at the International Mendeleev Olympiad allowed me to do this without exams and passing the exam). The second fact that you should pay attention to is that the admission process begins about a year before the expected start of studies at the university (usually on September 15). The deadline for accepting applications is from October 15 for Oxford and Cambridge, until January 15 for most other universities. It is also necessary to remember that a foreigner for admission to any higher educational institution in the UK needs a document confirming a high level of English proficiency. Such a document can be certificates of IELTS (academic), TOEFL, Cambridge exams. Specific requirements depend on the university and the chosen program - in my case it was IELTS (academic) 7.0.
The process of admission to Oxbridge, as Oxford and Cambridge universities are also called, can be divided into 4 stages: applying, interviewing, obtaining academic and other results specified in the conditional offer and, finally, obtaining a British student visa. I was lucky enough to take part in 3 out of 4 stages, which I would like to talk about.
Applying
Applications for UK universities are made entirely online. There is a special organization UCAS (Universities and Colleges Application Service) that accepts and processes applications and then sends them directly to universities. To apply to the university (the maximum number of courses that can be applied for is 5; applying to Oxford and Cambridge at the same time is not allowed), you must register on the website and fill out the Application Form. The form itself includes both rather trivial things, such as personal data, secondary education, work experience, contacts, and sections called Personal Statement (something like a motivation letter) and Reference (recommendation), which are worth dwelling on.
Motivation letter to Oxford
A cover letter is exactly what makes your application stand out among hundreds of others. Of course, excellent grades in the certificate are important, but this data is not very informative for the British (this does not apply to the International Baccalaureate). There is no scale for translating our grades into English, and attempts to do it yourself will almost certainly lead to a refusal to pass the interview. However, even if you have excellent grades in the British system, you should not forget that the best of the best enter Oxbridge. In order to unleash your potential and convince the university that they need you, there is a Personal Statement section. This creation of 4000 characters with spaces should reflect the reasons for enrolling in this program at this university (and this country), motivation, plans for the future, as well as information about the non-academic interests of the applicant. It is very important to mention achievements related to the subject you wish to study.
So, in my case, these were medals from various international chemistry olympiads. You should not be shy and treat this as a boast, because your achievements are exactly what distinguishes you from other applicants. The central place in the motivation letter is, in fact, the motivation of a potential student. Here it is necessary to vividly, but at the same time, logically present the reasons for studying this subject and entering this university. You can give examples from your own life, famous (and not so) quotes, etc. The main thing to remember is that the main thing in this part is coherence, consistency and logic. Every offer must be thought through. That is why writing a Personal Statement should never be left until the last day before the deadline. It took me about a month to fill out the form “from and to”, of which 2.5 weeks were spent on preparing and editing a motivation letter. The resource turned out to be very useful for me, which contains examples of successful and not very motivational letters from British and foreign applicants. Some useful information can also be found on the UCAS website. If you're not very confident in your English, it's a good idea to use an interpreter to check your Personal Statement, as I did.
The recommendation ranks second (after the Personal Statement) in terms of impact on the chances of being invited to an interview. Ideally, this part of the Application Form should be written by a person who knows you from an academic point of view - a school teacher, supervisor, etc. (the so-called referee). In practice, sometimes for several reasons this turns out to be difficult or impossible, so you need to do it yourself (fortunately, at this stage I did not have to do this). The letter of recommendation itself should contain information about your academic progress and plans for the future, as well as personal qualities from the position of a teacher. Unlike a Personal Statement, both your positive and negative sides can be indicated here. The text of the recommendation is also uploaded to the UCAS website by your "referee". Before that, as well as in the case of a motivation letter, it makes sense to consult with a translator.
After downloading the recommendation, the last step remains - the application fee (£12 - £23 depending on the number of programs chosen). Once payment has been made, the application is considered submitted and cannot be changed.
Interview
It should be noted that at the first stage, quite a few applicants are eliminated - basically, these are those who do not meet the minimum requirements for admission. For a chemistry course, the number of interviewees usually exceeds 90%. The main selection takes place at the interview - communication between the applicant and representatives of the university. Only about a third of applicants pass this stage (for the course of chemistry, for other courses the figures may differ markedly).
All interviews take place at the university in early to mid-December. Because between the deadline for submitting an application to Oxford and the decision to invite an interview, it becomes difficult or impossible to obtain a British visa. In this case, the university provides the possibility of passing an interview by phone or Skype. It was the last option that was offered to me.
