For who

Female students who wish to follow, and meet the admission criteria for, the Master of Laws: Advanced Studies programme in International Children’s Rights.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for this scholarship you must: 

• be a female national of South Africa.
• lack the financial means to follow the study programme without the assistance of a scholarship.
• be highly motivated to follow the Master of Laws Advanced Studies programme in International Children’s Rights.

Note: Applicants from disadvantaged families and families depending on social assistance schemes are given priority

Obligations

After graduation, scholarship recipients are expected to use the knowledge gained in the degree programme to further the rights of children in South African and the African continent.

Exclusions

You cannot be awarded a Graça Machel scholarship if:

• you have already obtained another scholarship from Leiden University (e.g. one of the Children’s Rights scholarships or the LExS scholarship).
• you will follow a study programme other than the Master of Laws Advanced Studies programme in International Children’s Rights at Leiden University.

Scholarship amount

There are two scholarships available, each of  €30,000. The scholarship covers the tuition fee of €18,800 plus housing and living expenses. The duration of the scholarship is one year.

Non EU/EEA scholarship recipients will be issued with a scholarship letter that can be used to demonstrate sufficient funds for living expenses and tuition fees, for the purpose of their student visa/residence permit application.

Application process

1. Submit an online application for admission to the Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights. Do not forget to include an English test result. 
2. In your online application, upload an additional letter of motivation for the Graça Machel scholarship in which you briefly explain: 
   • your financial situation and why you are unable to follow the programme without a scholarship;
   • the circumstances that may underline the fact that you are from a disadvantaged family;
   • your leadership qualities; 
   • your reasons for wishing to follow the study programme;
   • how you are going to use the degree to further the rights of children in South African and the African continent.
3. After submitting your online application, send an e-mail to the programme coordinator via childrensrights@law.leidenuniv.nl indicating your interest in the scholarship and attaching your scholarship motivation letter. 
4. Await notification of whether you must pay the €100 application fee. The first ten scholarship applicants will be exempted from paying the application fee. After submitting your application, you will be notified by email whether you still need to pay the application fee. 
   
   Note that your scholarship application will only be processed after you have submitted your application for admission via Leiden University’s online application portal (uSis); and have paid the application fee if you are notified that this is required.  

Selection process

Candidates for the scholarship are selected by the Admission Board of the programme. We reserve the right to interview shortlisted candidates. The scholarship winner will be announced on 3 May 2021.

Background

The Graça Machel scholarship is funded by the Leiden Nelson Mandela Fund.

Additional information

• If you must take an English test as part of the application procedure, the cost of this test is not covered by the scholarship. 
• Applicants with a South African Matric (National Senior Certificate) are exempted from submitting an English test only if they have taken English as 'Home/First language'. 

Further information

Contact Ms. Esther Uiterweerd, Programme Coordinator Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights, via: childrensrights@law.leidenuniv.nl

Disclaimer

The student is responsible for submitting a complete application for admission to Leiden University before the deadline mentioned above. Leiden University cannot be held responsible for late and/or incomplete applications.