Development Awards to study at Masters by coursework or research and a small number of PhDs are available for 2012 intake to:

1. employees of the Government of Bangladesh*
2. employees of ICDDR,B
3. employees of BRAC,
4. ethnic minority communities across Bangladesh.

*Please note: Preference will be given to candidates from departments aligned with AusAID country priorities. Public university employees are not eligible.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

1. be a citizen of Bangladesh;
2. not have Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residence status, or be in the process of applying;
3. not be married or engaged to be married to a person who holds or who is eligible to hold Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residence status;
4. have achieved an overall International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of at least 6.5, with no individual band less than 6 with the results no longer than two years prior to the date of application. Female, disabled and ethnic minority community candidates with IELTS score of 6.0 with no individual band less than 5.5 will be considered.
5. or, the equivalent level of TOEFL as outlined below with the results no longer than two years prior to the date of application-

o a TOEFL paper-based test score of at least 580, or
o a TOEFL computer-based test score of at least 237, or
o a TOEFL Internet-based score of at least 92.

6. satisfy all requirements of the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship;
7. not have held a foreign scholarship in the 24 months preceding application; 8. have a university qualification at least equivalent in standard to an Australian Bachelor’s degree;
9. be less than 40 years old at the time of applying (female applicants from GoB will be accepted up to 45 years of age);
10. be a current, employee of the Government of Bangladesh*, ICDDR,B, BRAC or member of an ethnic minority community;
11. have at least two years work experience in a field relevant to their proposed course of study;
12. satisfy admission requirements of the institution at which the Development Award is to be taken;

Masters applicants must select a program no longer than 2 years in duration;

PhD applicants must also provide evidence of conditional offer of admission in an appropriate course at an eligible Australian institution for full time studies commencing in 2012.

Applicants are encouraged to carefully consider course selection before applying. Apart from exceptional circumstances, AusAID will not consider requests to change a selected course.

Awardees are required:

1. to sign a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia declaring they will comply with the conditions of the scholarship;

2. to return to Bangladesh for at least two years after completing their scholarship, to contribute to economic and social development of the country. Failure to do so will incur a debt to the Commonwealth of Australia for the total value of the scholarship; and

3. to meet all requirements of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Failure to satisfy visa requirements within the required time frame will result in the scholarship being withdrawn. শিক্ষা সংক্রান্ত খবরাখবর নিয়মিত পেতে রেজিস্ট্রেশন করুন অথবা Log In করুন।

Account Benefit

Applicants must first check if they are eligible to apply for a scholarship. Eligibility criteria for Development Awards are detailed above.
Applicants should download the Scholarships Handbook and read its contents carefully. Handbooks are available at: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/publications.cfm .
They should also read the Bangladesh Country Profile available at: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/pdf/bangladesh.pdf.
When selecting a course, applicants must first check the participating institutes/universities listed at http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/ads-institutions.cfm. Applicants may then go to http://cricos.dest.gov.au and to individual university websites to search for a suitable course.

Applicants must ensure that:

1. the course aligns with identified Priority Development Themes for Bangladesh for respective target cohorts;
2. if applying for a Masters degree, the course should be no longer than 2 years and comprising either coursework or coursework with a research component;
3. if applying for a Doctoral program, the course should be for a maximum duration of 4 years;
4. the course will enable them to contribute to poverty alleviation and sustainable development of Bangladesh when completed and they return to the country;
5. they satisfy all enrolment requirements specified by a university, including English language proficiency requirements.

The selection process is open and transparent. The 9 key steps in the processes are:

1. Intake opens – 11 March 2011
2. Submit applications with necessary supporting documents
3. Intake closes 31 May 2011
4. Compliance checks
5. Short listing, interviews and ranking of applications
6. SASP seeks university placement
7. Immigration / visa and health clearances
8. Pre-departure briefing and mobilization
9. In-Australia support.

For more details, Please visit, www.southasiascholarship.org/ or contact the following address below;

South Asia Scholarships Program (SASP)
Coffey International Development - Liaison Office
5th Floor, Plot # 4, Road # 12 Block-J, Baridhara ,
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh
Tel: (880) 28826154, Mobile: (880) 1730338495