Background

IUCEA invites suitably qualified Nationals of the East African Community (EAC) Partner States to apply for Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs of the East Africa Community Student’s Mobility Scheme (EAC-SMS) for 2024/2025.

The EAC-SMS  is a student mobility programme funded by a consortium of IUCEA member universities, IUCEA Secretariat, and parents/guardians/self such that IUCEA member universities provide scholarships for students from the EAC Partner States other than their own through tuition and examination fee waiver, IUCEA Secretariat covers for travelling expenses, health insurance and research fund, and the remaining cost to be covered by the students themselves through various available financial support schemes including parents or guardians.

For 2024/25, universities across EAC partner states have offered 160 scholarships in varying disciplines, including 75 scholarships for Undergraduate, 74 Master’s, and 11 PhD programs. Table 1 shows the offered programmes by country, university, available slots, and intake. 

Table 1: Programmes offers under EAC-SMS, 2024/25

Eligibility Criteria

The minimum entry requirements for each qualification into the Programme are: –

1. Be a national and resident of a partner state in the East African Community. (Provide national ID/Passport/Birth Certificate).
2. Excellent academic performance records (to be determined by hosting Universities). 
3. Possess at least an Upper Second-Class Honours or “Distinction” or equivalent (for Masters and PhD applicants)
4. Age limit (less than 35 and 45 for Masters and PhD programs, respectively at the time of application
5. Work experience will be an added advantage for PhD programs. 

Responsibilities

IUCEA– Inter-University Council for East Africa

• Provide medical insurance.  
• Provide transport facilitation by road whenever applicable at the beginning and end of the academic program. 
• Provide Masters and PhD students with a lump sum for research (after completion of coursework). 

Member Universities

• Offer scholarships through tuition and examination fee waivers. 
• Offer admission and induction to the scholarship awardees. 
• Provide a contact person to be a liaison between IUCEA and parents/guardians.  
• Monitor and provide regular progress reports on the performance of the scholarship program.  

Students

• Cater for accommodation and living expenses.  
• Cater for other university fees except tuition and examination fees provided in the scholarship). 
• Provide any other material/ information as may be required. 
• Apply to the universities of their choice in the region that offer programs under the scholarship scheme. 
• Provide regular progress reports on their academic performance and social welfare to IUCEA, the University, and Parents as required under the Scheme.  

APPLICATION PROCESS

The application process is two-fold, and each MUST be completed separately.:  

Application for admission: An applicant shall identify the programme and university of their choice from amongst the eligible programmes as presented in Table 1 and apply for university admission using the university’s online application systems. Table 2 contains the university admission links for each university that offered scholarships.

Applicants are required to consider the programme admission requirements that are provided by universities.  

Table 2: Links for Universities for admission

2. Application for the EAC-SMS Scholarship: Application for the EAC-SMS scholarship shall be made through the IUCEA website as follows: 

• Register online for the scholarship through the link: https://www.iucea.org/ytfp
• Download and complete the Scholarship Application Form
  SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM - SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM1.docx » SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FORM1.docx File Options Download Description Preview Other Versions Goto Post Share

  4866 downloads

  01-08-2024 20:55

  Download

  66.1 KB

   The following are the required documents which will support the application:

1. A letter of motivation for applying for the scholarship.
2. Up-to-date and signed Curriculum Vitae. 
3. Certified copies of all academic certificates and transcripts.  
4. A copy of the university Application Form and its attachments
5. A recent passport photograph in the colour of your head and upper shoulders.  
6. Evidence of Nationality of a Partner State in the East African Community, such as a copy of the national identity card/ passport/birth certificate.  
7. Proof of Residency (provide a certificate from the local government)  
8. Provide evidence of any awards, e.g., leadership, community service, etc.
9. Any other evidence required in the application form, e.g. medical reports, letters of reference, etc.  

Submit the required documents in PDF format zipped in one folder electronically to eacsms@iucea.org and exsec@iucea.org  Indicate the subject line of your submission email with YOUR NAME, EAC-SMS Application, MONTH YEAR, e.g. Amani Africa, EAC-SMS Application, August 2024. 

Application Deadlines 

• Admission deadlines shall be provided by university admission systems
• The deadline for applying for the EAC-SMS scholarship at IUCEA is 25^th August 2024, EAT by midnight. 

Note:

1. Applicants with academic qualifications obtained from foreign institutions must be equated by the authorised national agency (National Council/ Commission for Higher Education) in their respective countries.  
2. Applicants with supporting documents (transcripts, certificates, among others) in languages other than English must submit both the originals and copies translated into English by an accredited language translation provider.  
3. Candidates may apply to more than one University. But can only be offered one scholarship.
4. Candidates are permitted to apply only once for a single program.
5. Candidates who meet the scholarship requirements and have already been admitted to any university offering the scholarship can still apply for EAC-SMS.