RISP APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Note: the REF Scholarship Program is addressed exclusively to people of Roma ethnicity!

Dear Applicant,

Become an active member of the community of REF students!

  • Be an active supporter of the Roma community!
  • Contribute to the development of all the other components of the program!
  • Become an active member of our international Facebook Group!
  • Call YOUR country coordinator any time for any support related to your application.

The aim of the RISP scholarship is to promote the academic mobility of Roma students and support their academic integration internationally.


New introductions to 2021/2022 scholarship cycle application:

  1. In the upcoming academic cycle, the REF SP will only support the application of renewals!

RENEWAL APPLICANTS – students who received RISP scholarships in the previous academic year (2020-2021) and are applying to renew their scholarship application at the same academic level.

2. Recommendation letters, reference person contacts are no longer required or considered.

3. The Community Engagement Program becomes and active part of the program and will be coordinated by REF SP.

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 23rd, 2021!


NOTE | The application process for the REF Scholarship Program is conducted through an Online Application System. Starting this year, REF SP will be actively involved in the community and alumni development of the Roma students. The engagement service part of the SP will be organized by REF and will start after the contracting part


I. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

  1. Declare yourself openly Roma
  2. Renew your 2020/2021 applications
  3. REF SP renewal applicants in the situation of repeat year (students who received a REF scholarship in the previous academic year(s) and are applying to renew their scholarship for the same study year), are not eligible in the scholarship PROGRAM.
  4. REF can support an applicant through the RISP scheme for a maximum 8 years, as follows:
    1. one BA degree, for maximum 4 years in integrated study model, or for 3 years through the Bologna system; one Master degree, for maximum 1 year in integrated study model, and for maximum 2 years within Bologna system; one Doctorate degree, for maximum 3 years and only the first 3 years of the PhD studies; one Postdoctoral degree, for maximum one year.
    2. The grant amount under RISP can reach a maximum of 9,050 EUR /per academic year.
    3. The scholarship grant is meant to be used for one or more of the following purposes:
      1. Tuition and exam fees: first and most important expense category that REF will consider is to ensure tuition fee is secured, either covered in full by university or third party entities (i.e. sponsors, foundations, institutions, etc.), or matched with REF’s support;
      2. Living expenses: expenses other than tuition fees, in case tuition fee amount is secured  by any of the above-mentioned sources or combination;
      3. Other: travel/transportation academic books and materials, health insurance, etc.
        REF SP does not guarantee that the scholarship amount will cover partial or full tuition for a selected beneficiary.
  5. Only submitted, complete and compliant Online Application Form are considered eligible.

II. STAGES OF APPLICATION

STAGE ONE – APPLY in the Online Application System – Deadline October 23rd, 2021

→ STEP 1: completed (or updated) Personal Information (you may update)

→ STEP 2: completed (or updated) Survey (you may update)

→ STEP 3: access the List of Applications, select the chosen scholarship scheme, complete it, and submit it.

The Online Application System can be successfully submitted only if it is fully completed, and only if both STEP 1 and STEP 2 are fully completed as well.

NOTE – Students renewing their applications also need to revisit both sections and correct/modify the information as needed, to reflect properly on their current status.


Complete and compliant 
Online Application System contains:

  1. Written assignments
  2. Attached documents

STAGE TWO – Upload ENROLLMENT CERTIFICATE – Deadline December 6th, 2021

(uploaded as a maximum 5MB attachment to the OAS)

III. DECISION-MAKING MECHANISM

IV. COMMUNICATION OF SELECTION PROCESS OUTCOME

The Program communicates the outcomes of the selection process to the applicants via the e-mail address with which they registered their Online Application System account

Deadline November 30th, 2021

V. APPEAL MECHANISM / CONTESTATIONS at REFSP_contestations@romaeducationfund.org

The applicants have the possibility to contest the selection results of the Scholarship Program, within one month time from the moment of receiving the notification from the Program. Depending on the nature of appeals, REF SP may decide to defer them to an independent legal advisor/consultant.


DISCLAIMER

REF reserves the right to decline provision of support to any applicant whose conduct and /or affiliation with groups or other entities of which goals and activities are incompatible with the values and principles promoted by the Roma Education Fund and its pursued goals.

 Access the Online Application System