DataLab/School of Geosciences Scholarships in GIS

Award

One fully funded scholarship towards tuition fees. 

Additionally, the recipient will be entitled and required to attend training and networking events provided by the Data Lab for all its scholarship recipients throughout Scotland.  This is an important and valuable training and networking opportunity exclusively for Data Lab scholars.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from Scottish resident students commencing the taught MSc in Geographical Information Science at the University of Edinburgh in 2024-2025. 

The full scholarship is available for a student who meets the Scottish Government’s Residency conditions i.e., are an “ordinary resident” in Scotland.  Only students who have right to live and work in the UK *AND* whose ordinary place of residence has been in Scotland for at least three years (not in full-time education) can apply for these MSc scholarships. EU citizens who have not received pre-settlement status are no longer eligible to apply.

You can refer to the Student Awards Agency website for guidance to confirm your eligibility:

Link – www.SAAS.gov.uk  

This scholarship is for new students commencing in the academic year 2024-2025.  Applicants who have already commenced their programme of study on the closing date are not eligible.  Applicants intending to study part-time are not eligible for this scholarship.  Funding cannot be extended and funded places may not be deferred.  Transfer of this scholarship to another programme is not permitted.

Criteria

Applicants must have, or expect to obtain, the international equivalent of a UK 2:1 Honours degree at undergraduate level, or have a 2.2 and at least 3 years’ professional working experience of using GIS.

• The applicant must provide a one-page Personal Statement which must explain their interest in the data science aspects of GIScience, and outline how the scholarship will help further the applicant’s personal career ambitions in the broad area of spatial data science.
• By accepting this scholarship the recipient agrees to select a minimum of 2 of the following courses as part of their Masters in GIS Degree programme at Edinburgh University:  Data Mining & Exploration; Advanced Spatial Database Methods; Object-Oriented Software Engineering (spatial algorithms).  

Please note:

• Recipients of Data Lab scholarships will be required to attend additional training and networking events in data science organised by the Data Lab for all their scholars throughout Scotland.  It is a condition of receiving the funding that scholars participate in these additional events, details of which will be issued by the Data Lab when the scholarships are awarded.   It is estimated that the total commitment a recipient must dedicate to the Data Lab programme will be approximately 50 hours spread across the duration of their studies.

Applying

Applicants who have received a conditional or unconditional offer who meet the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply.  Applicants with conditional offers will only be valid to receive the scholarship once they receive an unconditional offer. 

Eligible applicants must email their Personal Statement to the Programme Director of the Masters (MSc) in GIS:

• Dr Zhiqiang Feng (Email: zhiqiang.feng@ed.ac.uk )

The deadline for applying is 23:59 BST 8th August 2024.

Notification

A Selection Committee will meet to select the recipient and all applicants will be notified of the outcome, with results expected by late August 2024.

After the recipient has been shortlisted, they must then confirm their course choices and acceptance of any terms and conditions required by the Data Lab before their funding is confirmed.

Successful recipients will be exempt from paying the deposit fee; if an applicant has already paid the deposit fee, this will be fully refunded to the student once the programme starts.