Help yourself

Help yourself

Guide to applying to Europe and the UK for MA and PhD

Authors: Dear colleagues

Many universities and charitable foundations have launched programs to help Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian college women forced to flee from hostilities or from dictatorial regimes that began hostilities. There are also more global programs to help scientists who are at risk of political persecution and whose safety is at risk.

In the new material, volunteers from “Dear Colleagues” (PhD students in the UK) and a student from Mastricht will tell you how to look for a suitable educational program in Europe and the UK.

1. Select your area of ​​study

First of all, you need to understand what you want to do. Master's programs tend to be quite specialized, such as International Security or Cognitive Neuroscience. Even if a program has a broad specialization like Social Anthropology, it will be helpful to know what a particular university specializes in and what specific courses are offered in that program. The more courses in a program that match your academic interests, the more likely it is that your application will be considered.

Anya Shchetvina, research master's student Cultures of Art, Science and Technology at the University of Maastricht:

“I completed my bachelor’s degree at HSE, when there was still a separate and independent School of Cultural Studies. To enter Maastricht, you had to show motivation, knowledge and experience, rather than specific topics that interest you (it is important to understand them when choosing a program). It was a little scary that cultural studies education would not be enough here - knowledge in sociology, media studies or STS was needed. But in reality, everything is not so complicated. There are people studying with me in the program who radically changed their profile - for example, they completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry or cultural economics. For admission, it was important to show that a person already has the basic knowledge to master a master’s program without skimming over the very basics - to show a list of courses taken in an undergraduate degree, online electives, or other sources of knowledge. During the program itself, we are encouraged to study different topics so that, while we have the opportunity, we can try different things and understand which topic is more interesting.”

Graduate programs (PhD) are even more specialized. For admission to graduate school, applicants are often required to prepare a brief description of their original research project and consent from the potential supervisor. Therefore, if you have a suitable professor in mind, do not hesitate to write to him or her and indicate that you would like to work together. You may be advised to refine your research proposal, talk about funding sources (more on this later), or refer you to specialists who are doing something closer to your project.

It is completely normal to ask questions about the programs you are considering applying to. This shows that you are an interested applicant and allows you to receive first-hand recommendations for admission.

Sonya Anisimova, PhD student, School of History, University of St. Andrews:

“When I applied for my PhD, I already had an idea for a specific research project - in the UK it is common practice that if you apply for a PhD, you submit a research plan as part of your application. I sent this project to five different professors whose research interests coincided with mine and who could supervise my project. Not all of them agreed, but they all shared their thoughts on how to improve my proposal and who else I could contact with it. I wrote to one very famous professor, from whom I did not even expect an answer. But in the end, he responded and liked my project so much that he became my supervisor and helped me look for funding. Do not hesitate to write to even the most eminent professors, especially if you have the same scientific interests as them!”

However, avoid mass mailings of the same messages to all universities and professors whose work seems somewhat interesting to you. It looks rude and hurts your chances of getting accepted.

Some people consider studying abroad a relatively simple way to move to a foreign country. This method is especially relevant now, in connection with Russia’s war against Ukraine, when many are forced to leave their homes and change their field of activity. Studying at a university can help restart your career and settle in a new country, but it will require significant effort and time. Application preparation and exams take at least several weeks, but the longest process is finding the right program.

Sonya Anisimova: “My process of applying for a PhD took almost a year. For about three months I wrote a research proposal - a brief summary of my research project: the research question, its relevance, potential difficulties with implementation and a brief review. In fact, many universities do not ask for such a detailed project (usually an application requires a proposal of 1000-1500 words), but it helped me show future academic supervisors and grantors that I take my project seriously and have already started working on it. Typically, you only need to write a good, complete application once. Then you will only slightly edit and reassemble it to fit the requirements of a particular university or grant.”

Now many universities are ready to help and simplify application procedures for refugees and war fighters from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. For example, the Free University of Brussels (ULB ), the Central European University (CEU) and University College London (UCL) . Unfortunately, many of these opportunities are short-term (help or fellowship for a few months). But still, the presence of such opportunities means that universities are in solidarity with the victims and are ready to provide assistance with admission.

For many applicants, the issue of funding is key and largely determines the countries and universities to which they apply. For example, in the UK, university tuition is paid and for foreign students the price is on average twice as high as for British citizens. At the same time, there are practically no scholarships for master's programs. The exception is the Chevening program, funded by the British government (it is unknown whether Chevening will continue to operate for candidates from Russia and Belarus in the next academic year).

In many EU countries, such as Germany or France, training is free or relatively inexpensive. In addition, there are scholarships for international students to help cover living expenses while studying. However, it is worth paying attention to the language requirements. There are usually fewer English-language programs, and they do not exist in all areas of study or may be paid.

Postgraduate programs (PhD) are more individualized. Funding for training can come from the university itself or from an external fund. Since the graduate program will vary depending on your supervisor and the specific university, it is worth discussing funding options with your supervisors and admissions team before submitting your application. Typically, there are two types of expenses for graduate school funding: tuition fees and a stipend to cover daily living expenses (apartment/food/transportation) (maintenance fees). However, in some countries where there is a difference in tuition costs for local and international students, many tuition grants may only cover the cost of tuition for local students. In this case, foreign students will have to cover the difference (which is sometimes very significant) on their own, sometimes at the expense of their monthly living stipend. International students should apply for several scholarships from universities and foundations at once to increase their chances of receiving one or even several and covering all their tuition and living expenses.

