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Dear Candidate
I have pleasure in enclosing details of the ORS Awards scheme 2002 competition and an application form. Please note carefully the following points, which are essential for the smooth processing of your application for this award:
1. Read all the notes in the booklet and on page 4 of the form. Complete all sections of the form (EXCEPT the certificate on page 1) clearly in black ink or typeface. A selection committee of senior Professors scrutinises the applications for a shortlist, so good presentation is very important.
2. Do not attach anything other than a transcript of your student record (see note 9 on the application form). The form must be the original not a photocopy, and should contain all the information you wish to give. Pasted cuttings or staples are not acceptable.
3. First Reference: The College sends a special form to referees on receipt of your application. The first referee is asked specific questions about your first degree studies and ranking in class and must therefore be a teacher with direct knowledge of your undergraduate degree course work.
4. Second referee: this must be the Head of Department or (agreed) supervisor of your research work at Imperial College, and you should contact the relevant Department direct for advice if necessary.
5. Admission: you must have applied for admission as a postgraduate research student by 1 March 2002. This will involve completion of a form PG1 indicating your area of research interest and will include other requirements, in order that yow eligibility for admission and suitability can be confirmed. Please contact Admissions, tel;+44 (0) 20- 7594 8014, fax: +44 (0) 20-7594 8004 e-mail: adiRiisioas@ic4ic.uk for an application pack or see the website: http://wwwJffi4K.Bk if you have not already done so.
6. The closing date for ORS application to Imperial College is 2 April 2002. We must receive your ORS 1 form by this date and cannot consider applications received later. Applicants who are applying from overseas should ensure the form is sent by AIRMAIL and allow sufficient time for it to reach us by 2 April 2002. If sent by fax, original documents must follow within one week.
7. The decision of the Universities UK Selection Committee is final and there is no appeal procedure. As this is a partial fee-support scheme only, you should be sure that you have sufficient funds for the balance of fees and your maintenance.
8. If you have any queries please contact the Scholarships Section (telephone +44 (0) 20-7594 8023 or e-mail: f.ettoubi@ic.ac.uk or h.bell@ic.ac.uk).
9. We look forward to receiving your application.
David Atkins
Senior Assistant Registrar (Admissions)
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IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
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This booklet sets out the general conditions governing ORS awards, the procedure for applying for awards in the 2002 competition and the conditions of offer and of acceptance of the awards. Applicants must read the booklet before completing the application form. Particular attention is drawn to the following points:
- ORS awards do not cover maintenance expenses (para 20)
- Awards offered are valid only for the session 2002-2003, and cannot be deferred to a later session. To qualify for the award as offered, students must register at the academic institution concerned by 31 July 2003 (para 39)
- Application can be made through only one academic institution (para 27)
- Applicants must ensure that their proposed programme of research and choice of institution are appropriate to their needs (para 25) and that they are aware of all the financial commitments involved (para 37)
- Only in the most exceptional circumstances can an award be transferred to an institution other than the one through which the application was initially made (para 40)
- The latest date for the receipt of the application at the institution concerned is 22 April 2002, but applicants should note the possibility of a slightly earlier closing date at some institutions (para 32)
- The results of the competition will be announced in July 2002 (para 36)
Introduction
1. The ORS Awards Scheme was set up by the Secretary of State for Education and Science in 1979 to provide awards for partial remission of tuition fees to international postgraduate students of outstanding merit and research potential.
2. The awards are tenable at any of the academic institutions listed at the end of this booklet.
3. The only criteria for the awards are outstanding merit and research potential; other factors, such as means, nationality, proposed field and institution of study, will not be taken into account.
4. The Scheme is administered by Universities UK, formerly the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom. From the start of the Scheme, a special Committee (the ORS Awards Committee), composed of senior members of academic staff of the institutions, has had responsibility for the selection of awardholders and the detailed management of the Scheme.
General Conditions
5. New awards will be offered on a competitive basis in 2002 to international postgraduate students who, in the session 2002-2003, are commencing full-time study for a higher degree as registered research students at one of the academic institutions listed in this booklet or are already undertaking such a course and do not have an ORS award. The number of awards to be made is subject to the funding available but it is hoped will be within the range 800/850.
