Beit scholarship application form
Beit Trust Postgraduate Scholarships
In 2024, the Trust awarded 21 Scholarships at British and South African universities, by means of generous academic partnerships with leading institutions.
Beit Trust Scholarships are for Postgraduate degrees only. We do not provide scholarships for undergraduate work and our postgraduate focus is on Masters Degrees.
We do not offer scholarships for Ph.D. research ab initio. Only under exceptional circumstances, and for Beit scholars of outstanding merit, will the Trustees consider extending support to Ph.D. level.
The next round of Beit Scholarships to be awarded is for the academic year beginning September 2025 for universities in the UK; and January 2026 for universities in South Africa.
The application process will open 23 September 2024.
Beit-Leeds Scholars, past and present; the Chairman and other Beit Trust members; and Leeds University staff: Leeds, March 2024
Eligibility Requirements
Please read this section carefully. It will have a material effect on how your application is sifted and therefore on your chances of obtaining a Beit Scholarship.
By Act of Parliament, the Beit Trust supports ONLY applicants who are nationals of Zambia, Zimbabwe or Malawi, who are permanent residents, live there and/or intend to return to their country after their studies.
The following criteria are all considered when assessing your application:
- Academic Capability: we look first at those with a Distinction or Merit (Upper Second Class) in their undergraduate degree. Those with Lower Second Class or Credit/Pass degrees, while not ineligible to apply, will struggle to beat the competition. We understand, however, that some medical degrees are not graded in this way.
- Those who already hold a postgraduate degree are likely only in the most exceptional cases to be considered for a Beit Postgraduate Scholarship. The Trust usually decides to offer the opportunity to worthy candidates who do not already have a postgraduate qualification.
- Professional Work Experience: important in the award of a scholarship. This should be relevant to the proposed field of study. As a guide, at least three years’ work experience, backed by a positive employer’s reference, can boost an application. The Trust values work experience in itself, but also as an index to leadership potential in your chosen field.
- Voluntary Work: our application form asks about this, as evidence of pro bono engagement with your community. This is not however essential, and is not in itself a sufficient alternative to professional work experience.
- Leadership Qualities: these are important to the Trust, as an indication of your ability to contribute to economic and social uplift, to the benefit of the people of your country.
- References: these help us make a rounded assessment of you on paper. Referees are most effective when they can point to evidence-based examples of leadership, achievement and professional potential beyond the ordinary.
- Relevance of your course of study: the Trust’s focus is on developmental academic disciplines: i.e. those which contribute to the advancement of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi in fields such as medicine, health, engineering, education, economic growth, agriculture and conservation. These categories are not exhaustive. If you have a question about the developmental nature of your degree choice, please email us before applying at scholarships@beittrust.org.uk
- The Trust does not consider applications for MBAs.
- Return to your own country: your stated willingness to do this is important.
- Choice of university: you must apply only within our partner universities, listed in the next section. Applying for more than one provides a better chance of selection.
- Doctors and Vets should have completed 18 months of internship and at least a one-year posting in country. Experience in rural practice is especially welcome.
- The Trust cannot consider applications from those who have already begun a course.
Beit Joint University Partnerships
The Beit Trust has partnership agreements with the universities below. This enables the Trust to share costs, and to increase the number of scholarships it can fund. For this reason, only applicants with acceptances from the universities listed below will be eligible for Beit Trust Scholarships. Applicants must first apply to, and be accepted by, a Beit Partner University before applying to the Trust for a scholarship.
The universities offer a one-year taught Master’s in the UK; and a two-year taught Master’s in South Africa. Both have a research dimension and the applicant must have obtained Honours (First or Upper Second or equivalent) at undergraduate level.
The following partnerships allow us to award joint scholarships: e.g. Beit-Cambridge, Beit-UCT, etc., and may change from time to time.
Please note that applications to St Andrews (2 places only) are solely for Computer Science; while applications to Strathclyde (1 place only) are solely for Engineering disciplines.
The Trust is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of Pretoria for the new South African academic year beginning January 2025.
Partner Universities in the United Kingdom
Click active links on University logos, to access postgraduate admission information.
Partner Universities in South Africa
What does a Beit Trust Postgraduate Scholarship Cover?
- Fees, tuition costs and related academic expenses. These are paid by the Trust direct to the Partner Universities.
- A personal allowance, index-linked in accordance with guidance from an independent authority, covering maintenance support.
- Other allowances are paid for arrival, a laptop and departure.
- Economy Class tickets are provided for the initial journey to the place of study, and on final return.
- No allowances can be paid for spouses and other family members or dependants.
How to apply for a Beit Postgraduate Scholarship
For UK Partner University applications:
- Make your application for admission directly to one or more of the Partner Universities listed above, and only to those universities. Please apply via their websites, which will guide you.
- Notify the relevant university, where applicable, that you will be approaching the Beit Trust for scholarship funding.
- As long as the course/s you wish to pursue are available, you may apply to more than one Partner University at a time. Indeed, we recommend you do so, to increase your chances of acceptance, and to broaden the scholarship opportunities available.
- Once you have an offer from your chosen Partner University, you should apply as early as possible to the Beit Trust for a scholarship.
- Your application, with all the supporting documents, must be uploaded via the Scholarship application link.
- You need three referees: Academic, Character and Employer (as appropriate). They have separate and individual forms, the link for which must be forwarded to them by you, the applicant. The link becomes available once you have submitted your scholarship application form electronically.
- We prefer referees to use the link provided in the application form. If, however, they can only provide their reference by email, please forward them the relevant forms, which you can download below.
The completed forms must be returned directly from the referee via email to scholarships@beittrust.org.uk
For South African Partner University applications:
Due to the South African University application process opening after our Scholarship application deadline of 7 February 2025 , we will accept scholarship applications for South African Universities for the year 2026/2027 without a confirmed offer .
Please follow steps 3 to 7 above. Where you are asked to upload your university offer letter, please provide instead the details of the courses and universities that you will be applying for, in PDF format. Your scholarship application will then be considered alongside the applicants for UK universities, as part of the same entry year cohort.
The Trust will sift your application as part of our selection process. If you are successful and shortlisted for an interview, you will go to the relevant Beit Trust national scholarship board.
If you are then offered a scholarship from the Trust – and not all those selected for interview receive an offer – you will then need to apply for entry to a South African Partner University (as set out in our website). You may indicate in your application that you have been awarded a Beit Scholarship.
Should you get an offer, we ask that you submit it to us as soon as you receive it. Should you not be successful in obtaining an offer, the scholarship will not, unfortunately, be available to you.
