Fully Funded University Of Pretoria Scholarship For African Masters Students | Study-In-South Africa

The University of Pretoria Scholarship for masters students are now open for interested and qualified African students willing to pursue a postgraduate degree in South Africa.

The University of Pretoria Scholarship Summary

Host Country: South Africa
Study Abroad: Study in Africa

Eligible Countries: All African Countries
Reward: Full Scholarship | Accommodation

Scholarship Details:

The LLM/MPhil in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa (HRDA) is a prestigious one-year intensive course where 25-30 exceptional individuals spend six months in Pretoria and six months at one of the 12 partner universities all over Africa. They are taught by eminent lecturers in the field of human rights and undergo many practical training exercises.

It is the only course of its kind in Africa. Graduates become members of the HRDA Alumni Association whose 537 members are currently active in the full spectrum of human rights work: from grassroots, through civil service, to international organizations including the African Union and the United Nations. Individuals from all African countries are invited to apply for admission to study for the Master’s degree (LLM/MPhil) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa.

University of Pretoria Scholarship Requirements:

To be considered for the University of Pretoria Scholarship, you must:

Be an individual from all African countries are invited to apply for admission to study for the Master’s Degree (LLM/MPhil) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Be in possession of the first degree in Law (LLB, licence en droit or licenciatura em direito) or an Honors degree relevant to human rights and democratization.

In addition to the general admission requirements, the following specific selection criteria are used in combination to select the eligible students:

a demonstrated professional, academic and personal interest in and commitment to human rights and democratization in Africa.

an indication that the applicant would be likely to put the qualification to good use in his or her future career, preferably in his or her country of origin (the ‘multiplier effect’);
geographic representation(in the sense that an overrepresentation of students from a particular African country will be avoided, given the pan-African scope and ambitions of the programme);
gender representation (in the sense that an equitable balance between women and men is sought);

equitable representation of persons from vulnerable communities (such as persons with disabilities, persons belonging to indigenous communities and LGBTI persons).

Scholarship Duration and Reward

A limited number of up to 30 students are selected per year. Depending on the availability of funding, full-scholarships covering at least tuition, accommodation and official programme activities are covered for up to 25 citizens of Africa.
Students who do not receive scholarships may be admitted as self-funding or partial-self funding students, provided they meet all the minimum admission criteria and provided they guarantee payment of all or at least a significant part of tuition, accommodation and official programme activities, to an amount set by the Centre annually.

Required Documents for The University of Pretoria Scholarship

To apply, candidates for the University of Pretoria Scholarship must be ready to submit the following documents;

Previous academic records/transcripts

Previous degree certificate(s)
Copy of bio-data page of passport
A good quality photograph of yourself

For applicants who did not obtain their qualifications in English: TOEFL, SAT1 or IELTS Test certificate.

Method of Application

All complete applications, received in a particular year, are processed and considered by the LLM Programme Coordinator/Manager and the Academic Coordinator of the programme, who identify a number of eligible candidates three times the available positions.
Each applicant for the University of Pretoria Scholarship is then contacted and required to write an essay within a restricted period (for example, 24 hours) of being given the topic. Applicants may also be required to make a video or audio presentations or be interviewed.

On the basis of all the assessments, the Chair of the Council of Directors of the HRDA Programme, who is a representative of one of the partner faculties, scrutinizes the applications and makes a recommendation on the pre-selected students.
A final selection is made by the full Admissions Committee, consisting of the Chair of the Council of Directors of the LLM/MPhil Programme (if available), the Director of the Centre for Human Rights, the Assistant Director of the Centre for Human Rights, the LLM/MPhil Programme Coordinator/Manager and the Academic Coordinator of the HRDA Programme.
All applicants will be notified whether they were successful or not by 30 September 2023.