Scholarship Master’s programme – Focus on Non-Communicable Diseases and Obesity-Kenya, Tanzania

KIT Scholarship Fund offers a limited number of scholarships to talented health professionals from low income countries to study a Master’s programme at KIT Royal Tropical Institute. Financial means for the scholarships come from donations from foundations, companies, organisations and persons, who support our goals.
More information KIT Scholarship Fund.

For academic year 2020-2021 KIT Scholarship Fund in cooperation with KBF Foundation offers a full scholarship to follow a 1-year Master programme in Public or International Health at KIT. The thematic focus of the Master programme is Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) with a focus on Obesity. For this scholarship candidates should fulfill a specific profile.
KBF Foundation works on Non-Communicable Diseases and Obesity in Kenya, Tanzania. Therefore they support this specific NCD scholarship.

Profile

This scholarship opportunity is open to candidates from Kenya and Tanzania. KIT Scholarship Fund is inviting potential candidates with professional experience in the field of NCDs or on obesity. Scholarship applicants must be willing to work on a thesis project focused on NCDs or on obesity. In addition, candidates must return to his/her home country after completion of the Masters study and be committed to continue working on NCDs.

Programme

The scholarship candidate/ fellowship holder will study either the Master of Public Health – Track in Health Systems Policy and Management or the Master in International Health and will give a focus/ to NCD’s and obesity on all parts of the programme. The student will work on a series of assignments throughout the year aiming to build the required competencies of the Master programme and as preparation for the thesis work. Not only the thesis research but also these other assignments should be related to NCDs/obesity whenever the assignment allows for it. The different assignments may include, a paper describing the broad determinants of health of a public health problem, the development of a full project proposal, the development of a protocol for a qualitative research study, a policy brief and a news release.

Selection Criteria for KIT Scholarship Fund

Admission Criteria KIT Master of Public Health – Focus on Non-Communicable Diseases

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent academic training in either medicine or another field related to health care, such as health sciences, economics, social science or nursing.
  • A minimum of three years of relevant working experience, including managerial responsibilities in health related services in a low resource country and including some experience in public health.
  • Proven proficiency in spoken and written English academic TOEFL or IELTS test. A minimum written TOEFL score of 550, iBT TOEFL score of 80, computer based TOEFL score of 213, or an IELTS academic score of 6.0 is required.
  • Computer literacy is expected

Additional Eligibility Criteria for KIT Scholarship Fund

A candidate applying for the scholarship from KIT Scholarship Fund NCD Scholarship must:

  • This scholarship opportunity is open to candidates from Kenya and Tanzania
  • Have been unconditionally admitted to a KIT for the Master of Public Health. This means that the candidate must have met all the academic and administrative requirements set by KIT Royal Tropical.
  • Have proven interest and work experience in Non-Communicable Diseases and/or Obesity and clear plans to continue in this field. (based on motivation letter, curriculum vitae and essay).
  • Not be employed by: a. a multinational corporation (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft); b. a large national and/or a large commercial organisation; c. a bilateral donor organisation (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch ministry of Foreign affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid); d. a multilateral donor organisation, (e.g. a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB); e. an international NGO (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care).
  • Preferably have a proven commitment for the public case (for example, work in remote rural areas or for disadvantaged populations).
  • Work in a field where a study at KIT can make relevant contribution.
  • Be in a position to introduce the newly acquired skills and knowledge.
  • Be available full-time to pursue the course or program without interruption, and be physically and mentally able to participate in the entire program.
  • The candidate MUST return to country of origin after graduation and continue working in the field of NCD’s. That is the only way the objectives from KIT Scholarship Fund and the KBF Foundation can be met.

More information on the amount scholarship:

  • The full scholarship consists of the tuition fee for MPH/ICHD or MIH in the academic year 2020-2021, including only courses taken at KIT.
  • Other costs included in the full scholarship are: return flights from Kenya or Tanzania to Amsterdam, in country travel, living costs, accommodation, visa and insurance (as indicated in the financial statement applicants received with their admission).
  • Any other costs are the responsibility of the applicant.

If you are interested to apply read all information below and follow application steps as described in detail below.

Application procedure for NCD scholarship

Scholarship Application deadline: 8 June 2020 (extended)

  • Only accepted applicants for the Master in International Health or Master in Public Health can apply for this scholarship.
  • Make sure you fulfill all requirements before starting the application procedure. If you do not fulfill the requirements your application will unfortunately not be considered.

Procedure

Step 1

Obtain academic admission for the MPH or MIH. Only accepted applicants can apply for this scholarship. If you have not yet obtained academic admission to the masters programme of your choice please make sure to apply as soon as possible for admission in our online application system via the webpage of the masters programme. (your evaluation will be given priority) (Please note that this scholarship is only available for the full-time programme for the Master of Public Health or Master of International Health)

Step 2

After you have been admitted to the masters programme, upload the following documents in your existing file to the KIT online application system:

  1. A motivation letter: Why you are applying to KIT Scholarship Fund and how you plan to use the skills acquired to the advantage of the public case. (Upload your letter in your file in KIT online application system with clear title: ‘Your name, Motivation KIT Scholarship Fund NCD application 2020’)
  2. Write a 500-700 word essay describing a public health problem related to NCD’s/obesity that you have experienced in the last two years that you would like to discuss or address in the course. Explain how this problem has consequences for the community and the health system. (Upload your essay in your file in online application system with clear title: ‘Your name, Essay KIT Scholarship Fund NCD application 2020’
  3. An updated CV (if this is necessary) with contact information (e-mail, telephone nr, mobile phone nr so we can contact you easily for a telephone interview)
  4. Please note that your application will NOT be processed if these documents are not part of your application file and if the previous steps were not followed. Upload your documents in the online application system before 8 June 2020 (extended)

Step 3

After uploading the requred documents in step 2, fill in the application form via the link below at the latest 8 June 2020 (extended)

(ONLY fill in the form after you followed all actions from step 2. )

Application form NCD scholarship 2020-2021

Complete applications will be reviewed and applicants will be notified of the results and contacted for a telephone interview.

IMPORTANT: Please note that no correspondence (or other communication by phone) is possible about this opportunity and your application. If you follow the above application period exactly as indicated you will automatically be informed of the status of your application. Thank you for your understanding.

More information on KIT Scholarship Fund and its rules and regulations.

KIT and coronavirus

It is impossible to know what the coronavirus situation will look like in September. But we do hope that by September 2020 the situation will have improved sufficiently to allow our courses to take place in Amsterdam as planned.
See our FAQ page for more information on how KIT is dealing with this situation.