The Oxbridge interview is unique in many ways. Not all British universities conduct interviews with their potential students. Here, this procedure is mandatory, because it is really the selection of the best of the best. I think many of you reading this article have heard or read about the bizarre interview questions that candidates are asked to ask. This does not mean that absolutely every interview contains such questions, but sometimes it does happen. This is how the ingenuity and non-standard thinking of applicants are tested. There is a special site on which people who have been interviewed talk about the questions and tasks that they were offered. It is very useful to read when preparing for an interview. In general, you should prepare for the interview comprehensively in order to narrow down the range of questions that can cause difficulties as much as possible. It is important to keep track of the latest news from the area you want to devote yourself to studying. Applying this knowledge to interviews will show your interest in the subject, which is exactly what Oxbridge teachers look for in applicants.
Skype interviews are usually shorter than interactions with teachers on British soil. My interview began at 14:00 Moscow time and lasted only 20 minutes. I still remember that day in detail. It is difficult to convey what was going on inside me when a Skype window appeared on the monitor screen with the inscription: “St. Anne's College is calling." The interview was conducted by three lecturers representing various fields of chemistry: inorganic, organic and physical. The first questions in inorganic chemistry were fairly simple (some were in the 9th grade curriculum), although one of these questions I couldn't give a complete answer due to crazy excitement. Answering questions on physical chemistry required the use of a pen and sheets of paper, as well as the ability to substantiate one's assumptions and conclusions - the balance between nitrogen dioxide and its dimer was discussed, as well as factors that can shift the equilibrium in one direction or another. Finally, it came to my favorite organic chemistry. Here I adequately answered all the questions of the teacher, and after that I breathed a sigh of relief - the interview was coming to an end. In general, the attitude of the teachers was very friendly. It remains to wait for the final verdict ...
Conditional offer
A few days after the interview, a Conditional offer was sent to my email address. This actually meant accepting me to the university, but subject to certain requirements. In addition to providing an official copy of the certificate, I was required to provide the required IELTS results by August 1, as well as provide guarantees of solvency. If the results of the English exam depended solely on me (I was preparing for IELTS in the summer), then getting a scholarship seemed a much more incomprehensible and subjective stage on the way from Minsk to Oxford.
The Reach Oxford Scholarship is designed for citizens of low-income countries who, for political or financial reasons, are unable to complete higher education in their home country. Although the description of the scholarship did not quite fit my situation, the main criterion for obtaining it was still outstanding academic results, so there was a chance of becoming a scholarship holder. The application was submitted in January-February, the result became known in March. To participate in the competition, it was necessary to submit 2 motivational and 2 letters of recommendation.
Without dwelling on the letters of recommendation, I will only say that this time I wrote them myself, and my "referees" were teachers from the Faculty of Chemistry of the Belarusian State University, who knew me from the preparation and participation in Chemistry Olympiads. The first letter of motivation described the motivation for studying the subject and applying for the scholarship. The second is an essay on the topic “How studying at Oxford will help improve the life of my Motherland”. I must say that there is very little information about this program on the Internet. Even having acquaintances studying at Oxford, I could not find a single participant in this program. As regards the samples of motivation letters, at the time of application, there was only one example from a student from Vietnam who was going to study theoretical physics. Thus, formally there were no restrictions or requirements regarding the essay.
It is worth noting that Oxford offers special scholarships for students from certain countries: Pakistan, Armenia, Turkey, etc. If you suddenly have the citizenship of one of these countries, this may be your additional chance to get an education at the oldest university in the UK. Unfortunately, in March I was informed that I would not become a scholarship holder. That was the end of my Oxford story. Anyway, until...
What happened next
In July 2012, I still passed IELTS. I passed rather due to the fact that otherwise the work done to prepare for the exam (and it began in March 2011) would have been in vain. In any case, an international English language exam certificate may not be superfluous, especially when looking for internships abroad. However, the motivation was clearly not the same, so it turned out only 6.5 points.
Now I continue to study at the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University. I did not stop thinking about continuing my education abroad, perhaps even at Oxford, for example. there are traditionally more master's and postgraduate scholarships. I have no regrets about the decision I made and the work done for admission. Although, if I had to decide this issue now, I would prefer the United States. Nevertheless, for me it was an invaluable experience of searching for information and communicating with representatives of a foreign university. In the end, I wrote this article precisely due to the fact that at one time I made studying at Oxford University my dream.
Photos and text provided
Oxford, like most universities in the UK, is a public institution. Public funding for education for non-British students is non-existent and finding funding to pay for tuition is the task of the student himself.
Scholarships and grants
Financial assistance to talented foreign students is provided by many organizations in the UK that offer grants; the largest are the universities themselves, as well as non-profit charitable foundations, government organizations, research councils, and also commercial organizations.Being one of the largest universities in the world, it annually invests significant financial resources to support students whose merits and prospects are recognized by the university. If you are a graduate of a well-known institution in your country, have all or most excellent grades, and have clearly defined your academic and professional goals, then you may be in a position to receive an Oxford University scholarship.
