Brunei Using Scholarships to Woo International Students

Located in Brunei, a southeast Asian country, the University of Brunei Darussalam (Brunei’s first higher education institution) is trying to increase its international graduate enrollment, and diversify the school, by expanding its Graduate Research Scholarship program. Since the program was started in 2010, the scholarship has been awarded to more than 120 Masters and PhD students from 26 nations. Started by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the generous scholarship covers travel fees, a tuition waiver, field research funds, and a monthly stipend of USD $180.

According to David Young, deputy dean of the graduate studies and research office, “We’re going to expand the scholarships we offer… Our plan is to expand graduate intake and expand the proportion of the student body that is international graduate students. We are going to put an emphasis on more research students.”

Interested international students will be glad to know that in Brunei, everyone speaks English and living costs are low, despite the fact that Forbes ranks Brunei as the 5th richest nation in the world.

Creative Commons Love: Steve Conover at Flickr.com

Written by Ling Shu