The IELTS Scholarship Scheme is aimed at British Council IELTS candidates hoping to study abroad and awards 5 scholarships each worth GBP 3,000 to students who hope to apply to UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and a scholarship in an open category.

Application Process

To submit an application, students are required to complete the online application form.

In order to complete the application form students will need to:

• Complete the required personal information
• Write an essay on one of the following topics and submit it along with the online application form.

• Explain the importance of the area you wish to study in today’s society and the workplace
• The importance of English in international education
• Describe a significant accomplishment and why it makes you proud
• Why is winning the scholarship important to you?

Candidates will need to upload the documents listed below using the document upload function in the application form as one combined pdf file.

1. A copy of his/her IELTS Test Report Form
2. CV
3. Copies of academic certificates
4. Certified True copy of the university offer letter

All the questions on the application form are mandatory and incomplete applications will be disqualified. Applications should be submitted along with the required documents in PDF form on or before 31 May 2018.

Terms and Conditions

1. The candidate must be a resident or a citizen of Sri Lanka.
2. This is open to applicants who take the IELTS test between April 1, 2017 and May 18, 2018 at the British Council. 
3. This is valid for Sri Lankans applying for undergraduate and post graduate programmes intending study in UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand or Canada as well as all countries worldwide which recognise IELTS for university entry. A list of universities that accept IELTS can be found here: http://bit.ly/2Ac7tCe
4. The candidate must have been offered a place to study by a recognised education institution, in the country you are applying, that accepts IELTS as part of its admissions criteria.
5. The study programme must be taken outside Sri Lanka and commence in 2017 or 2018.
6. Candidate must have an IELTS overall band score of 6 or above.
7. The candidate must provide an acceptance letter from the institute they are planning to study along with the application.
8. The award of scholarship can be withdrawn if a valid visa for studying in a country outside Sri Lanka cannot be produced at the time of award, as requested by the British Council.
9. Transfer of funds is subject to the commencement of the programme.
10. Funds will be transferred directly to the university or as a reimbursement of costs upon producing valid bills in relation to expenses of the university study programme, which will be decided by the British Council. 
11. The winners will be announced during July 2018, and candidates who have commenced their programmes by then, will be awarded after the announcement of winners.
12. Plagiarism will be a point of disqualification from the current programme and any future award programmes of the IELTS Scholarship scheme Sri Lanka. All 500-word essays will be checked for plagiarism.
13. Applications cannot be submitted with pending IELTS results or pending university offer letters. 
14. British Council reserves the right to withhold/withdraw an award if any of the terms/conditions are not fulfilled.
15. The decision of the judges will be final.

Evaluation of applications will be done under the following criteria (please note that this is a rough outline of the criteria, inclusive of only the major points)

• Ability to meet entry criteria
• Essay (accuracy, language and creativity)
• Awards/Recognitions obtained 
• Voluntary engagements
• Interview

Please pass this information on to any Sri Lankan students who are applying to your institution, at undergraduate or postgraduate level who may be able to benefit from this opportunity.

For more information please visit the British Council Sri Lanka website.