Application for many scholarships offered by the University of Oxford, as well as Research Council scholarships in the humanities and arts, occurs automatically with the application for admission to the master's program. If you are eligible for these scholarships, your Oxford application must be submitted no later than January.
Along with applying for admission, you can also request funding for special scholarships provided by faculties and. Detailed information about these scholarships is posted on the websites of the faculties and colleges of the university.
To help candidates, the university annually publishes information on funding opportunities, which you can find in the "Student Funding" section on the university website. When looking for suitable scholarship programs, pay attention first of all to the following points:
- Does your candidacy meet the selection criteria for the program (for example: academic achievement, nationality, field of study)?
- What is the amount of funding offered by the scholarship? Does the scholarship cover the full cost of tuition and living, or only part of the costs?
- What type of study programs (master's, PhD, full-time/part-time studies) are funded by the program?
- What is the deadline for applying for a scholarship?
Scholarship applications should be prepared well in advance in order to increase the chances of receiving a scholarship, as well as to avoid difficulties in reserving a place in the program due to the inability to provide timely proof of the availability of funds for tuition and living expenses.
Non-scholarship funding sources
As additional or alternative sources of funding, some Oxford students also use bank loans received at home or in the UK.Part-time work, in agreement with the supervisor, can also help offset the cost of living in the UK. However, the programs and are very intensive and combining study with work can be difficult. Many students
No one knows when the University of Oxford was founded, but the first evidence of education here dates back to 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second oldest functioning university. A major change came in the 13th century when some students and faculty left Oxford to found the University of Cambridge, its rival.
The University of Oxford is made up of 38 colleges and 4 divisions. There are 23,000 students studying at these various institutions, of which 11,728 are undergraduate students and 10,941 are graduate students. The total number of foreign students is 9900, which is 42% of the student body. This is good news for international students as Oxford welcomes students from all over the world.
It is very difficult to get an opportunity to study at Oxford, as only one student is selected out of five applications for admission. Therefore, in order to be competitive for Oxford, it is necessary to demonstrate outstanding achievements and have leadership qualities.
Ratings
In the Times Higher Education World University rankings, Oxford is ranked number one in the world. This is not surprising, because Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and conducts basic research. Oxford ranks first in not only one, but several ranking systems, including the QS World University Rankings.
To see the rankings and other interesting Oxford facts and personalities, open Oxford University Facts and Figures.
Undergraduate Scholarships
Reach Oxford Scholarship
. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, annual living allowances, round trip airfare.
. Eligibility - students from low income countries.
. The number of recipients is approximately 2-3 students per year.
Acceptance Procedure - Students must be admitted to the university before applying for the Reach Oxford Scholarship. The application deadline is October 15, you must apply after you are accepted to the university. For more information about Reach Oxford Scholarship, read this page.
Other Scholarships for Specific Colleges and Majors
The Reach Oxford, Simon and June Li Scholarships are unlimited in the choice of fields of study, except for medicine. However, besides these scholarships, there are many good scholarship programs that focus on a specific field of study as well as nationality. To find scholarships that are right for you, visit the Oxford University Scholarship Search.
Scholarships for undergraduates and PhD students
Clarendon Scholarship
. Eligibility - All local and international students wishing to pursue any degree at the University of Oxford.
. The number of recipients is 140 new students each year.
. Acceptance Procedure - No application for another separate scholarship is required to receive a Clarendon Scholarship.
Ertegun Scholarship
. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, accommodation.
. Eligibility - All local and international students wishing to study in the liberal arts at the University of Oxford.
. The number of recipients is a minimum of 10 students per year.
. You must have completed the individual scholarships you apply for.
Other scholarships for international students
Apart from the Clarendon and Ertegun scholarships, there are other good scholarships for international students. These scholarships, as in the case of scholarships for bachelors, are aimed at a specific field of study. To find these scholarships, go to Oxford scholarship search.
Application dates
. For undergraduate students, the application deadline opens on September 1st and closes on October 15th. Once you have been accepted, you must submit a separate scholarship application on January 1st.
. For postgraduate studies - acceptance of applications begins on September 1 and ends on January 8 or 15, depending on the specialty.
How to Apply for Oxford University Scholarship
The application procedure for international students is clearly explained on the University of Oxford website. If you are an undergraduate student, please read the Undergraduate Student Admissions Guide to learn about the application process. If you are a graduate student, then open the graduate student acceptance guide.
You can find more detailed information about the university in our overview.
That's all! Good luck with your admissions and scholarships!
