"ABAI VERN" PROGRAM

The "Abai-Vern" Scholarship Program is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic.

As part of this program, a competition is announced for awarding scholarships with no restrictions on the choice of specializations. A total of 45 scholarships are available for second-year master's students from Kazakhstani universities, and 5 scholarships for doctoral students working on dissertations under joint scientific supervision.

Eligibility Criteria for Master’s Scholarships:

  • Kazakhstani citizenship.
  • No age restrictions.
  • Enrollment in the second year of a master's program at a Kazakhstani university for the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year.
  • Invitation or confirmation of admission to a French university for a Master 1 or Master 2 program.
  • Enrollment in a dual diploma program is an advantage.

Eligibility Criteria for Doctoral Scholarships:

  • Kazakhstani citizenship.
  • No age restrictions.
  • Enrollment in the first year of a doctoral program at a Kazakhstani university for the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year, with preparation of a dissertation under joint scientific supervision.
  • Invitation or confirmation of admission to a French university for a first-year doctoral program.

Financial Conditions of the Program:

The "Abai-Vern" program scholarship recipients will receive:

  • A monthly living stipend of 800 euros per month for 10 months from September to June for master’s students, and 1500 euros per month for 6 months each year over 3 years for doctoral students (based on the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s exchange rate at the time of the university’s order).

  • A French government BCS social scholarship providing the following benefits:

    • Free long-term student visa to France (for reference: the visa fee for non-scholarship students is 99 euros).
    • Waiver of registration fees (required at most public French universities). For reference: registration fees for master’s students is 3770 euros per year, and for doctoral students is 380 euros per year. Additional costs may apply depending on the institution and diploma.
    • Access to student housing through CROUS (for reference: rent at a state university residence managed by CROUS ranges from 300 to 600 euros per month, while private sector rent ranges from 800 to 1000 euros per month).
    • Discounted meals (a full meal for 1 euro) in student cafeterias.
    • Free additional health insurance (for reference: 300 euros for non-scholarship students).
    • Information support from Campus France.

Note:

  • Students must cover their international travel expenses.
  • The "Abai-Vern" Master-1 scholarship is provided for one academic year only (from September 2024 to June 2025). If a student wishes to continue their studies in Master-2, they will need to cover their own tuition, living, and food expenses (for reference: students can apply to the French Embassy for a BCS social scholarship competition or seek a paid internship/job in France).
  • The status of "Abai-Vern" scholarship recipient exempts from the registration fee (frais d’inscription) at public French universities but does not cover tuition fees (frais de formation). If a student enrolls in a fee-paying program, they must provide the competition committee with proof of sufficient funds to cover their education.
  • Students are required to attend all classes; otherwise, the scholarship payment will be terminated.
  • If a student terminates their studies during the academic year at their own initiative (except in cases of force majeure), they must return all previously disbursed funds in full.

Candidate Dossier:

Candidates must provide:

  1. A letter of preliminary admission to a French university or research center for master's or doctoral programs. If the admission procedure is not yet complete, include a copy of the application.
  2. A resume in French or English, depending on the chosen program, as well as in Kazakh or Russian.
  3. A motivation letter in French or English, depending on the chosen program, as well as in Russian or Kazakh (one page, front side only).
  4. A copy of the first page of the passport.
  5. Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts starting from undergraduate studies.
  6. For candidates applying to French-language programs: proof of French language proficiency at least at B1 level (DELF, DALF, TCF). This requirement does not apply to those who have already studied in French.
  7. For candidates applying to English-language programs: proof of English language proficiency at least at B2 level (TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS). This requirement does not apply to those who have already studied in English.

Additional Requirements for Doctoral Candidates:

  1. A brief description of the research project (two pages in French or English depending on the language of the dissertation), with a review from the scientific supervisor, also in Kazakh or Russian.
  2. A list of published scientific works and publications (in English or French), also in Kazakh or Russian.
  3. A letter of recommendation from scientific supervisors in English or French (in free form), also in Kazakh or Russian.

Submission Instructions:

Deadline for submission: May 12, 2024, by 24:00. The candidate dossier in PDF format (maximum 10 MB) must be sent to the email address: abai.verne@gmail.com. ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE COMPILED INTO A SINGLE FILE named: For master’s programs: 2024Master_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME For doctoral programs: 2024PhD_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME

LASTNAME and FIRSTNAME must be written in Latin letters as in the passport.

Incomplete or non-compliant dossiers will not be considered.

Upon receipt of the dossier, candidates will receive confirmation.

Selection Committee:

Selection of candidates is carried out by a mixed Kazakh-French independent commission.

Announcement of Results:

Results of the competition will be published in early June 2024 on the website of the French Embassy in Kazakhstan: https://kz.ambafrance.org/

Additional Information:

Catalog of master’s programs: In English: http://taughtie.campusfrance.org/tiesearch/#/catalog In French: http://cataloguelm.campusfrance.org/master/#/catalog

Catalog of doctoral programs: https://doctorat.campusfrance.org/phd/dschools/main