Swire Scholarship in Chinese History at SOAS, University of London in UK

The
Swire Scholarship has been facilitated by a generous donation from the Swire
Educational Trust, in keeping with the Trust’s historical commitment to assist
students at university and college through the award and administration of
scholarships.

The aim of The Swire
Scholarship in Chinese History at SOAS is to promote doctoral research within
the Department of History focusing on the socio-political and/ or economic
history of China during the second half of the nineteenth and early part of the
twentieth century.

This represents a
period in history when trade encounters between China and the West were
intensifying – as exemplified by forerunners of the modern-day Swire Group,
which had established an important presence in China that exists to this day.

The Swire Archive,
located at SOAS, provides a historical record of the company from the period
1870-1980, giving an insight into the leading figures and firms involved in
trade in the Far East and revealing aspects of Chinese trade, British business
philosophy and Chinese and expatriate life. It is therefore a rich source of
material for anyone studying the socio-political and/ or economic history of
China during this period and we hope that recipients of the Swire Scholarship
in Chinese History may be encouraged to use the Swire Archive as a tool in
their doctoral research.

One Swire
Scholarship (MPhil/PhD) will be awarded in 2015-16 to be renewed annually
(pending the award holder’s satisfactory progress from year to year), until the
end of the 2017-18 academic year. For applicants classified as Overseas for fee
purpose, the total value of the scholarship will be £23,625 in Year 1, £24,455
in Year 2 and £25,316 in Year 3. For applicants classified as Home/EU for fee
purposes, the total value of the scholarship will be £15,345 in Year 1, £15,805
in Year 2 and £16,280 in Year 3. Fees will be deducted from this amount and the
remainder will be used toward maintenance.

Eligible
Programmes

The
full-time MPhil/PhD (new admissions only) in the Department of History.
Candidates
should undertake to write their thesis on a theme connected with the
socio-political and/or economic history of China during the second half of
the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century.
Please ensure
you provide evidence on how your proposed topic falls under the
scholarship topic in the personal statement of your on-line application
for admission

Candidate
Criteria

Open to
Home, EU and Overseas students
Applicants
must possess or expect to be awarded a Distinction in their Masters
degree. Applicants with a non-UK degree to be adjudged in the top
rank by their referees and transcript. Those with a mark of Merit may
apply but will not be given preference.
Applicants
must have an offer of admission to the eligible Research programme
at SOAS by the scholarships deadline. Please note that complete
applications for admission can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the
Department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of year.
You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.
Applicants
must meet the English language condition of their offer of
admission to study at SOAS as soon as possible but no later than 1 June
2015. If your offer is conditional on English, please arrange your English
test and ensure you meet the English requirements as soon as possible.

Candidate
Assessment

Candidates
will be assessed on academic merit and on past experience in the field of
Chinese History by a Selection Panel consisting of three academic members.
The
assessment of your scholarship application will be based on the
information in your scholarship application and on the information in your
on-line application for admission.
The
final decision on the selected award holder will be made by SOAS, and
communicated to the chosen recipient following consultation with the Swire
Education Trust.

Scholarship
Application Deadline

Scholarship
applications must be received no later than 17:00 (UK local time) on 30
January 2015.
You
must submit a complete online application to your programme as soon as
possible and then submit an application for the scholarship.
Applicants applying for scholarships must also submit an application
for admission well in advance. Please note that complete applications
for admission can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the Department,
although this duration can vary depending on the time of year. You
should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.
Late or
incomplete applications will not be considered.

Notification
of Results

The successful
candidate will be notified by e-mail regarding the outcome of the scholarship
application by the end of May. If you have not heard from us by the beginning
of June, you should assume that your studentship application was unsuccessful.

Scholarship
Application Procedures

STEP 1: Apply
for your programme:

Applicants must
submit a COMPLETE on-lineapplication for admission.

A complete
application for admission includes transcripts, an explanation of the grading
system for any degrees obtained outside of the UK, two references, CV, research
proposal and a personal statement. The panel will be considering your
scholarship application TOGETHER with with your online application for
admission. Please note that complete application for admission can take
up to 4 weeks to be considered by the Department, although this duration can
vary depending on the time of year. You should be prepared to wait up to
6 weeks in busy periods.