These awards are intended for those engaged in full-time study leading to a Master’s degree. Applicants must have obtained at least Second Class Honours Division One in their first degree. Otherwise they must obtain substantively a higher degree by September 2023 to become eligible. Students in their final year of first degree may also apply, but any offer of award will be conditional on their obtaining a suitable qualification upon their graduation by July 2023.

Studentship holders must be full-time students.

A Croucher Science Communication Studentship normally comprises the following:

• an annual maintenance allowance which is set at USD22,400;
• a one-way economy class air fare at both the beginning and end of tenure (if awards are tenable overseas);
• tuition fees;
• a one-off arrival allowance of USD1,000 to cover the costs of arriving in a new country during the first year of tenure (if awards are tenable overseas);
• an academic development allowance of up to USD2,000 to allow Croucher Studentship recipients to attend conferences, workshops or courses during the tenure of their awards;
• a medical insurance allowance of up to USD2,000 to cover medical insurance costs (if awards are tenable overseas);
• a family allowance of up to USD16,000 for the first child and up to USD6,800 for every additional child who resides with the scholar during the entire duration of the award;
• a commencement award of USD2,500 to be offered towards the completion of the Master’s degree to contribute towards the cost of travel expenses for family members to attend their graduation ceremonies; and
• a project allowance to offer support to those award recipients particularly interested in designing and implementing activities and projects in schools and in the wider community during the tenure of the award and/or the period immediately following the award. Interested scholars are invited to submit proposals to the Foundation for consideration of a programme of activities designed to involve school students, teachers, families and/or other non-specialist audiences in dialogue and debate.

A Studentship will be for up to one year.

All applications should be submitted via the Croucher Foundation’s online application system. For the 2023-24 selection exercise, applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. (Hong Kong time) on 15th November 2022 at the latest.

Please invite two referees to provide signed letters of reference for you (with your full name) on letterhead to be sent directly to references@croucher.org.hk (as a PDF), or by fax to (852) 2730 0742 by the deadline above.

Please make sure the following documents in PDF format (each not exceeding 8MB) have been uploaded to your application:

• a statement, up to 4 pages in length, describing your study intention;
• copies of your HKCEE and HKALE or HKDSE certificates or equivalent qualifications and copies of official transcripts of your university records; and
• documentation to prove that you are a permanent resident of Hong Kong, which is a pre-requisite to the award. (For applicants who choose to use their ID card copies, please make sure that both sides of the ID card are provided. Please note that we will not be able to progress your application if there is any doubt about your residential status, for example because you have not provided the right documentation.)

Short-listed candidates will be invited to attend an interview in March/April 2023. If you are not contacted by late April, you may consider that you have not been shortlisted. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications. We will aim to write to unsuccessful applicants by late May, if not earlier.

While we cannot provide support on any aspect of your proposal, if you have questions about the application process, you can email us at info@croucher.org.hk

The Foundation introduced a new funding initiative for all Croucher award recipients at any career stage who wish to use their scientific and technological expertise to set up companies with linkages with Hong Kong. All Croucher award recipients from any year may apply. Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to HK$1 million from the Croucher Foundation payable to their company. The initiative supports founders at the earliest stage. Award recipients already receiving seed funding or early stage venture capital from other sources are not encouraged to apply. If you wish to find out more about Start-up 2.0 check the page https://croucher.org.hk/startup-2-0.