6. An award need not be held at the academic institution at which the applicant has obtained/expects to obtain his/her first degree.
7. Each award will be made on the assumption that there are adequate - resources for the research project at the chosen academic institution.
8. The research project proposed by the applicant should offer good scope for intellectual training and, where relevant, the acquisition of manipulative technique and skills. It should also, where possible, provide him/her during the first year of training with an opportunity of showing the possession of the qualities necessary to a successful research worker.
9. It is a condition of making each award that Universities UK accepts no liability for the manner in which the work in connection with the award is undertaken, and the awardholder will be responsible in all respects for his/her work and for the consequences of it.
10. Applications are accepted and awards will be made on the understanding that academic institutions and awardholders agree to observe the conditions set out in this booklet and any amendments thereto which may be issued during the period of the award.
Eligibility
11. The Scheme is confined to international postgraduate students as defined in para 5 above.
12. Applicants must be liable to pay tuition fees at the rate for international students.
13. Applicants must normally be graduates of one of the listed academic institutions, or of a recognised overseas university, or students expecting to graduate at any one of these by 30 September 2002.
14. As indicated above the number of awards available is limited. Competition for the awards is therefore very keen, and it is expected that the possession or the likely attainment of a first degree with very good upper second class honours (or the equivalent) will be the minimum requirement.
15. Applicants must have been (conditionally) accepted by one of the academic institutions for admission in the session 2002-2003, as registered research students, to a course of full-time study for a higher degree or must be already registered as full-time research students at one of the academic institutions.
16. Applications may be submitted by students who are in the final year of Masters' instructional or taught courses at one of the academic institutions and whom that or another academic institution has (conditionally) accepted for a new full-time course, starting in the session 2002-2003, for a higher degree by research.
17. The ORS Committee will not generally consider candidates who fall into one of the following categories as eligible to apply for an award:
(a) those who have already fulfilled the requirements for a PhD, or formal equivalent, as a result of directed research training; or
(b) those who are due to enter the third year of their PhD course.
Any institution wishing to submit an application which falls into either category (a) or (b), and considers that there are exceptional reasons for doing so, must make clear those reasons when submitting the application.
18. A student who has already held an ORS award in any previous year or years will not be eligible for a second (new) award.
Nature of Awards
19. The value of each award for the year 2002-2003 will be the difference (as certified by the academic institution at which the awardholder is studying) between the 2002-2003 tuition fee for a home (i.e. UK) postgraduate student and the rate chargeable to an international postgraduate student for the particular full-time research course being taken by the awardholder. The awardholder will pay his/her fees at the home student's rate and the difference between this and the international student's rate will be reimbursed from the Scheme to the academic institution. No money will be paid direct to an awardholder.
20. An award does not include any provision for the maintenance expenses of the awardholder, or for any bench fees or similar charges which may be imposed.
21. Awards will not be subject to any deductions for outside earnings such as fees from teaching or demonstrating, etc.
22. Each award will be made for one year in the first instance but, subject to satisfactory progress, is renewable for a second or a third year (see para 45).
Application Procedure
23. Applications must only be made on the official form (ORS/I) as printed for the session 2002-2003, copies of which should be obtained from the Registrar or Secretary of any of the academic institutions.
24. The instructions for completing the form are set out in the notes on the back page of the form and must be carefully followed.
25. Before completing the application form, applicants must first have satisfied themselves that their proposed programme of research at the chosen institution is appropriate to their needs, and must also have ensured that the programme is acceptable to the department, school or faculty in which they wish to study.
26. The completed application form should be sent to the Registrar or Secretary of the academic institution at which the applicant has been (conditionally) accepted for admission in the session 2002-2003, as a registered research student, for full-time study for a higher degree.'
27. Applicants are allowed to submit an application for an award through only one academic institution. Candidates who do apply through more than one institution will be disqualified from the competition. Applicants who have been accepted for admission by more than one institution must therefore decide - before completing the application form - through which of those institutions they wish to apply for an award. As indicated below (see para 40) only in the most exceptional circumstances can an award be transferred to another institution.