Olya Doletskaya, PhD student at University College London (UCL):

“I applied for a PhD twice, at first I was accepted into the program, but they didn’t give me funding, so I had to apply again the next year. There were a lot of mistakes the first time, but the main one was that I only applied to one university. The second time I prepared much better and applied for 15 scholarships at three universities. As a result, I was given one partial funding (UK tuition fees only) at the University of Liverpool. I was ready to go there even under these conditions and hope to find a job in the process, but then at the last moment they gave me a full scholarship to UCL, and I chose them. My potential research assistants also helped me a lot; they read my applications, recommended sources, and consulted with colleagues whose students were already receiving such scholarships. In general, you definitely shouldn’t despair if you are not accepted the first time; applying for a PhD is often a two-year process.”

Anya Shchetvina: “Most master’s programs in the Netherlands are in English. There are many scholarships that can be combined. I am a student on the Orange Tulip Scholarship, which covers my tuition fees. One of my classmates won a scholarship that covered all expenses - studies, housing, moving, money for everyday expenses. The most difficult thing financially for me was raising money for a visa - if your scholarship is incomplete, you need to confirm in advance that you have money for a year of living in the country. In 2020 it was almost a million rubles, a huge amount for me. Fortunately, everything was found. But there are also many full scholarships, and getting one is quite possible.
The teaching load is very small compared to HSE, and during my studies I worked remotely in Russia at the same time. Now that coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, it is not difficult to find part-time work in the city. The university has a good career center that helps you create a resume, study the labor market and understand your desires and capabilities.”

Those affected by the war (primarily citizens of Ukraine, but also in some cases of Russia and Belarus) may receive additional opportunities when seeking funding. You can find out about them on the websites of universities or specialized foundations. We try to collect such opportunities and publish them in our channel: https://t.me/dorogiekollegi

You can find a suitable program, firstly, on the website of the universities you are interested in. Perhaps you went on exchange to some university and liked your studies there? Maybe you have colleagues from a university with a research center or laboratory with interests close to yours? First of all, look for programs on their websites. Don't hesitate to apply to prestigious universities. Our experience shows that many candidates from Ukraine/Russia/Belarus often underestimate their applications, which are quite competitive for admission to a European university.

Sonya Anisimova: “I’m probably not a representative example, because I realized early on that I had a topic that I really wanted to study - the history of the First World War. Therefore, when I was looking for a scientific supervisor, I literally wrote to the authors of books and articles that I read in order to write my research proposal. But this advice can work even for those who don’t yet really know what they want to do. Maybe there was an article that you read in undergraduate school and it stuck with you - look who wrote it, what university the author is based at, maybe there is some kind of research center where they study the topic that interests you?

Secondly, if you have already roughly decided on the country/countries where you want to go to study, you can use national program search systems. For example, the main website for international students in France is called CampusFrance . It has all the useful information about the application process for training, scholarships and a catalog of the programs themselves. For many European programs, there are aggregators FindAMasters and MastersPortal , which can redirect you to the website of the university of interest.

University websites are the main source of information about study programs. As a rule, applications for places in master's/postgraduate programs are also completed online through university websites (although in some countries, for example in France, documents are submitted through single portals, the university website still remains the main help and source of information).

If your final level of education was completed in a language other than English, in most cases English-language programs will require an IELTS, TOEFL or other similar language proficiency test. You usually need to pass it with a certain score (this depends on the program you are applying for, so check the requirements on the university website). Due to the war and the inability to pass exams in Ukraine, most universities have announced that certificates can be sent closer to the start date of studies. To do this, it makes sense to write to the Admissions Office of the program you are interested in and find out all the details. IELTS and TOEFL tests in Russia have been suspended due to sanctions.

Also, many universities (eg CEU ) accept Duolingo certificates. The list of such universities is constantly expanding.

As a rule, universities require two letters of recommendation from applicants entering master's/postgraduate programs. Try to choose those teachers or colleagues who really know you and can give a good recommendation (not just the teachers with whom you took the same course 3 years ago). Letters of recommendation look good with examples from shared work experience, specific stories highlighting the qualities that will be required when studying in the program. Your reference's status matters less than his or her experience working with you. Often, recommenders may not find the time, energy, or speak a foreign language well enough to write recommendations themselves. Although this is not an ideal situation, sometimes you will have to write your own letters of recommendation or translate them from Russian.

Please note that for many programs, recommenders must upload their letters themselves - sometimes a scan of the letter on the official university letterhead is enough, sometimes universities ask you to fill out a more detailed online form.

Anya Shchetvina: “I asked for letters of recommendation from researchers from HSE and foreign universities who worked with me. For example, a letter of recommendation was written for me by a researcher from the University of Manchester. When asking for a recommendation, it is best to describe in detail what you need to see in the letter and what program you are applying to. In many ways this is a formality, and teachers/researchers understand this. Don't be afraid to ask for it: this is primarily a document, not an assessment of you as a person. You can ask your academic supervisor, research assistant, or teacher for whom you worked as a teaching or research assistant for a letter of recommendation.”

Anya Shchetvina: “I was worried when I submitted applications and was inattentive. Therefore, I sent an empty PDF form to one of the universities, not noticing that my data was not saved in it. If you're worried, ask someone close to you to double-check everything before sending it. Proofread everything for mistakes, use Grammarly. Another good option is to contact a student or alumni of the program you are applying to and ask to look at your motivation letter. I think my big mistake was that I thought the university would be doing me a favor if they accepted me. This means you need to promote yourself and your skills as desperately as possible. In fact, it’s best to be calm and honest, to describe your situation, desires and expectations in a measured and straightforward manner.”

Applications for master's and postgraduate programs are quite lengthy. Many universities require you to provide not only a resume, but also cover letters of 1000-2000 words. Ask your friend and colleagues to read your application. It is worth contacting those who know the language in which the application is written well and can correct spelling and grammatical errors and suggest stylistic or organizational corrections. The readability of your text is very important - a well-written application leaves a good impression and makes you a more attractive candidate. We can help with this too - write to us in the “Dear Colleagues” bot!