Cambridge University Reporter


Kennedy Scholarships

HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Please note that the closing date has passed. Next year's timetable is likely to be similar.

A Fund was set up in Great Britain by public subscription in 1965 to commemorate President John F. Kennedy. A Memorial was created at Runnymede in perpetuity; and, in addition, scholarships from Britain to the United States are offered to United Kingdom graduates annually.

The Scholarships are tenable at Harvard or MIT. Boston was President Kennedy's home and he attended Harvard his University where his name is honoured in the Kennedy School of Government.

Prospectus for 2008-09

Kennedy Scholarships, tenable for one year, will be awarded for the academical year 2008-09 at Harvard University and MIT. In certain circumstances, students who are applying for Ph.D. or two year Masters' programmes may be considered for extra funding to help support a second year of study, but normally the two institutions will provide ongoing funding for students admitted to their Ph.D. programmes.

Candidates must, at the same time as applying for a Kennedy Scholarship, make a separate and independent application for admission direct to Harvard or MIT. Lists of the addresses of admissions offices are available from the Secretary of the Trust or on the Harvard and MIT websites, http://www.harvard.edu/ and http://www.MIT.edu/. A Kennedy Scholarship provides funding, but except in the situations described below, does not carry automatic admission to Harvard or MIT.

Candidates wishing to study as non-degree students at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard will gain automatic admission on being awarded a Scholarship, but they will be required to complete the necessary Kennedy School application forms. Applicants who are selected as Kennedy Scholars and who wish to study as Special Students on the Technology and Policy Program at MIT will gain automatic admission upon their subsequent application to this program.

Eligible for awards are British citizens at the time of application who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and who have been educated in a British school and institute of higher education at least from the age of 16 up to the completion of their first degree. (Applications cannot be accepted from persons already in the United States.)

Candidates must (a) already be graduates of a United Kingdom university, or university college (applicants who graduated before 2005 will not be eligible), or (b) currently be studying for a first or higher degree and have spent two of the last five years at a UK university or college. Applicants who are studying for a first degree must be due to graduate in the academical year 2007-08. (Marriage is not a bar to the award of Scholarship, but there is no financing for a spouse.)

In awarding Scholarships, the Trustees will take into consideration intellectual ability, personal and communication skills, wider interests and attainments, the focus and value of the candidate's proposed study at Harvard or MIT, and capacity for future influence and leadership.

Candidates intending to apply to the Kennedy School of Government for admission to the MPA or MPP programmes are advised to contact Anna Mason at the Kennedy Trust office (020 7222 1151) for guidance.

Awards will not be made to postdoctoral candidates who wish to pursue further research in their own field.

Conditions

Scholars will be required to devote the major part of their time to study in one of the Faculties of the University to which they are admitted. They may be registered on a degree programme or study as a Special Student or (where applicable) as a Visiting Fellow.

Scholars will receive a stipend equivalent to $20,000 (to cover living costs, any special equipment needed, and some travel within the United States). Scholars are expected to spend part of their summer vacation in the United States after the end of the academical year. Students may apply for an additional grant of $1,500 to pay for travel at this time. Airfares to and from the United States will be paid for by the Trustees, and tuition fees will be paid direct to the Institution concerned.

Applications

Application forms are available from University and College authorities or from the Trust at 3 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW1H 9JJ (tel. 020 7222 1151). It will also be possible to download the application form from the Trust's website http://www.kennedytrust.org.uk/.

Candidates should submit one original form, legibly written in black and in its original format, along with six photocopies. Attached to each form should be a short, type written essay giving an account (which MUST NOT exceed 1,000 words) of their academic pursuits, general activities, and intellectual interests, plus reasons for wishing to study in the United States, choice of course and institution, and plans for the future.

Referees and testimonials

The forms call for the names of two persons as referees. The first referee should have supervised academically the candidate's university studies; and his or her confidential reference is to come forward with the candidate's application papers.

The second referee may be non-academic but should be familiar with the candidate's performance at university and afterwards. The referee should be asked by the candidate to send forward a confidential reference direct to the Secretary of the Kennedy Memorial Trust by 2 November 2007.

Interviews and selection

Selected candidates will be invited for interview in London on the 7 or 8 January 2008. They will be required to produce a birth certificate, or other nationality papers. Those awarded Scholarships will be asked to provide a medical certificate.

Candidates selected to receive Scholarships will be notified by the end of January, but confirmation of the award cannot be made until April or May when admission to Harvard or MIT has been granted.

Please note that it is not possible for the Trustees to provide candidates with detailed comments on unsuccessful applications.

Entries

The application forms and accompanying essays should be sent to the Head of the University College or the Vice-Chancellor of the university of which the candidate is or has been a student, not later than 19 October 2007.

Heads of Colleges, Vice-Chancellors, or Principals are requested to transmit the application forms and accompanying essays in respect of those candidates whom their university or college is prepared to recommend, in order of preference if possible, together with their own confidential report and recommendation in addition to the references from the academic supervisors. Transmission should be made to the Secretary, Kennedy Memorial Trust, 3 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London, SW1H 9JJ, not later than 2 November 2007.