To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the popular IELTS test, the British Council has launched the British Council IELTS scholarship to help more people access the international education experience. This scholarship is for people planning to attend an undergraduate or postgraduate programme outside Vietnam.
There are two levels of award:
- Up to three successful applicants will each receive a scholarship to the value of 85,000,000 Vietnamese dong (£2,500).
- Up to three scholars with the top scores from the whole of the East Asia region* will each receive a scholarship to the value of 850,000,000 Vietnamese dong (£25,000).
Scholarship payments will be made directly to the higher educational institution the scholar plans to attend, in order to assist with their tuition fees.
*East Asia region includes Burma, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Eligible applicants must have an IELTS test score from the British Council. IELTS [International English Language Testing System] is the world’s leading English language test designed to evaluate ability to communicate in English for education, immigration and professional accreditation worldwide.
“IELTS is an international English proficiency test that puts people first, and there is no better way of underlining this than helping more people realise their aspirations and access to international educational opportunities,” says Greg Selby, Director of Examinations British Council, East Asia. “To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we are launching the British Council IELTS 25th Anniversary Scholarship 2014 in 12 cities across East Asia, awarding a total of 57 local scholarships worth £2,500 each, and three regional scholarships worth £25,000 each, to individuals pursuing further education either locally or overseas.”
Ms. Dinh Ngoc Thuy, British Council IELTS Scholar 2011, with a PhD in English as an International Language at Monash University said: ‘For me, the value of this scholarship is significant. It is an honour, lifting up my confidence and strengthening my motivation.
'During the time I studied in Australia, the title of ‘British Council IELTS scholar’ always reminded me of the unfailing efforts of my family, friends, colleagues, teachers and institutions. I also had the support from the British Council which through the competition helped prepare me with the necessary ‘package’ to be an overseas student and keep track of my progress.
'The honour, pride, confidence and constant endeavours, that the scholarship built up in me, play a very important part in my academic journey and I am absolutely sure both the IELTS test and the IELTS scholarship will always push many Vietnamese learners of English to try harder to obtain an ‘important ticket’ in the globalised open era like today’.
Award winners must begin their courses at any overseas university, college, or institution in the academic year 2014/15. This institution must use IELTS as part of its admission requirements. Because IELTS is accepted by over 6,000 institutions in 125 countries worldwide, university choice is very wide. In the US alone, over 3,000 institutions and programmes accept IELTS. Along with the rise in the number of US institutions accepting IELTS, the number of IELTS test takers globally increased to over two million in 2013.