28. In view of the limited number of awards, a first selection of applications will be made within each academic institution, and only those which the academic institution decides to support will be forwarded to the ORS Committee.
29. The academic institution concerned will obtain the two references in support of each application and will arrange for all applications received to be given consideration within the institution in the light of the criteria stated above and the limited number of awards.
30. When, after such consideration, the academic institution has decided which applications it wishes to support, the Registrar or Secretary will complete the certificate on the front page of the application forms and forward them, with the supporting references, to the ORS Committee.
31. At this stage the Registrar or Secretary will inform each applicant whether or not his/her application has been supported and forwarded to the Committee.
32. The latestd?tefor the receipt of applications by the Registrar or Secretary is 22 April 2002. It should be noted however that a slightly earlier closing date might be set at some institutions. Applicants should in any case ensure that wherever possible their application forms are submitted to the Registrar or Secretary well in advance of that date, so that there is ample time for the necessary references to be obtained and for the applications to be considered within the academic institution.
33. An ORS award cannot be held concurrently with a fully-funded scholarship such as a Marshall Scholarship or one held under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.
Selection of Awardholders
34. The ORS Committee will be responsible for the selection of awardholders.
35. The Committee will consider the academic achievement of each applicant and assess his/her aptitude for research work on the basis of his/her (expected) first or recent degree examination results the recommendations submitted in his/her favour, and, where applicable reports on any postgraduate work already undertaken.
Announcement of Awards
36. It is the intention of the Committee that all results of the 2002 competition should be announced in July 2002, when each academic institution will be notified of the result of applications submitted and each supported applicant will be informed whether or not his/her application has been successful
Conditions of Acceptance of Awards
37. Each award will be offered subject to the applicant meeting in full any acceptance conditions imposed by the academic institution at which he/she proposes to take up the award.
38. Awards are valid only for the whole or part of the session 2002-2003; deferment to a later session is not permissible. By virtue of this same regulation an award granted for the session 2002-2003 cannot be used retrospectively for the whole or part of any earlier session.
39. In order to qualify for an award for the whole or part of the session 2002- 2003, a student who is offered an award must register at the academic institution concerned by 31 July 2003. Any student unable to register by that date will forfeit his/her entitlement to the award.
40. Awards must be taken up at the academic institution which originally supported the awardholder's application. Only in the most exceptional circumstances will a student be permitted to transfer an award to another institution. Any student wishing to transfer an award, and who considers the circumstances are exceptional, must in the first instance write to the Secretary of the ORS Committee.
Payment of Awards
41. Awards will be paid to the academic institution at which the awardholder is registered as a full-time research student reading for a higher degree. Academic institutions will be required to furnish evidence of registration before any payment is made. No money mil be paid direct to an awardholder.
Change of Research Project
42. Any proposal by an awardholder to make a material change in the research project from that specified in the application form must be reported by the academic institution and approved by the ORS Committee. Failure to seek this approval may make it necessary to recover the amount of an award already paid to an academic institution.
Absence
43. If an awardholder is prevented from following his/her approved course because of illness, accident or other cause which seriously interrupts the course, the academic institution should make a report to the ORS Committee.
Termination of Awards
44. An award may be terminated at any time when an unsatisfactory progress report on the awardholder is received from the academic institution or when the awardholder ceases to be a full-time research student.
Renewal of Awards
45. Subject to a satisfactory progress report from the academic institution, ORS awards are renewable each year, up to a maximum tenure of three years, according to the normal or remaining length of the research course being undertaken. The awardholder is not required to apply for renewal, but is informed by letter when the award has been renewed, usually in May.
Patents and Inventions
46. Should any potentially valuable results, whether patentable or not, arise out of the research work being undertaken by the awardholder, the regulations of the academic institution on such matters will apply.
Publication of Results
47. Subject to paragraph 46, the publication of the results of an awardholder's work is left to the discretion of the awardholder and his/her supervisor. It is expected, however, that a suitable acknowledgement will be made of the support the awardholder has received from the Scheme.