The Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (also known as Overseas Research Scholarships, ORS) is an international postgraduate award for selected foreign country nationals to undertake research at higher-education institutions (HEIs) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The award is among the most selective and prestigious awards offered to international students and scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence and research potential. The Scheme is funded through the four UK higher education funding bodies (for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

). As of 2009, ORS scholars may enrol at 165 qualified HEIs - 141 in England, 15 in Scotland, 7 in Wales and 2 in Northern Ireland.

History

The ORS Awards Scheme was set up by the

Secretary of State for Education and Science The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Ca ...

in 1979 and launched in the 1980-1981 academic year, to attract international students to the United Kingdom to undertake doctoral-level research. The last full awards were given to students starting their studies in 2008 and the scholarship scheme ended that year.

Notable Scholars

* Halyna Ovcharenko –

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-shortlisted musician *

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- Chairman

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- Microsoft Azure AI CTO

References

{{reflist * * * * Awards established in 1979 Scholarships in the United Kingdom